INDIANAPOLIS – What looked like a second straight weekend split for the Pacers turned into a giant collapse on Sunday night.
The Pacers (11-9) dropped a pair of games this weekend.
Facing the Hornets in Charlotte for the second time in three nights, the Pacers couldn’t complete the two-game sweep, falling 108-105 on Friday night.
Indiana had issues controlling Hornets guards Devonte’ Graham (14 points and 10 assists), Terry Rozier (19 points and 2 assists) and LaMelo Ball (16 points and 7 assists).
The Hornets finished with a season-high 36 assists and a scored a season-best 61 points in the first half.
Down 3 late, the Pacers had a chance to tie the score, but Malcolm Brogdon’s three-pointer banged off the back part of the rim.
Moving on to Sunday, long-time Pacers assistant Dan Burke got the last laugh against his former team.
With Indiana’s lead building to 20 points over Philadelphia with less than two minutes to go in the third quarter, the Pacers then fell apart against a zone defense used by the 76ers.
Indiana scored just 15 points in the game’s final 14 minutes, as the 76ers roared back to get their first win of the season (1-4) without Joel Embiid.
The 119-110 loss marked the 6th time this season that Indiana had lost when leading by double-digits.
Next up for the Pacers is a home/road back-to-back coming Tuesday (vs. Grizzlies) and Wednesday (at Bucks).
Three Things Learned
1. Bad, Then Good Aaron Holiday: This weekend was such a microcosm of the career that Aaron Holiday has had in the NBA so far. At times, he looks like a guy who should be pushing for a role in the starting lineup. And at other times, he looks like a guy who shouldn’t have a spot in the rotation. Friday and Sunday told that story. In Friday’s loss to the Hornets, Holiday, was 0-for-5, going scoreless in 16 minutes off the bench (he did have 3 assists). In true Holiday fashion though, his volatility can bounce back in a hurry, and he did that on Sunday. The third-year guard had a season-high 17 points against the 76ers, giving the Pacers a jolt, with some quieter nights from the other guards/wings not named Malcolm Brogdon. This season has had more downs than ups for Holiday, as he continues to strive for some consistency.
2. Missed Opportunity Doesn’t Matter: Some might be confused by Joel Embiid sitting out on Sunday as a ‘missed opportunity’ for the Pacers. While the game became undoubtedly easier (on paper) to win when Embiid was ruled out with back tightness, it meant that Myles Turner and the Pacers didn’t get to face the toughest post challenge in today’s NBA. And for that it was a missed chance to measure yourself against a matchup and a team that has given everybody fits this season. We know the history of Embiid against Turner. It’s not pretty for the young Pacers big. Two more matchups with the 76ers will come this season and it would be great for Turner to see if his ascension as a player can help slow down the best post player in the NBA. Even with Embiid out, Turner still had his issues with Dwight Howard. Turner fouled out in 29 minutes, going 1-of-6 from the floor, while Howard had 11 points and 15 rebounds off the bench.
3. Big Stretch Upcoming: Even with Sunday’s game against Philly not being exactly what we thought it would be, the upcoming stretch for the Pacers offers some great contests. They will face the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the East, with a road game against the Bucks on Wednesday and a road trip to Brooklyn next Wednesday. Sunday afternoon is a home matinee matchup against the No. 2 team in the West, in the Jazz. With how the schedule has unfolded for the first 20 games, the Pacers have played just 2 games against the top 4 teams in the East and West (0-2; losses to the Clippers and 76ers). It’ll be fun to watch this Pacers group—the one we expect for at least the next two months—to test themselves against some more formidable opponents.
Pacers Upcoming Schedule
-Grizzlies (Tuesday, 2-2, at 7:00 PM)
-@Bucks (Wednesday, 2-3, at 7:00 PM)
-Pelicans (Friday, 2-5, at 7:00 PM)
-Jazz (Sunday, 2-7, at 1:00 PM)
-@Nets (Wednesday, 2-10, at 8:00 PM)
