Indiana Pacers can't slow down Steph Curry in loss to Golden State Warriors
The Indiana Pacers hosted the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night for the first battle of the season between the two teams. It was the first outing for both squads after the trade deadline, too.
Fittingly, the two franchises made a trade that day. The Pacers acquired Cory Joseph and cash while the Warriors grabbed a draft pick, and Joseph was later waived by Indiana. He didn't end up playing in the game for either team.
Superstar guard Stephen Curry did play, though, and he gave the Pacers fits early. He was making life hard on Indiana, who couldn't get any stops. Their defense was so poor that head coach Rick Carlisle took a timeout 78 seconds into the game with the score only 5-0.
The Pacers were better out of the stoppage, with Aaron Nesmith instantly hitting a three-point shot. Indiana was able to keep the deficit near five for the next few minutes after cleaning things up with their break, but they were never able to get the lead back.
There were two reasons for that — one was that Myles Turner picked up two quick fouls and exited the game. The other was that Curry couldn't miss. He was on fire to start the game and scored 18 of the Warriors' first 35 points. The former MVP was rolling in the first period.
Golden State was ahead 45-34 after 12 minutes. Their offense was fantastic early, and the Pacers couldn't keep up. The Warriors hit eight of their first 11 threes while Jalen Smith led the Pacers in scoring with 14.
Smith was cruising on both ends for the blue and gold and leading the bench, but they were struggling to keep up with the Warriors. Indiana's second unit was good enough to keep it close for a while, but Golden State remained in control.
Curry re-entered the game halfway through the second quarter, and the Pacers started trapping him right away. It didn't help much. Curry got the ball out and moving, and his Warriors teammates were knocking down outside shots.
Indiana's defensive level improved somewhat near the middle of the second period, but the visitors dominated to end the half and ballooned their lead to double digits. They were ahead 70-58 at halftime. Curry had 29 points at the time.
It took one minute for Golden State to push their advantage to 16 in the second half. The Pacers could not stop them, and the crowd featured a ton of passionate Warriors fans. It was tough for the home team to get momentum.
Indiana's defensive level, which got a bit better in the second quarter, was good enough in the third period. They were making it hard on the Warriors, and they were able to cut the lead down to 11 a few times.
But their offense failed them in the third period. Star guard Tyrese Haliburton was having an off night, and the blue and gold weren't shooting it well from deep. Despite getting some stops, they couldn't keep up.
Late in the frame, the Warriors started rolling again. Their lead nearly reached 20, and they were ahead 95-76 through three quarters. Curry had 36 at the time while Smith led Indiana with 14.
Smith was ruled out for the rest of the game at halftime with lower back spasms, so the fact that he was still the team's leading scorer through three periods was telling. The Pacers were going to have to play perfectly in the final frame if they were going to make a comeback.
Instead, they watched as Golden State's lead grew across the next few minutes. The Warriors finally got their advantage to 20 points, and Indiana was running out of time. They were out of form.
The Pacers were down 20 with 8:42 to go in the game when they took a timeout. Carlisle opted to bring in several starters for one final push, and Curry was on the bench. It was Indiana's last opportunity to make it a competitive game.
They were able to cut the lead down to 15 a few times, but Gui Santos had answers for the Warriors in both instances. The Pacers weren't able to cut into the lead enough to make it appear they had a chance, even with improved play. They trailed by 18 with five minutes to go.
At that moment, Carlisle went back to his reserves. The game was effectively over, but Curry stayed in the game and hit two more impressive shots. He reached 42 points at the time and buried the Pacers.
The Warriors calmly closed out the game and held on to win 131-109. The Pacers fell to 29-24 with the loss.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 16 points, and he added eight rebounds. Smith was perfect from the field and had 14 points and five rebounds. Curry was brilliant with 42 points.
Indiana next plays on Saturday when they take on the knicks in New York.
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