Indiana Pacers fall to Houston Rockets in second preseason game
The Indiana Pacers played their final road game of the preseason on Tuesday night in Houston. They took on a Rockets team that was playing in their first tune-up game of 2023-24.
"We're looking to improve from game one to tonight. That's one thing we're really looking at." Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said pregame. His team fell to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.
The Indiana Pacers were without Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard for the second-straight game. Nembhard is recovering from kidney stone removal while Haliburton did not dress again. Pacers center Myles Turner, who played on Sunday, also did not dress.
Daniel Theis started in Turner's place. Theis did not play Sunday, so it was a good chance at evaluation for Indiana. Early, he was around the play often as a screener and had a nice block on Alperen Sengun.
On offense, the Pacers were trying to put pressure on the rim from the jump. They were having success in transition as a result, but they weren't able to convert from deep when they would kick the ball out. That kept the score close.
Indiana finally found their range late in the frame, mainly via their second unit, and that gave them a 31-29 lead after one quarter. Ben Sheppard was the standout player for the Pacers early.
The second quarter began with the Rockets controlling the action. They were having little trouble finding space to get shots while Indiana had to labor to get open looks. Houston grew their lead as high as 10 in the quarter as the Pacers scored just nine points in the first 7:30 of the period
The blue and gold found a groove just before halftime and cut the lead down to five, but they were doomed by inaccurate shooting and fouling. The Pacers were 7/22 from deep in the first half and had a ghastly 17 fouls, which led to 25 Rockets free throws. It was 60-55 at the break.
Aaron Nesmith led the Pacers with 11 points at halftime. Sheppard (nine points) and Bennedict Mathurin (nine) were close behind.
The Rockets continued to bend the Pacers defense early in the second half. They pushed ahead and were up by 12 less than four minutes into the third quarter. Indiana was struggling. Houston was not.
Indiana's defense tightened up midway through the frame, and they went on a 15-6 run that cut the lead to three. Jalen Smith, a reserve center who got more playing time due to foul trouble elsewhere, was impressive.
Nemsith was, too, and he had 16 points through three quarters. But Indiana was down 86-80 heading into the final period. They had more work to do if they wanted to avoid the loss, especially on defense.
Houston maintained their close lead, but with nine minutes to go the Pacers turned to their deep reserves. Isaiah Wong, Kendall Brown, and Jordan Nwora all entered the game for the first time.
Barely over one minute later, the Rockets led by 10. Indiana chipped into that lead for a moment, but Houston dominated the next stretch.
In the end, the Rockets outscored the Pacers 36-23 in the fourth quarter. That confirmed a 122-103 victory.
Indiana fell to 0-2 in the preseason with the loss. They have struggled on defense in the two exhibition games and need to be better on that end of the floor.
Smith finished with 11 points and six rebounds, he was perfect from the field. Nesmith finished with a game-high 18 points, and Mathurin added 14.
The Pacers next hit the court on Monday when they face the Atlanta Hawks. It's their first home game of the preseason.
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