Indiana Pacers fall to San Antonio Spurs in one of Pacers worst performances of the season
The Indiana Pacers have struggled without Tyrese Haliburton this season. Entering Thursday night, they were 2-10 this year when their All-Star was unavailable.
Those were the odds the Pacers had to overcome against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday. Indiana was without the point guard, who is dealing with a sore calf, for the 13th time of the season. They would have to find other ways to succeed.
Early in the game, the Pacers plan was to defend well and attack the paint. Buddy Hield, Chris Duarte, and a few other Pacers made it to the basket on drives and found easy points. Early on, Indiana looked good, and they led 44-33 with 6:10 to go in the second quarter.
From that point on, it was all Spurs. It was just a two-point game at halftime, and after the third quarter, San Antonio led by 13. The Pacers scored just 16 points in the third frame, they looked miserable and had a low effort level.
"All the hustle stats at the bottom of the stat sheet tell the story," Pacers assistant coach Mike Weinar said at halftime on the Bally Sports Indiana broadcast, referencing hustle plays. Those woes continued in the second half, and the blue and gold never recovered.
Without Haliburton, the Pacers are a significantly worse team. But even without the All-Star, Indiana should have been much better on Thursday than they ultimately were. They got crushed on the glass, they had little defensive force, and they were lethargic all night.
In the end, the Spurs beat the Pacers 110-99. San Antonio swept the series vs Indiana this season.
This game was one of the Pacers worst performances of the season. They will hope to bounce back in their next game, but in the meantime, they have some key takeaways after such a miserable outing.
The Pacers didn't protect the paint
The Spurs attack the rim better than most teams, but they finished with 62 points in the paint, a stunning number. No team in the entire NBA averages 60 points in the paint per game.
Indiana picked up its paint protection in the second half, but it was too late. They had already allowed 40 in the first half. The blue and gold struggled to keep Spurs ball handlers in front of them throughout the night, and San Antonio took advantage.
"We've gotta protect the paint," veteran guard George Hill said on the Bally Sports Indiana broadcast at halftime. The Pacers were better in this department after halftime, but not good enough.
Haliburton's absence hurt
Haliburton makes the Pacers go. They are a completely different team without him, and tonight was more evidence of that.
Haliburton creates threes with his passing and takes them himself. Without him tonight, the Pacers shot just 23 threes, a season-low. They took 11 shots from the foul line, which is the third-fewest Indiana has taken in a single game this year.
The ball movement was much worse for the blue and gold, which is to be expected in this game. Hill started in Haliburton's absence, his first start since being traded to the Pacers, so the team was adjusting from the jump.
"Just, like you said, try to blend in. We're still trying to figure it all out," Hill said of his role on the Bally Sports Indiana broadcast at halftime.
The Pacers offense looked awful and didn't crack 100 points against the NBA's worst defense. Even without Haliburton, the team should have done better. But he was missed dearly.
Buddy Hield was a bright spot
Amid the many awful Indiana performances, Hield stepped up. He shot 12/17 from the field and finished with 27 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. He did a little bit of everything.
The Pacers needed Hield's early game rim attacks to score. His drives were strong, and his offensive gravity helped out his teammates. His defensive activity was solid, too. On a night when the Pacers didn't have it as a team, Hield brought it and was a key piece.
Hield and the Pacers will hope to move on from this performance on Sunday in Chicago. They take on the Bulls in the final game of their ongoing road trip, and that game has significant tiebreaker implications.
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- Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard on Indiana Pacers wing Chris Duarte: 'All aspects of his game have matured.' CLICK HERE.
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