Indiana Pacers comeback attempt falls short against Denver Nuggets
The Indiana Pacers hosted the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night. It was their first home game since January 10, and it was the debut of Pascal Siakam in front of Indianapolis fans. There was a buzz in the building.
The Nuggets beat the Pacers last week, and Indiana was without star guard Tyrese Haliburton Tuesday night. Even with Siakam in the lineup and the crowd behind them, the blue and gold had a significant challenge coming their way.
Early in the game, the two teams traded baskets. Siakam scored his first points at home as a Pacer while the Nuggets dominant starting five did their thing. Neither team created much separation in the early minutes.
Siakam was aggressive in the early portions of the game. He attacked Aaron Gordon and tried to create space, and he had four points, one rebound, and one assist at the first stoppage of the game. He did everything that his team needed early and had half of their first 16 points.
At the time, the Pacers were ahead 16-15 on the scoreboard. They were doing well to stick with Denver.
The blue and gold continued to get stops and extended their lead from there. It was 20-15 with four minutes left in the first period. The Nuggets hadn't reached their peak level.
Indiana's defense continued to get the job done for the next few minutes, and they were ahead 26-24 late in the period. The style the Pacers played early was exactly what they needed in this game.
After 12 minutes, the score was 29-28 in favor of the Pacers. Siakam led the way with 10 points while Jamal Murray had 12 for Denver.
The second quarter opened with more back and forth play. The Pacers were able to keep their lead at three when Nuggets head coach Michael Malone took a timeout to regroup. He didn't like how his team was playing.
The stoppage helped the Pacers surge. They went up by six with just over eight minutes to go in the first half — they were putting pressure on the rim and creating good shots.
That number quickly reached nine after an outside shot from Aaron Nesmith. The Pacers were humming on both ends against a formidable foe. It was impressive, and their bench was leading it all.
With about five minutes to go in the second frame, Nesmith scored again and pushed Indiana's lead to 11. Even with former MVP Nikola Jokic on the court, Indiana was in their groove. They looked like the better team to that point.
Part of that was because Denver started the game 2/15 from three-point range, they were missing good looks frequently. But the Pacers were doing well to take advantage and score themselves, a necessary task against the Nuggets firepower.
The road team started to attack the rim, and it mitigated their shooting woes. They quickly trimmed the lead to six with two minutes left in the first half.
Indiana had a response ready, though, and they were ahead 62-54 at halftime. It was an impressive performance from the blue and gold to that point. Siakam had 12 points at the break while Murray had 20.
The second half started with better play from Denver, who very quickly cut the lead down the three. They looked much more like the reigning champs in the early third quarter.
The Nuggets took a lead after less than four minutes of the third period. They made as many threes in that span as they did in the entire first half. As that stretch concluded, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was furious about something that happened with the officials, and he was ejected from the game.
Indiana was down three at the time, and Lloyd Pierce turned into the acting head coach for the blue and gold. He has prior head coaching experience in Atlanta, so the Pacers were ready to rock instantly and tied the game at 73.
Denver flew ahead just after this stretch, though, and were quickly up nine. The long ball returned for the Nuggets, and they were defending better than they did in the first half. Their star players were in a groove.
The Pacers were a bit better in the ensuing stretch and trimmed the scoreboard deficit, but they weren't able to recapture the lead. They needed a strong close to the frame to get some momentum back.
Instead, the Nuggets were the team that was better to end the quarter. They went up by 12 at 93-81 to grab a huge advantage, and they looked imposing with just 12 minutes to go. Myles Turner was up to a team-high 21 points at the time for the blue and gold.
The final period opened with effective play from the Pacers as they cut the lead down to nine fairly quickly. The bench group, led by T.J. McConnell, was able to steady Indiana somewhat.
That helped the blue and gold go on a run. After a Siakam bucket with just over six-and-a-half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets lead was down to five. The home team found their footing.
With five minutes to go, the Pacers trailed by four, and they cut that number down to two on their next possession. They finally had momentum again, and Gainbridge Fieldhouse was rocking.
Not long after, the Pacers tied the game at 100. They completed a 13-point comeback, but there were still four minutes left on the clock. Indiana still had to play well for the rest of the night.
They were at first and were ahead 103-102 on the scoreboard when a lengthy review of a moving screen slowed down the action. Ben Sheppard was charged a defensive foul after reviewing the play, and the Nuggets regained the lead.
With 100 seconds left, the Nuggets grabbed the lead back after a bucket from Jokic under the rim. It was a strange play with the ball ping-ponging around in the paint before ending up with the former MVP. The Pacers were in a hole.
They were down by two on defense with under 15 seconds to go and opted not to foul. They needed one stop to give themselves a chance at the win. But Jokic had other plans. He drilled a three with 4.7 seconds to go to give the Nuggets a five-point lead. It was the dagger.
The final score was 114-109. Indiana fell to 24-20 with the loss, their third in a row. Turner finished with 22 points. Siakam had 16 and 10 rebounds. McConnell had 17.
The Pacers next hit the court on Thursday when they host the Philadelphia 76ers.
- Pascal Siakam debuted and Tyrese Haliburton returned, but the Indiana Pacers epic night was spoiled. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers trade deadline rumor tracker. CLICK HERE.
- James Johnson is back with the Indiana Pacers on a 10-day contract. CLICK HERE.
- The Pacers came up just short against the Phoenix Suns to end their road trip. CLICK HERE.
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