by Wheat Hotchkiss
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back and without their All-Star, the Pacers hung tough on the road for two quarters with the top team in the Western Conference on Saturday night.
But Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and the Timberwolves (19-5) proved to be too much for undermanned Indiana (13-11) in the second half, pulling away over the final two quarters for a 127-109 victory.
The All-Star duo of Towns and Edwards combined for 77 points. Towns finished with 40 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and three steals, going 15-for-25 from the field and 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Edwards added 37 points, four assists, and three steals, going 14-for-23 from the field and 7-for-10 from 3-point range.
“This is one of the best teams on the planet,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “These guys have really got it going here. The building is alive. The environment is way different than it used to be…This is a different feeling place and they’ve got some real stars.”
Aaron Nesmith and Bruce Brown each tallied 17 points and five rebounds in the loss for Indiana.
All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton missed his second game of the season on Saturday, sitting out after bruising his left knee in Friday’s loss in Washington.
Travel issues also complicated the Pacers’ preparation for Saturday’s contest. The Blue & Gold had to stay in Washington rather than fly to Minnesota on Friday night and did not arrive in Minneapolis until the afternoon, bussing directly from the airport to the arena.
Obi Toppin scored seven quick points as Indiana jumped out to an early 12-6 lead. The Timberwolves promptly answered with 11 unanswered points, six of them coming from Towns and the other five from Mike Conley. Towns scored 14 points in the first quarter to propel Minnesota to a 23-20 advantage. Indiana scuffled offensively after its quick start, committing seven turnovers in the opening frame.
The Pacers opened the second quarter with an 8-2 spurt to retake the lead. Nesmith scored five points and rookie Jarace Walker drilled a three in that spurt. Nesmith and the Blue and Gold remained in front for the majority of the quarter, as the 6-6 swingman knocked down two threes and tallied 13 points in the frame. But Edwards got hot late in the half for the Timberwolves, hitting four threes over the final 3:44. His fourth trey put Minnesota back in front 55-54 with 1:02 remaining. Myles Turner hit one of two free throws with 42.3 seconds left to tie the game, but Edwards’ up-and-under move just before the buzzer gave the hosts a two-point advantage entering halftime.
The Timberwolves created some separation after the intermission, coming out of the locker room on fire. Minnesota hit 11 of its first 15 shots in the third quarter, including six of its first seven attempts from beyond the arc, outscoring Indiana 30-16 over the first eight minutes of the frame. Naz Reid and Troy Brown Jr. capped that hot stretch by alternating threes on four straight possessions to push the Timberwolves’ lead to 87-71. Though Minnesota cooled off a little over the rest of the quarter, the hosts still managed to extend their lead, taking a 95-78 lead into the fourth.
The Timberwolves put the game away quickly in the final frame. Reid hit a three on Minnesota’s first possession, Towns converted a three-point play the next trip down the court, then Towns dished to Reid for a dunk to cap an 8-0 run over the first 1:32 of the quarter and push the margin to 25.
“Given the circumstances, I think that we played hard,” Turner said after the loss. “…I think we had a good fight that first half and just ran out of gas that second half. Give credit to them. They made a bunch of shots the third quarter, especially a bunch of a threes, and made it tough on us.”
Isaiah Jackson finished with 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting, three rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and three steals in 20 minutes off the bench for Indiana, another strong showing from the third-year big man. Turner finished with 12 points and five rebounds, going just 2-for-7 from the field but 7-for-8 from the free throw line. T.J. McConnell, starting at point guard in place of Haliburton, tallied 10 points, four rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
Reid had 17 points and five rebounds off the bench for Minnesota, going 6-for-8 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Fellow reserve Brown Jr. added 11 points and four assists.
After 12 straight days on the road, the Pacers will now return to Indianapolis. Indiana played two games in Las Vegas for the In-Season Tournament Semifinals and Championship before embarking on a four-game trip that zigzagged across the country with stops in Detroit, Milwaukee, Washington, and Minnesota.
The Blue & Gold will play three of their next four games at the friendly confines of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, hosting the Clippers on Monday and Charlotte on Wednesday. After traveling to Memphis on Thursday, they will host Orlando on Dec. 23 in their final game before Christmas.
Inside the Numbers
The Pacers gave career-high minutes to three rookies on Saturday. First-round picks Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker were both in the rotation due to injuries to Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard, with Sheppard matching his career high with eight points and setting new career marks with three rebounds and two steals in 17 minutes and Walker tallying five points, three assists, and a career-best two steals in 24 minutes. Two-way center Oscar Tshiebwe played the final 7:20, tallying eight points and four boards (two offensive), both career highs.
Brown’s 17 points were his most since Dec. 2 in Miami. He also made a 3-pointer in the third quarter to snap an 0-for-14 funk from beyond the arc over his last five and a half games (including the In-Season Tournament Championship game against the Lakers).
Towns reached 40 points for the first time this season and the 12th time in his career.
Sharpshooter Buddy Hield went scoreless in 18 minutes on Saturday, going 0-for-4 from the field and 0-for-3 from 3-point range. It was just the eighth time in his career that Hield did not score in a game in which he played and the first since March 9, 2018.
The Pacers’ 20 points in the first quarter were their fewest in an opening frame this season, although Minnesota’s 23 points were also the least by a Pacers opponent in the first quarter.
You Can Quote Me On That
“Ant (Edwards)’s one of the toughest guards in the league, especially if he’s hitting jumpers. They both had great games tonight. We’ve got to be better on the defensive end. But some of them they hit were tough shots, you’ve just got to tip your cap.” -Brown on Edwards and Towns
“This is an epic trip that we’ve been on. We’ve experienced things that no other team has ever experienced. We played a championship game that doesn’t count on our record. We went through really an epic 24 hours getting here to Minnesota. And our guys never complained. They bounced back from a really lousy night last night…It’s the end of the trip and they battled.” -Carlisle on wrapping up 12 days away from home
“Our young guys got some great experience tonight. They’re showing that they are ready to compete and we continue to have a very competitive situation here for minutes.” -Carlisle
“Jarace earned his minutes tonight with how he played last night. He earned the opportunity to play extended minutes in the first and the second half.” -Carlisle on Walker getting his most playing time of his young career
“I’d say everyone was impressed with his defensive presence and his vision. He made a couple passes today where we were just like, ‘Wow.’ I know Jarace has that in his game.” -Sheppard on Walker’s performance
“I think their poise was big tonight. Shepp’s got a couple opportunities. I was really proud. Jarace got his real opportunity tonight. Jarace has a good feel for the game, good point guard instincts. He hit some shots and played some good defense. He’ll get more opportunities.” -Turner on Walker and Sheppard’s play
Stat of the Night
The Timberwolves outscored Indiana by 36 points from 3-point range on Saturday. Minnesota went 18-for-30 (60 percent) from beyond the arc, while Indiana was just 6-for-21 (28.6 percent). Edwards made more threes (seven) than the entire Pacers team.
Noteworthy
- The Timberwolves have won five straight games against the Pacers, sweeping the season series in both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. The two teams will meet once more this season at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 7.
- Indiana is now 1-3 on the season when playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
- With 12 points on Saturday, Turner surpassed 7,000 career points. Turner now has 7,003 career points over eight-plus seasons in Indiana, which ranks 10th in NBA franchise history.
- After signing with the Pacers on Friday, veteran forward James Johnson made his season debut on Saturday, playing the final 3:12 and pulling down two rebounds. The 36-year-old Johnson has now played in 15 NBA seasons.
Up Next
The Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, Dec. 18 at 7:00 PM ET.
Originally posted on pacers.com