by Jordan Morey
The 2023-2024 Indiana Pacers know how to complete a comeback.
On Tuesday, the Pacers (29-23) overcame a 10-point or more deficit for the 10th time this season in a 132-129 victory over the Houston Rockets (23-27) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Indiana has now won nine straight games against the Rockets, tying for the longest winning streak by either team in the all-time series. The Rockets previously won nine games in a row from March 1985 to April 1989.
After giving up 75 points in the first half, the Pacers limited the Rockets to 54 points on 39 percent shooting in the final 24 minutes.
The Pacers trailed by seven points at halftime before flipping the score into a seven-point lead after three quarters. Using a 21-3 run from the end of the third quarter into the early minutes of the fourth, the Pacers built a double-digit lead late in the game.
Despite a late push by the Rockets, the Pacers held on for the win in the final seconds.
Overall, the Pacers shot 62.8 percent from the field, including 15-for-32 from 3-point, while the Rockets made 51.5 percent of their shots (12-for-25 3-point).
Houston made 17 foul shots to Indiana’s nine makes from the charity stripe.
For Indiana, Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 29 points, Myles Turner scored 21, Tyrese Haliburton logged 18 points and seven assists in 29 minutes, and T.J. McConnell supplied 17 points off the bench. Also scoring in double digits were Buddy Hield (12) and Aaron Nesmith (10).
Since joining the franchise, Siakam has led the Pacers in scoring in four of his 11 games played for the Blue and Gold.
“We have welcomed him in with open arms, and he has fit in like perfectly,” Haliburton said of Siakam. “I think our culture, the way we play, getting up and down, having fun and smiling, competing, he fits right in with that. I think that has just been natural.”
Four of Houston’s five starters scored 20 or more points, led by 30 points by Jalen Green (12-for-20 shooting) and 23 points from Dillon Brooks. Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun accounted for 20 points.
Depth played a major factor, as Indiana’s bench outscored Houston’s reserves 45-23 in the game.
Indiana was missing its leading bench scorer Tuesday, as Bennedict Mathurin was a late scratch for the Pacers due to an illness. On the other bench, the Rockets were without starting guard Fred VanVleet (left adductor strain).
While both teams shot 65 percent from the field in the first half, the Rockets held a 75-68 intermission lead over the Pacers. To stay in front, the Rockets made one more 3-pointer (eight) and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line to Indiana’s 3-for-4 from the charity stripe.
Smith Jr. led all scorers with 18 points, and Sengun had 14 points for the visitors at the break. Siakam, on 7-for-8 shooting, led Indiana with 14 points, and Turner had 12 points.
FIRST QUARTER
The Pacers outshot the Rockets 70.8 to 64 percent in the opening frame to establish a 41-39 lead. Nine players recorded a basket for the Pacers in the first quarter.
Both teams started hot from the floor, but the Rockets didn’t miss in the first four minutes of action, making their first seven attempts – including a trio of 3-pointers – to lead 17-13.
The Pacers then responded with an 8-3 run, where Turner and Siakam each made threes, to go back ahead before the teams traded the lead seven times.
In the final 1:54 of the opening frame, the Pacers stayed ahead by one possession as McConnell scored a pair of baskets, Obi Toppin drained a 3-pointer and Jalen Smith scored on a hook shot.
At the buzzer, Rockets guard Aaron Holiday – a former Pacer – hit a turnaround fadeaway jumper from 15 feet to make it a two-point game.
SECOND QUARTER
Holiday stayed hot to start the second quarter, nailing back-to-back 3-pointers before Smith Jr. nailed one from deep to make it 48-41 with 10:31 left in the half, forcing a Pacers timeout.
A basket by Hield stopped the bleeding momentarily for the Pacers, but a 7-2 Houston run ignited by an and-one from veteran forward Jeff Green put the Rockets up by double digits with 7:30 remaining in the half.
The Pacers strung together a 7-0 run but couldn’t retake the lead in the final 3:18 of the first half and trailed by seven points at the break.
THIRD QUARTER
Siakam was all over the floor in the third quarter for the Pacers, recording 10 points, two assists and two rebounds, and the Blue & Gold used a 17-3 run in the later half of the frame to lead 106-99.
Indiana then pulled within three points of the lead five times in the first 10 minutes of the third quarter thanks to strong play by Siakiam and Haliburton before a Hield 3-pointer put the Pacers ahead 100-98 with 2:08 on the clock.
The Pacers held the Rockets to just one point the remainder of the third quarter, and McConnell scored five straight – including an and-one with 4.6 seconds on the clock – to give the Blue and Gold a 106-99 lead going into the fourth quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
Quick buckets by McConnell and Hield extended the Pacers’ run from the third quarter into the fourth to 21-3, with the Pacers leading 110-99, before a 3-pointer by Jae’Sean Tate slowed the Pacers’ momentum.
That momentum came right back to the Blue and Gold, however, after Haliburton and Nesmith put the Pacers up by 14 by each hitting 3-pointers with 7:29 remaining.
The Rockets were able to plug away at the deficit as the fourth quarter went on, getting the score all the way down to 130-127 with 46 seconds left after Jalen Green made a 3-pointer, but Haliburton got a driving layup through contact to go with 21 seconds left.
Sengun scored on an offensive rebound with around six seconds left, but the Pacers kept the ball away from the Rockets after that as time ran out.
“They hit us hard early. We withstood it early and in the second period they just kept throwing haymakers and we allowed them to get going, which you never want to do with an NBA team with their kind of talent,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “It was a survival situation. Second half was obviously a lot better. I thought (T.J.) McConnell and (Buddy) Hield really played huge roles in this game. Those guys played hard. They made timely shots and made timely plays.
The Pacers can extend their winning streak to three straight when they host the Golden State Warriors (22-25) on Thursday.
Inside the Numbers
The Pacers are 26-9 when six or more players score 10+ points each.
Indiana won the points in the paint margin 64-58.
Houston outrebounded Indiana 48-25.
The Rockets had 22 second-chance points to the Pacers’ five.
The Pacers shot 59.5 in the second half while limiting the Rockets to 39.2 percent.
After scoring 18 points in the first half, the Pacers limited Jabari Smith Jr. to two points in the second half.
You Can Quote Me on That
“Tough game, heck of a win. Would’ve liked a better start, but you can’t have anything.” – Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on the win
“We responded well in the third. Early fourth was terrific with our bench group in there. We built enough of a lead, but Houston is an attacking team and they kept coming and kept coming. We had some untimely turnovers late and it got hairy at the end. We got out of here alive.” – Carlisle on the second half
“He’s moving better for sure. Physically, he’s doing much better. (Houston) has tough matchups for our entire team. … Ty made an enormous shot at the end. He made big shots and big plays in the fourth, and it’s a lot of good signs right now. Hopefully he feels good tomorrow coming off of this. Thursday, we will see where we are with the minutes.” – Carlisle on Tyrese Haliburton
“Ty is not there yet. He’s getting much closer. The minutes are a big part of this because he’s a rhythm player and he runs the show. Being able to orchestrate and communicate and do all those things on both ends is really important. Right now, his minutes are taking a haircut. He’s playing more now than he did the last couple of games. But hopefully the next couple games we will be out of the woods with this.” – Carilsle on Haliburton returning from injury
“What is there not to like? The guy is efficient offensively. He’s driving the ball. He’s posting up. He’s making threes. He’s getting to the free throw line, and he rebounds. He’s tremendous, and he does it in a way that just blends into the ecosystem of the team.” – Carlisle on Pascal Siakam
“T.J. McConnell is out of his mind as a competitor. He’s just extreme. He has a knack for making plays, firing up his teammates, and firing up our crowd. When he had that run in the second half, our building took a seismic jump.” – Carlisle on McConnell
“I feel good. There has obviously been a lot of chatter about my minutes. It feels good to play a majority of the game and finish the game. I feel good.” – Haliburton on recovering from injury
“T.J.’s trash talk is not traditional.” – Haliburton on McConnell
“We just have to keep growing our chemistry together, playing together, and good things will happen.” – Haliburton on building chemistry with Pascal Siakam
“I think the one thing people need to understand about Buddy Hield, and I’ve played with him my whole career, is the gravity that he has as a basketball player. His spacing. Even when he’s not making shots, which isn’t often – he’s one of the best shooters that has ever touched a basketball – his gravity when he’s on the floor in our stack actions and movement actions. A lot of times you have to respect what he does even if he’s not making shots.” – Haliburton on Hield
“We are able to bounce things off each other really easily. I think both of us are the same mentally – we want to win. I think we connect on that. Obviously he just got here, but the culture that I’ve tried to help build … he’s done a great job. Pascal is a winner. He has been in the playoffs what seems like every year of his career, and he’s won a championship. When he talks, people listen. I think that’s kind of the biggest thing.” – Haliburton on Siakam
“I’m just trying to figure out the best way to be effective together. It’s going to continue to get better.” – Siakam on chemistry with Haliburton
“I think it’s getting better. Just the type of player I am – I like observing. … I’m coming to a good team with a good thing going. I’m just trying to come in and complement the team.” – Siakam on being aggressive and progressing with the team
“He’s able to do that. That’s why he’s an All-Star. To me, he has the potential to be special like that. … It’s so easy for him.” – Siakam on Haliburton making big shots at the end of the game
“T.J. is great to play with. He knows how to check in to those moments. He’s savvy. He brings the same energy everyday – some energy that’s unmatched. Something you can’t prepare yourself for.” – Hield on McConnell
“Once he figures it out, I think you will see a whole different dynamic of this team, and he will be able to have more fun and play more free out there.” – Hield on Siakam
Stat of the Night
Tyrese Haliburton scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half, shooting 7-for-12 in the last 24 minutes after shooting 1-for-3 in the first half.
Noteworthy
- Tyrese Haliburton played 29 minutes on Tuesday after not playing more than 22 minutes in each of the four games prior as he recovers from a hamstring strain.
- Indiana has a 17-10 home record this season.
- On the schedule the Pacers have one game at home and three on the road before All-Star Weekend.
- Buddy Hield needs two 3-pointers to pass Billy Keller (506) for fifth place in Pacers franchise history.
Up Next
The Pacers welcome Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7:00 PM ET.
Originally posted on pacers.com