by Wheat Hotchkiss
The Pacers’ first back-to-back certainly didn’t lack for excitement. After Indiana gutted out a tight win over Cleveland in the first-ever In-Season Tournament game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday night, the Blue & Gold had another nail-biter on Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets.
Tyrese Haliburton matched his career high with 43 points, the Pacers matched an NBA record in the third quarter and nearly pulled off a dramatic comeback in the fourth.
But in the end, the Hornets (2-3) held on for a 125-124 victory over Indiana (3-3).
After a poor shooting performance in the first half, Haliburton and the Pacers could hardly miss in the third quarter. They tied an NBA record with 12 3-pointers in the frame (six of them by Haliburton), dropping 50 points in the period.
Buoyed by their big quarter, the Blue & Gold led by as many as seven points early in the fourth, but trailed 118-110 with five minutes to play following a 16-2 Hornets run midway through the final frame.
Indiana got back within two twice over the next couple minutes, the second time on Haliburton’s eighth 3-pointer of the night with three minutes to play. Two free throws by Mark Williams on the other end made it a two-possession game once again, but Buddy Hield answered with a layup that made it 123-121 with 2:14 to play.
On the other end, LaMelo Ball missed a layup and then fouled Aaron Nesmith on the ensuing rebound, giving the Pacers a chance to tie the game with 1:49 remaining. Nesmith missed the first free throw, but hit the second to cut the deficit to one.
After another stop, Hield took a deep three from the top of the arc but couldn’t get it to fall and Williams converted a layup on the other end. Ball then intercepted a cross-court pass from Myles Turner, but P.J. Washington lost the ball out of bounds on the other end, giving Indiana the ball back with 37.4 seconds left on the clock.
After a timeout, Haliburton drove and kicked to Bruce Brown in the left corner, who quickly dished to Hield on the wing. Hield drove and converted a layup through contact with 29.3 seconds remaining. Hornets forward Brandon Miller was whistled for a foul — a call that stood even after Charlotte challenged it.
After the delay for the review, Hield missed the free throw. The ball was tapped out of bounds by the Hornets, but the Pacers turned it over on the ensuing inbound.
After a timeout, Charlotte executed an inbound play that got Ball streaking down the court. He dished to Washington under the basket, but Hield swiped the ball out of his hands and then threw it off of Washington and out of bounds to give the ball back to Indiana.
Haliburton dribbled down the clock and seemed poised to take the game-winner. But Ball tipped Haliburton’s crossover dribble on the right wing, which pushed the ball and Haliburton to back up near halfcourt as the seconds ticked down before Ball eventually poked the ball away for good just before the buzzer.
“They made a couple good plays and we made some plays that we would like to have back,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after the loss. “That’s how it goes sometimes.”
It was a disappointing finish to a brilliant night for Haliburton, who matched his career high with 43 points on 8-of-12 3-point shooting and also dished out 12 assists.
Hours earlier, the Pacers had found early success feeding Obi Toppin in the paint. The 6-9 forward scored six of Indiana’s first eight points on Saturday to help the Blue & Gold out to an early 8-2 lead.
Indiana led for virtually the entire opening quarter, butWashington’s dunk off a lob from Ball tied the game at 27 with 11.1 seconds remaining in the frame, and that’s where the score remained after one.
Washington and Nick Richards scored the first four points of the ensuing frame to give the visitors their first lead of the night.
They would remain in front all the way up until halftime. Former Butler star Gordon Hayward scored eight straight points for the visitors over one stretch, the last six of those points triggering a 15-6 Charlotte run that pushed the margin to 54-41.
Two free throws and a 3-pointer from Haliburton in the final minute got Indiana back within single digits entering the intermission.
The Pacers struggled from the field over the first two quarters, shooting just 33.3 percent from the field and 4-for-20 (20 percent) from 3-point range.
That changed quickly after halftime, however. Haliburton knocked down a three on Indiana’s first possession of the half. Toppin made a trey from the left corner at 10:20 and Haliburton added another three 20 seconds later.
After making two free throws at 9:26, Haliburton drilled his third three of the quarter at 9:02. Bennedict Mathurin set up two mores threes on the next two Indiana possessions, finding Brown at 8:31 and Haliburton at 8:13.
Just like that, the Pacers had a 66-62 lead thanks to a 20-8 run to open the half.
After a timeout, Turner connected on a seventh straight Pacers three. Mathurin missed a three on Indiana’s next possession, but the 3-point barrage kept coming.
Haliburton dished to Turner for another trey at 4:33 and then drilled his fifth of the frame 1:10 later. At 2:22, he then knifed through the lane and kicked out to Hield on the left wing for the Pacers’ 10th three of the quarter. Haliburton hit another three — this one from well beyond the arc — at 1:54, then set up Jalen Smith for a triple with 33.9 seconds remaining in the quarter.
The entire arena was on its feet by the time Haliburton dribbled down the closing seconds of the third quarter. He couldn’t get a stepback three to fall at the buzzer, but the damage was already done.
All told, Indiana dropped 50 points in the third quarter, going 17-for-21 from the field and 12-for-15 from 3-point range. Haliburton alone accounted for 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting (6-of-8 from 3-point range) and six assists.
The Pacers’ 12 threes tied the NBA record for most 3-pointers by a team in a single quarter, matching a mark initially set by Phoenix in the second quarter on April 13, 2021.
“Tyrese’s third quarter was historic and beyond amazing really, when you think about it,” Carlisle said. “But we needed to back that up with a really solid fourth quarter and they threw some hellacious shot-making at us.”
Indiana took a 96-92 lead into the fourth quarter and stretched the margin as high as seven as their hot shooting continued with a three from Andrew Nembhard and two more by Hield in the opening minutes of the final frame.
But the Hornets came charging back, drilling three straight threes of their own during a 16-2 run over a 2:35 stretch to take a stunning 118-110 lead.
Nesmith’s three from in front of the Pacers’ bench with 4:48 remaining ended Indiana’s drought and brought the Blue & Gold back within three. Hield then added a three from the left wing 40 seconds later to cut the deficit to two, setting the stage for a wild finish.
Five Pacers finished in double figures in the loss. Hield had 19 points on 5-of-13 3-point shooting and six rebounds. Turner added 14 points and six boards, Smith added 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench, while Toppin also scored 11.
Williams led Charlotte with 27 points and seven rebounds. Hayward added 23 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Terry Rozier scored 22 for Charlotte before heading to the locker room midway through the fourth quarter with a non-contact injury to his left groin.
Washington added 15 points, while Ball (11 points and 11 assists) and Richards (10 points and 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles.
The Pacers will have Sunday off before resuming their five-game homestand on Monday against 2023 number-one pick Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. Indiana will conclude the homestand with another back-to-back set, hosting Utah on Wednesday and Milwaukee on Thursday.
Inside the Numbers
The Pacers outscored Charlotte by 42 points from beyond the arc. Indiana finished the game 22-for-45 (48.9 percent) from 3-point range, while the Hornets were 8-for-20 (40 percent).
Indiana went 18-for-25 (72 percent) from three over the final two quarters, tying the NBA record for most 3-pointers in a half. Utah originally set the mark with 18 3-pointers in a half on April 3, 2021.
Haliburton’s 43 points matched his career high that he set in Miami last season on Dec. 23. He tied two franchise records with his six threes and 25 points in the third quarter. Justin Holiday previously owned the franchise mark for 3-pointers made in a quarter with six in the first quarter against Milwaukee on May 13, 2021, while Haliburton’s teammate Jordan Nwora set the franchise record with 25 points in the second quarter against Atlanta on March 25 of last season.
Haliburton became the first player in franchise history to score 40 or more points and dish out 10 or more assists in the same game.
Haliburton had gone 1-for-13 from 3-point range over his previous two contests entering Saturday, but bounced back with eight threes against Charlotte.
Hield’s 19 points and five 3-pointers were both season highs.
Williams’ 27 points were a new career high, five more than his previous best set last season at Cleveland on April 9.
The Pacers scored 78 points in the second half, but the Hornets answered with 71 of their own to come away with the narrow victory.
Charlotte outscored Indiana 74-40 in the paint.
You Can Quote Me On That
“Two very similar games back-to-back. Last night, we were down four with five or maybe six minutes to go and we were able to rally and find a way to win. Tonight, we found ourselves in the same situation. Gave ourselves a chance, but ultimately there was too many little things that happened along the way.” -Carlisle on the past two games
“Law of averages. It had been a rough last couple games. I stayed true to my work and good things will happen.” -Haliburton said of his performance in the third quarter
“Ty was special. He’s been in a funk, we all know he’s been in a funk. The game always rewards you back, it always plays out the right way…Hopefully he can take this and ride this momentum.” -Hield on Haliburton
“(Ball) made a good play. The timing of the way the whole thing happened was probably a little bit off, but it’s an awful lot to ask of Tyrese to do what he did in the third quarter and throughout most of the second half and then have to manufacture probably some kind of a miraculous step-back three or some difficult floating shot going to the basket. But too many others things put us in a situation where we left too many things to chance.” -Carlisle on the last play of the game
“It’s a competitive league. That’s one great thing about the NBA right now. It’s competitive every night. There’s no teams that don’t come out and compete.” -Carlisle
“Just try to find ways I can improve so I can stay on the floor longer. Rick is putting a bigger emphasis on guys guarding, staying in front of people from training camp. I’m just trying to make more effort on the defensive end.” -Hield on his defensive play against Washington and his overall improvement on that end
“Jalen’s had a terrific year so far. He’s been active. He’s shooting the ball well. He’s making good reads. He’s a big part of our second unit and he’s earned the job pretty clearly. He’s done a lot of terrific things.” -Carlisle on Smith’s strong start to the season
Stat of the Night
The Pacers matched an NBA record with 12 3-pointers in the third quarter and came just four points shy of the franchise record for points in a quarter with 50 points. Indiana scored 54 points in the third quarter against Denver at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Nov. 9, 2010.
Noteworthy
- Pacers rookie forward Jarace Walker was unavailable on Saturday due to an upper respiratory infection.
- Carlisle remains at 899 career wins. His next victory will make him the 14th coach in NBA history and just the second active coach (behind San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich) to reach 900.
- Hield moved past Dale Ellis into 28th place in NBA history in career 3-pointers made. Hield now has 1,724 career threes in seven-plus seasons. Ellis made 1,719 and was second in league history behind Reggie Miller when he retired in 2000.
Tickets
The Pacers welcome rookie big man Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday, Nov. 6 at 7:00 PM ET.
Originally posted on pacers.com