Indiana Pacers 119 – New Orleans Pelicans 104 (Dec. 15th, 2024)

1. First Quarter

First quarter slow starts have seemed to be a theme for the Indiana Pacers since Andrew Nembhard’s return to the starting lineup. New Orleans opened the first three minutes of the game by outscoring Indiana 8-2 with Trey Murphy scoring five. The Pacers would hold the Pelicans scoreless for the three minutes and would take a quarter high six-point lead with an Obi Toppin three to cap a 12-0 run. New Orleans came back to tie the game at 18, 23, and 26, but never took the lead after Indiana took it. Indiana’s point guards put the team back up five with a three from Tyrese Haliburton and a field goal from T.J. McConnell in the final two minutes. However, Javonte Green closed the quarter with a dunk. Indiana’s lead after the first quarter was 31-28. Haliburton paced all scorers with 8 points. Brandon Boston led the Pelicans in scoring with 7 points.

2. Second Quarter

The reserves for Indiana started the second quarter with an 8-1 burst to take the first double digit lead of the game when the freshly acquired Thomas Bryant drilled a three to make it 39-29. Rick Carlisle would call a timeout with 8:02 left in the first half after his team struggled to generate offense while New Orleans chopped its deficit in half less than 90 seconds after taking that ten-point lead. That timeout turned out to be beneficial as Carlisle’s team responded by holding the Pelicans scoreless for another three-minute stretch. Indiana was able to extend its lead to a first half high of 14 points when Toppin cruised to the basket for a layup off a pass from Andrew Nembhard. The score was 48-34 and then New Orleans scored six quick points to draw within ten again. For one final time in the first half, Indiana went on a run to threaten to take a twenty-point lead. Pascal Siakam’s floater with 55 seconds left in the half to put Indiana on top 59-40. New Orleans scored the final basket of the half to make it 59-42, the largest lead in the half for Indiana this season. Haliburton led all scorers with 12 points and the only other player with at least ten points was Toppin with 11 points. New Orleans struggled in the second quarter, going 5/25 (25%) and 1/8 (12.5%) from three-point range.

3. Third Quarter

Indiana came close a couple times to taking a twenty-point lead, but New Orleans frequently prevented that with some small bursts. Haliburton would give the Pacers a twenty-three-point lead after he drilled a three, stole a CJ McCollum pass, converted a layup, and then scored another layup thirteen seconds after that one following a steal from Myles Turner. Their largest lead of the quarter came out of the Pelicans timeout when Siakam drilled a three with 7:34 left to make it 77-52. With 5:56 left in the quarter, Carlisle was forced to call a timeout as his team let New Orleans score nine consecutive points to draw within 16 points. During the second half of the third quarter, Indiana’s lead hovered between 15-19 points as the two teams exchanged baskets frequently. The lead for the Pacers did exceed 20 points two more times, but not larger than 25 points earlier in the period. After three quarters, Indiana’s lead was 99-80. Haliburton led all scorers with 20 points, but Nembhard led all scorers in the quarter with 9 points for Indiana. Herb Jones led all scorers in the quarter with 10 points. Dejounte Murray paced New Orleans in scoring with 17 points.

4. Fourth Quarter

Even though it felt like the Pacers could coast the final twelve minutes of the game with a 19-point lead, New Orleans wouldn’t let them. Indiana quickly went ahead 22 points after Siakam drilled a three to start the final quarter. McCollum would cut into the Pelicans deficit by converting a layup with 6:28 left in the contest. Siakam would eventually push Indiana’s lead to twenty points with 4:16 remaining with a layup to give Haliburton a double-double. New Orleans would score nine points uncontested in two minutes to make it a 113-102 game with 2:28 left in the game. Indiana’s defense stepped up in the final 2:28 by holding the Pelicans to two points while scoring six points. The final score was 119-104 with the Pacers picking up the win in their last home game before Christmas.

5. Top Performers

Pascal Siakam (22p, 5r, 2a, 1s, 1b), Tyrese Haliburton (21p, 10a, 4r, 3s, 1b), Andrew Nembhard (17p, 7a, 2r), Obi Toppin (16p, 5r, 2a, 3s), and Myles Turner (14p, 6r, 2a, 4b, 2s). For New Orleans, Brandon Boston (20p), Dejounte Murray (19p, 7r, 7a, 2s), Herb Jones (19p, 5r, 3a, 4s), Trey Murphy (16p, 6r, 2b, 1s), and CJ McCollum (15p, 3r, 2a, 1s). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana Pacers won the season series 2-1 courtesy of the extra game for not making the NBA Cup
• Indiana Pacers are 8-4 at home and 12-15 overall
  • Have won back-to-back games for the third time this season
    • Longest winning streak of the season is 3
  • Indiana Pacers recorded 33 assists on 41 made baskets
  • Indiana Pacers are 6-0 when Tyrese Haliburton & Pascal Siakam both score 20+ points
  • Andrew Nembhard recorded a season-high 17 points in the win and was a team high +18
  • Jarace Walker’s 9 rebounds are a career high for rebounds in a game
  • Obi Toppin has scored 10+ points in 7 straight games
  • Pascal Siakam has scored 20+ points in 15 games this season
  • Thomas Bryant in his Pacers debut – 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block in 11 minutes
  • Tyrese Haliburton has scored 20+ points in 10 games this season
    • Four times in his last six games
  • Tyrese Haliburton has recorded a double-double in 10 games this season
    • Back-to-back games with a double-double
    • 11 games with at least 10 assists

7. Next Up

The Indiana Pacers will have the next three days off as the Bucks and Thunder set to play for the NBA Cup in Las Vegas on Tuesday and the entire association being off on Wednesday. Indiana will begin a three-game road trip Phoenix on Thursday night. Pay Boylan will get things started at 8:30pm with the pregame show and then Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play at 9pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.