Indiana Pacers fight through injury to survive against Houston Rockets
On Thursday night, the Indiana Pacers were on the right side of a strong start. That has been a rarity for the team in the last few months, but the team jumped all over the Houston Rockets early in their matchup.
Indiana led 11-4 before you could blink, and they ballooned their lead as high as 34-17 in the first frame. They were terrific in the opening quarter, led by Tyrese Haliburton's seven assists and Myles Turner's 10 points.
But with 90 seconds left in the first frame, the blue and gold lost some of their mojo. Rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin, who has been excellent for the Pacers this season and is averaging nearly 17 points per game, hurt his right ankle and fell to the floor. The Pacers were up 12 at the time and up 11 at the end of the first quarter.
Indiana was forced to adjust. Mathurin takes 12.5 shots per game and plays over 28 minutes a night. Several guys would have to step up, notably at the guard spots.
At first, that happened. With five minutes to go until halftime, the Pacers led by 18 at 56-38. They were rolling, and an easy win looked likely. But those feelings were gone at halftime after a 20-8 Houston run made it a six-point game. Instead of a blowout, it turned into a battle.
"They hit some shots. They had some good energy going. It was infectious, and they were kinda able to get themselves rolling," Pacers center Myles Turner said of that stretch after the game.
The duel continued into the third quarter. Indiana wasn't playing particularly well to open the second half, but they had enough of a talent advantage to keep the Rockets at arm's length. The game got as close as five during the frame, but the blue and gold maintained their lead throughout the quarter.
It became clear in the second half that head coach Rick Carlisle was leaning more on Jordan Nwora and T.J. McConnell with Mathurin out. Wing Aaron Nesmith, who returned from an injury on Thursday, played more as a guard than as a wing, and Nwora captured some of his forward minutes.
Those two were big. McConnell was finding his spots in the lane and was the team's third-leading scorer after three quarters, and Nwora had 12 points, three rebounds, and two steals entering the final frame. They were filling a void.
"He does some very unique things for a guy that plays the four position," Carlisle said of Nwora. "This is really a great opportunity for him."
With 12 minutes to go, it was still a seven-point game. The Rockets wouldn't go away despite the Pacers best efforts, and a strong finish was still needed. Indiana knew the blueprint from the first quarter, they just had to execute.
They kept the lead at seven for a while, but the Pacers never looked like their first quarter selves in the final frame. The Rockets battled back and even took the lead with 4:10 to go, and the Pacers were the ones on their heels for the final minutes.
The blue and gold kept fighting, though. Andrew Nembhard hit a big three-point shot, the defense improved, and All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton made some key plays. It was enough for Indiana to keep themselves alive and get the game to overtime despite some rough fourth quarter play.
They're happy they did, because Haliburton took over the game in the extra frame. He scored 12 points and tossed two assists as the Pacers took the game back over. He outscored the Rockets by himself in the final five minutes of action to lead the blue and gold to a win.
"Just got going," Haliburton said of his overtime period. "Guys were just trusting me," he added. He wanted to prove to the organization that their trust is well placed, and he did exactly that. The All-Star finished with 29 points and 19 assists, and that assists number is a career high.
"I think guys are just making shots. Guys are cutting, guys are reading me," Haliburton said of his career night passing the ball. "Just trying to share the wealth, get guys the ball."
Turner finished with 21 points and seven blocks. Nwora had 18 points while Hield added 17. Andrew Nembhard had a solid outing with 14 points on 6/7 shooting. It was a total team effort for the Pacers to get the victory.
It was the Pacers 30th win of the campaign, and they improved to 30-37. They are now 1.5 games out of the final play-in spot with 15 games to go. They have two games against the Detroit PIstons coming in the next four days that could be vital in climbing the standings.
- Myles Turner is playing the best basketball of his career for the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
- Aaron Nesmith put in the extra work with the Boston Celtics. It's paying off for the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
- AllPacers goes one-on-one with new Indiana Pacers forward Jordan Nwora, CLICK HERE, and guard Trevelin Queen. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin carried off the floor after a right ankle injury vs Houston Rockets. CLICK HERE.
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