by Jordan Morey
On Star Wars Night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Indiana Pacers were an absolute force.
The Pacers (14-12) led at the end of each quarter on Wednesday, including by 21 going into the final frame, in a 144-113 blowout victory over the Charlotte Hornets (7-19).
With the win, the Pacers snapped a four-game skid. Charlotte has lost five straight games, and the season series between the teams is now tied 1-1.
After dueling for much of the first half, the Pacers closed the opening 24 minutes with a 13-4 run – capped by an alley-oop dunk from Tyrese Haliburton to Obi Toppin – to lead 71-60. Veteran sharpshooter Buddy Hield then scored 19 points in the third quarter, by making five 3-pointers, to help the Pacers to a 107-86 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Pacers dropped another 37 points to seal the win.
“We did much better tonight, as a group, with toughness, with friction,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of the defensive effort. “ All you have to do is look at the quarter scoring, and you can see there was some consistency. Now the task is to sustain. It will not be easy.”
Seven players finished in double-digit scoring for Indiana, led by 25 points from Hield, 19 each by Haliburton and Aaron Nesmith, 18 from Myles Turner and 14 by Bennedict Mathurin.
Terry Rozier led the visitors with 25 points, rookie Brandon Miller scored 21 and Miles Bridges chipped in 19 for the Hornets.
Overall, the Pacers shot 61.4 percent to the Hornets’ 47.4 percent. Indiana made 18 3-pointers to Charlotte’s eight treys.
Indiana’s bigs dominated early, as Turner logged 18 points and four rebounds while backup Jalen Smith – playing for the first time since Nov. 27 due to injuries – had 10 points and four boards in the first half. Rozier led all scorers with 19 points (7-for-13 shooting) at the break.
FIRST QUARTER
In the first quarter, the Hornets didn’t have an answer for Turner, who scored 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting to help the Blue & Gold to a 31-29 lead. Rozier also carried the offensive load early for his squad, scoring 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting in the first frame.
Neither team could find the bottom of the basket early on, as both sides started 2-for-10 shooting from the field.
Out of a timeout, both teams got into an offensive rhythm before the Pacers strung together a 12-4 run, thanks to 3-pointers by Mathurin and Nesmith, to lead 29-19 with 1:48 on the clock.
However, Rozier’s hot shooting – which included a 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left – narrowed the score to 31-29 by the first-quarter buzzer.
SECOND QUARTER
Both teams strung together 7-0 runs early in the second quarter, with the teams tying at 43 with 7:35 left in the half.
Indiana then used a 13-5 run – sparked by a 3-pointer by Haliburton and capped by an and-one conversion by Turner – to go ahead 56-48 with 4:56 on the clock. The Hornets again answered, however, with an 8-2 run to make it a one-possession game.
The Pacers then willed their way to an 11-point lead down the last stretch of the opening half.
Hield scored 19 of Indiana’s 36 points in the third quarter, and Charlotte shot just 39.1 percent from the field in the frame. Overall, the Pacers shot 57.9 percent in the period.
THIRD QUARTER
Out of intermission, Hield made four 3-pointers in the first six minutes of the third quarter to help the Pacers to an 87-73 advantage. Hield was then fouled from beyond the arc and drained all his freebies before Haliburton made one from deep to put the Pacers up 95-75.
Threes from Haliburton and Hield in the final 61 seconds of the third quarter boosted the Blue & Gold ahead 107-86.
“Rick (Carlisle) called a play starting in the third quarter and seeing them go down is sometimes all you need,” Hield said of his scoring outburst. “I think you can sense that.”
FOURTH QUARTER
Nesmith and Mathurin each hit 3-pointers to start the fourth quarter, and the Pacers never relented as they outscored the Hornets 37-27 in the final 12 minutes. Indiana’s starters didn’t play in the final 8:43 of the game.
The Pacers are back in action tomorrow when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies (7-19) at FedExForum.
Inside the Numbers
Jalen Smith shot 4-for-4 from the field for 10 points, while Aaron Nesmith was a perfect 6-for-6 (4-for-4 from 3-point range) and scored 19.
The Pacers led by as many as 33 points in the game.
Tyrese Haliburton has achieved 24 double-doubles this season. He finished with 19 points and 13 assists.
Indiana’s bench outscored Charlotte’s reserves 70-33.
From the free-throw line, the Pacers shot 28-for-30, and the Hornets went 15-for-19.
On the boards, the Pacers outrebounded the Hornets 38-37.
You Can Quote Me On That
“Buddy (Hield) was going to have a breakout in one of these games. Through the losing streak, he was one of our best defenders. He’s worked extremely hard on that. There have been times he’s sat out during games when other guys were going good during the stretch and he’s had the right spirit and has been a real cheerleader. Tonight, when he got it going in the third quarter, everybody was pulling for him. That was a big part of the game.” – Carlisle on Hield
“If you’re a (Tyrese) Haliburton, if you’re a Chris Paul, if you’re a Steph Curry, you figure out how to enable your teammates (and get the team functioning at a high level and work your way into the game. That’s precisely what he did tonight. It was masterful. It was very, very good.” – Carlisle on Haliburton navigating games when more defensive focus is on him
“It was as if he never left. He was terrific. He was in position, took the right shots, rebounded the ball, and had a big presence out there. We’re happy to have him back.” – Carlisle on Jalen Smith returning
“I just told him to keep shooting. I know who Buddy is. He’s one of the greatest shooters of all-time. If he just shoots enough, he’ll make them eventually – it was just a matter of time.” – Haliburton on Hield’s performance
“As long as we take care of the ball, we’ll be fine. I think that’s really the biggest thing. When we take care of the ball, usually we defend better because teams are in transition less.” – Haliburton on the keys to the team’s defense
“I just gotta control what I can – my effort, attitude, and just how hard I play. Those are all things that I can control, and everything else will fall in line.” – Haliburton on continuing to improve his game
“This was a game we needed to get right.” – Hield on the win
“Winning cures a lot on any team. No matter how you win. It cures a lot.” – Hield on the win
“Overall, I felt fine out there. I got my wind back. That was really the only thing I was worried about – just how my conditioning was. Overall, it was fine … and plus we got a win, so I can’t complain.” – Smith on returning from injury
“It was a good time to get one back in the win column.” – Nesmith on the win
“I actually didn’t shoot it well during my warmup, and I was pretty upset. But I just found a rhythm. Guys like T.J. (McConnell) finding my spots makes my life easy.” – Aaron Nesmith on not missing a shot in the game
“When you sit out for weeks, and you come in and you get offensive rebounds and make your shots … he made his two open threes, and that’s huge for not only him, but for us. It’s a good momentum boost and for him really helps him calm down and get back into the flow of the game and get his rhythm back.” – Nesmith on Smith returning
Stat of the Night
In the third quarter, Buddy Hield shot 5-for-6, including 4-for-5 from 3-point, while sinking five shots from the free throw line for 19 points.
Noteworthy
- The Hornets were without All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball, who has been sidelined since Nov. 26 with an ankle sprain.
- Pacers second-year guard Andrew Nembhard missed a seventh straight game due to a right knee bone bruise.
- Myles Turner achieved 750 career offensive rebounds on Wednesday night. He came into the game with 749 and grabbed one offensive board against the Hornets.
- The Pacers will play the Hornets two more times this season: in Charlotte on Feb. 4 and Feb. 12.
Up Next
The Pacers travel to Memphis to take on Ja Morant and the Grizzlies on the second night of a back-to-back on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 8:00 PM ET.
Tickets
The Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic on Saturday, Dec. 23 at 7:00 PM ET.
Originally posted on pacers.com