GAME RECAP: New Orleans Pelicans 125, Indiana Pacers 118

1. F

With Andrew Nembhard out tonight with knee tendonitis, Bennedict Mathurin was inserted into the Pacers starting lineup in his spot. Indiana’s offense was sizzling to start this game. Before two minutes had gone by, Indiana was ahead 7-0 with three different players scoring. Indiana was up 11-2 after 2:33 when Myles Turner cut down the lane for a dunk. The Pelicans called a timeout and then went on a 10-0 run to take a 12-11 advantage following a Brandon Ingram three. Indiana would score five straight to take a four-point advantage with 7:09 left in the quarter. It would become a one possession game the rest of the quarter with the largest lead being three points by the Pelicans twice. On the second occasion, it was a Javonte Green layup that was followed by Ben Sheppard knocking down a triple as time expired to tie the game at 35. Zion Williamson led all scorers with 11 points. Indiana’s leading scorer was Aaron Nesmith with 7 points.

2. Second Quarter

After a back and forth first quarter, Indiana and New Orleans would have a similar second quarter. The Pacers second unit opened the quarter outscoring the Pelicans 18-5 to take a 53-40 lead following a Ben Sheppard three with 6:40 left in the half. Things would go downhill from there for the Pacers. Sheppard would knock down another three on the Pacers following possession to push Indiana’s lead back to 13 with 6:13 remaining in the half. New Orleans outscored Indiana the next 4:13 by 13 points to tie the game at 58 after a Brandon Ingram slam dunk. The two teams would score four points each the final 120 seconds, making the halftime score 62-62. Brandon Ingram led all scorers in the period with 10 points. Williamson led all scorers at intermission with 17 points followed by Ingram with 15 points. Indiana’s leading scorer was Aaron Nesmith with 12 points, but he left the game with an ankle injury and would not return. Pascal Siakam was the only other Pacer to reach double-digits with 11 points.

3. Third Quarter

Coming out of the locker room, Indiana was sleepwalking or operating like they ate some Halloween leftover candy during the break. New Orleans scored 10 of the first 12 points in 3:47 to go ahead 72-64. The Pacers would make a run, but it was a slow run. It took them over four minutes to tie the game at 78 after Sheppard drilled his second of three threes in the quarter. Willie Green’s team would respond by just forcing Indiana to take difficult shots while knocking down some tough jump shots and layups despite some good contest by Indiana. With 33 seconds left in the period, Brandon Boston Jr. swished a three to make it 95-87. Indiana would get the final basket of the quarter with McConnell converting a floater. Brandon Boston Jr. led all scorers with 12 points in the quarter followed by 11 points from Sheppard. Through three-quarters, Sheppard was 6/9 from three with the rest of the team converting 7/20.

4. Fourth Quarter

To start the fourth, Bennedict Mathurin kept the Pacers in it. He opened the quarter by scoring seven points right after Isaiah Jackson and Obi Toppin began the quarter with dunks, but Indiana was only able to tie the game at 100. With 7:32 remaining, the Pacers would take a one point lead following a Pascal Siakam three to make it 105-104. New Orleans two All-Stars took the game over from that point onward. Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson scored the next 11 points for the Pelicans to go ahead 112-105 during that stretch. Indiana narrowed its deficit to 113-112 following Mathurin layup with 3:08 left in the contest. An issue for Indiana this season has been closing games, and that would remain true. The Pacers only made one field goal in the last two minutes and then converted three free throws. Meanwhile, New Orleans just needed to convert free throws essentially during that stretch. Indiana falls in New Orleans for the fourth straight time with fans in the stands by a final score of 125-118.

5. Top Performers

Zion Williamson (34p, 10a, 6r), Brandon Ingram (26p, 7a, 6r, 2b), Jordan Hawkins (23p, 4r), Brandon Boston Jr. (14p, 2a, 3r, 2s), and Jose Alvarado (12p, 7a, 6r, 2s). For Indiana, Ben Sheppard (20p), Bennedict Mathurin (19p, 6r, 3a), Pascal Siakam (16p, 6a, 5r), Aaron Nesmith (12p), Myles Turner (12p, 4r), Tyrese Haliburton (11p, 11a), and T.J. McConnell (10p, 9a). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• In the last 5 minutes of the last 3 games, Indiana has been outscored 54-24
• Ben Sheppard’s 22 points and 6 threes marked career highs
• Ben Sheppard became the 5^th different leading scorer in 6 games for the Pacers
• Isaiah Jackson left the game in the fourth quarter with a calf injury and did not return
• Aaron Nesmith left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury and did not return
• Pascal Siakam fouled out for the first time of the season
• Tyrese Haliburton has recorded a double-double in three straight games
• Zion Williamson’s 34 points are a season high
  • 27 points combined between the first and fourth quarters
• Zion Williamson recorded his second double-double of the season and first double-double with points and assists
• Zion Williamson recorded his 5^th career double-double with points and assists
• Zion Williamson recorded his first career 30+ point and 10+ assist game
• Yves Missi recorded his first career 10+ rebound game in his first career start

7. Next Up

The Indiana Pacers will have Saturday and Sunday off before completing their two-game road trip in Dallas on Monday night to take on the Mavericks. Pat Boylan will get things started with the pregame show at 9:15pm. Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play starting at 9:45pm.