by Jordan Morey
Basketball is back in the Circle City, and the Indiana Pacers are off to a historic start.
The Pacers (1-0) put on an offensive showcase in their first game of 2023-24, blowing out the Washington Wizards (0-1), 143-120, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday. Indiana set a franchise record for most points scored in a season opener, finishing one point short of beating its record for most points scored in regulation play at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and two points shy of the most in any home game since joining the NBA in 1976.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, the 143 points are the most by any team in a season opener since 1990.
Eight players scored in double-digits for the Blue & Gold, and the team shot 52.8 percent (56-for-106) overall (20-for-43 from 3-point range) while dishing out 38 assists.
After a close first half, the Pacers outscored the Wizards 37-28 in the third frame – with 15 points coming from All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton – to open a 14-point lead going into the fourth quarter. In the final frame, the Pacers coasted, leading by as many as 25 points before the final buzzer.
Haliburton finished with 20 points, 11 assists and three rebounds to lead Indiana, new Pacer Bruce Brown hit a career-high six 3-pointers and finished with 24 points in his Blue & Gold debut, and second-year guard Bennedict Mathurin accounted for 18 points, five assists and four rebounds. Other double-digit scorers included Buddy Hield (14), Jalen Smith (13), Andrew Nembhard (12), Obi Toppin (11), and Myles Turner (11).
Nembhard also finished with 10 assists off the bench to secure his first double-double of the season.
“We feel like we really have 11, 12, 13 guys that can be a part of the rotation,” Haliburton said. “We just feel like we’re a really deep team. That’s why training camp has been so good. We’ve just been competing, getting after it…It’s just a testament to the roster that’s been built here and the hard work that guys have put in this summer.”
Kyle Kuzma led the way for the Wizards with 25 points, Jordan Poole chipped in 18 points, and Tyus Jones and Danilo Gallinari each had 16.
The Pacers shot 62.8 percent in the first half to build a 73-68 lead over the Wizards by intermission.
In a high-scoring first quarter, the Wizards made 17 of 27 shots (63 percent) while the Pacers shot 13-for-23 (56 percent).
Washington jumped to a 12-4 lead four minutes into the game by making six of its first 10 shots, but it didn’t take the Pacers long to come right back, as Brown, Haliburton and Hield each drilled 3-pointers and Toppin completed an and-one to knot it at 16 with 5:47 on the clock.
Following a timeout, the Wizards strung together a 13-2 run, on seven points by Gallinari, to go ahead 28-19 with three minutes left in the first quarter.
While the Pacers made three more 3-pointers in the final 2:44 of the opening frame, with Brown, Hield and Smith all making shots from deep, the Wizards maintained a 39-34 lead going into the second quarter.
Mathurin and Kuzma each scored 11 points in the second quarter to lead their teams. At the break, Kuzma would have 16 points to lead all scorers, and Mathurin led the Blue & Gold with 13 points.
Indiana went on a 13-5 run midway through the second quarter, led by four points by Turner and five from Mathurin, to lead 53-49 with 5:15 left in the half.
The teams traded baskets for much of the remainder of the quarter, but five points by Hield and a 3-pointer by Toppin in the final 2:34 never allowed the Wizards to get closer than three points of the lead before the break.
Out of halftime, the Pacers strung together a 16-4 run – limiting the Wizards to just one made field goal in the first four minutes of the second half – to lead 89-72. During the stretch, Haliburton accounted for 11 of the points, including making a pair of 3-pointers, and Toppin had five.
Washington’s offense finally came back to life midway through the third period, but the Pacers never let the score get closer than 14 points for the remainder of the third quarter.
Indiana continued firing from deep to start the fourth quarter, as Hield, Brown and Aaron Nesmith made 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the frame to help the Pacers go up 125-103 with 9:31 remaining.
The Pacers were never in danger the rest of the game. With 5:43 remaining, both teams emptied their benches.
Indiana outrebounded Washington 51-45 and won the turnover margin 12-14. Overall, the Wizards shot 45 percent from the field, making just nine 3-pointers to the Pacers’ 20.
“We’re very happy to win the game, but we have more work ahead,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said.
Next up, the Pacers hit the road to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Last week, the Pacers beat the Cavs 109-104 in preseason play.
Inside the Numbers
Tyrese Haliburton finished with 20 points and 11 assists, and Andrew Nembhard had 12 points and 10 assists. Last year, Haliburton finished with 32 double-doubles, and Nembhard registered five.
Bruce Brown’s career-high six made 3-pointers is two more than his previous best.
The Pacers outscored the Wizards 80-52 in the second half and held the visitors to 39 percent shooting in the final 24 minutes.
Indiana had a strong performance from the free throw line, sinking 11 of 12 shots from the charity stripe.
Both the Pacers (10) and Wizards (11) had double-digit offensive rebounds.
In the paint, the Wizards outscored the Pacers 68-60.
Indiana’s bench outscored Washington 59-46.
Fourteen of Indiana’s 15 players that suited up played in the game.Play Video
You Can Quote Me on That
“It just felt like the ball was moving. That’s what we’ve tried to preach all preseason. We know we’ve got a lot of different guys (that) it can be their night at any time. I feel like it’s a really balanced scoring attack…Having guys on the team that know how to play basketball the right way really helps.” – Haliburton on the third quarter
“We play fast. Everybody’s running. Myles one time got me an open three just because of his seal. Just our offense is so random. Anybody can score the ball that night and it was me tonight.” – Brown on his night and the team’s offense
“I just make use of the cowboy fits. That’s just me. It’s just my love of country music so I dress like I’m from the countryside. That’s just my swag.” – Brown on his pregame outfit
“It was great. It was a packed house. I always love playing at home, playing in front of our fans. I feed off their energy.” – Brown on his first home game
“It’s just everybody be ready – Keep the environment as competitive as possible. We did our job tonight, nothing more.” – Carlisle on the team’s depth
“We were off kilter, out of rhythm. We were probably thinking a little too much. We had to pick up our defense. They had 16 or 18 fast break points in the first half, which is a losing number in any building. Our second unit gave us a lift. Jalen Smith gave us two 3s … Nembhard was really good, Buddy hit a couple shots. The +/- numbers at halftime showed us our second unit was ready. That was key. In the third quarter, Ty just went to work. He figured out where the openings were and got our pace offensively into the game. We were able to get traction defensively and went from there.” – Carlisle on the keys to victory
“This is why he’s in the rotation. I think, when you add a guy like Bruce Brown, it’s going to change your team. It’s going to change your rotation. Tonight, it was a reason why TJ (McConnell) got bumped out. But everyone can see why Bruce is an important element to this team.” – Carlisle on the rotation
“I thought Mathurin had a really solid game. Mathurin is making some really good reads with the basketball and finding people on time and on target. When we were struggling, he got out in transition and got our crowd back into it.” – Carlisle on Mathurin’s performance
“It’s hard to judge a lot on the preseason; it really is. For a guy like Bruce, who was playing in mid-June, the preseason is an opportunity to get to know your teammates, find out where your shots are likely to come and then rep things out and be ready for game one. That’s exactly what he did. I get here early every day … and he’s here before me every day.” – Carlisle
“Tonight, he did exactly what we signed him to do. He was a no frills, veteran competitor that was ready to play on night no. 1.” – Carlisle on Brown
“I feel as though everyone played to their ability today. Nobody tried to outdo anybody. Everybody was for everybody today and that’s the reason we were successful today. ” – Smith on the second unit
“Everyone likes to see each other succeed on this team.” — Smith on the team
“I thought we did a really good job past the first quarter as a team defensively, holding them to under 30 points per quarter.” – Nesmith on the play after the first quarter
“Good vet, good guy, country music. Just a good attitude. He has a lot of wisdom for us we need to pick his brain on he’s sharing and he is going to help take us to the next level.” – Nesmith on what Brown brings to the team
Stat of the Night
The Pacers scored 143 total points against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. The 143 points is the most scored in a season-opener ever for the franchise, was one-point shy of tying the team’s most points scored in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in regulation, and two points shy of tying the most ever for the Pacers in a home game.
Noteworthy
- Former Pacer Roy Hibbert revved up the crowd prior to the opening tip as a special guest.
- The Pacers had zero players on the injury report entering the game.
- Indiana and Washington will meet two more times this season: in D.C. on Dec. 15 and back in Indianapolis on Jan. 10, 2024. Each of the last two seasons, the teams went 2-2 against each other. Indiana has now won three of the last four against Washington.
- Rookies Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard both made their debuts in the Blue & Gold on Wednesday, both playing 5 minutes, 42 seconds.
- Both the Pacers and Wizards went 35-47 last season, finishing ninth and 10th in the Eastern Conference.
- The record for most points in regulation for the Pacers was 152 against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2020-21 season.
Up Next
The Pacers travel to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers in their first road game of the season on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 PM ET.
Originally posted on pacers.com