Rewind Game: Pacers 126, Pelicans 111

Summary of the game

Friday's game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse was a story of two halves.

In the first period, the Pacers appeared to be still on vacation, falling into a 20-point hole against the New Orleans Pelicans in their first game against the NBA All-Star.

But Wesley Matthews provided a much needed spark in his third match in the Pacers uniform. Matthews knocked down a pointer at halftime, then four more in the third quarter to spark the biggest return of the season, while Indiana (39-20) was pulled back to take the lead 126-111.

Matthews scored 15 points in the third quarter and finished the night with 24 out of 7 shots on 14, including 6 of 11 to 3 points to lead the charge.

After the victory, he attributed to Indiana 's dramatic speech an "inflamed" speech delivered at halftime by head coach Nate McMillan.

"We looked like we were running in the mud," McMillan said of the first half. "The beginnings are slow, it did not seem like we had this urgency, I thought that in the third quarter, we challenged our guys to react with this urgency and play the game as they were able to do it."

But he was far from the only Pacers player to excel in the second half. Bojan Bogdanovic, Tyreke Evans and Domantas Sabonis each scored 11 points after halftime in a stunning reversal of fortune.

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The Pacers looked a bit rusty after the eight-day break between early Friday night games, while New Orleans (26-34) took a 12-4 lead. Indiana responded with a thrust of 8-3 to reduce the deficit to three, but the Pelicans responded with a 12-1 run, which included six points from the NBA's big man, Anthony Davis.

The visitors had a 15-point lead in the first quarter and a 35-24 advantage in the second quarter.

New Orleans opened the second run with an 8-2 record thanks to a pair of 3-point Julius Randle. Visitors maintained a double-digit advance for the entire period, extending the margin to 20 points.

Darren Collison scored six consecutive points for Indiana at the end of the half and Matthews then added an alarm bell by beating three more in the right corner. Pause.

"I thought it was the turning point for us," said Collison. "We needed a bit of confidence as the team that will enter the second half, just having a bit of dynamism and a run and falling shots was good for us."

Matthews continued this momentum in the second half, eliminating four more 3 points on the first 5:09 of the third quarter. His last shot in that burst crowned a 19-7 Pacers push to open the frame that reduced the deficit to one.

After a Davis free kick, the Pacers again sought out Matthews. This time, Jrue Holiday lay down on the defensive and threw Matthews to the ground. The 10-year veteran calmly knocked down three free throws to give Indiana its first lead of the night.

"It was a good feeling to see the shots going off and we were playing as we should have started the game," Matthews said.

The advance did not last, however, as the Pelicans scored in their next possession and ended up spilling seven unanswered points while Matthews had to leave the game briefly after having a bloody nose.

Indiana bounced again, coming back to Evans' jumper with 55.4 seconds left in the quarter. E & # 39; Twaun Moore responded with a bucket on the other end before Evans unleashed a vicious cross-over and broke through three to give the hosts a 97-94 lead before the fourth quarter.

The Pacers opened the game soon after, opening the final round with eight points in a row, including a three-point game at Evans's old and a Bogdanovic triple that pushed the double-digit lead.

Indiana kept visitors away from the rest of the way.

Bogdanovic finished with 20 points, 7-in-14 on the field and 3-in-5, beyond the arc, while reducing five rebounds. Sabonis added 18 points on 7 out of 9 shots, 13 rebounds and four assists, while his backup teammate Evans finished with 17 points and scored 6 out of 9.

Thaddeus Young scored 16 points and seven rebounds in the win, while Collison added 10 points and 12 assists.

The Pacers were without Myles Turner's starting center on Friday night. The NBA was injured in the left thigh during Wednesday's training and could not face the Pelicans. Third-string center Kyle O. Quinn started in his place, while head coach Nate McMillan chose to keep Sabonis in his normal rotation with the second unit.

Cheick Diallo led the Pelicans with 16 points and 18 rebounds from the bench in the defeat. Davis added 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 19 minutes of action, while Randle and Elfrid Payton also had 15 points.

The Pacers will not have much time to rest on their laurels as they perform a three-game road trip Saturday night in Washington.

In the numbers

Sabonis recorded his 23rd double of the season's double in the win, while Collison achieved the feat for the fifth time.

O 'Quinn recorded just over 20 minutes on his first start in the Pacers' uniform and finished with eight points on three out of six shots, 10 rebounds, three assists and two interceptions.

After falling from 6 to 20 on 3 points in the first period, Indiana has overturned 8 out of 12 triples over the last two quarters. The Pelicans, meanwhile, went from 8 to 16 points beyond the arc before half-time, but from 0 to 11 for the rest of the game.

The Pacers scored 25 points on 18 turnovers in New Orleans, while the Pelicans scored just seven points on 11 Indiana giveaways.

The Pelicans dominated the Pacers 58-44 in the paint and 25-14 during the fast race Friday.

Diallo's 18 rebounds set a new career high, two more than her previous record set in Portland on April 12, 2017.

Stat of the night

Indiana dominated the 68-40 Pélicans in the second half with Matthews, Bogdanovic, Evans and Sabonis who scored 48 points after the break.

Remarkable

• With Friday's win, the Pacers swept the season series with the Pelicans for the sixth time in eight seasons. Indiana won in New Orleans on Feb. 4, 109-107.
• Before Friday, Indiana had a record of 0 to 9 on the season while he had 20 points or more.
• The Pacers are now 8-3 in the first consecutive night, including a 3-1 record at home.

following

Indiana begins a three-game road trip against Bradley Beal and the Wizards in Washington on Saturday, February 23 at 7:00 pm.

Tickets

After a three-game road trip, the Pacers will return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to host Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, February 28 at 7:00 pm ET. Search tickets »

Special Offer – Pacers Win

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