Indiana Pacers outclassed by Utah Jazz size and physicality for second-straight loss
The Indiana Pacers were in Salt Lake City to battle with the Utah Jazz on Monday night. It was the second meeting of the season between the two squads, who both have been playing excellent basketball of late.
The Pacers were on a back-to-back and down three starters, so it was going to be an uphill climb for them all night. Bennedict Mathurin and Buddy Hield were in the opening five — Indiana's starters had zero minutes of game experience entering the day.
They didn't start well, falling behind 4-0 in 62 seconds and making a few errors in that stretch. The blue and gold took a timeout at that point in the action — head coach Rick Carlisle wanted to regroup despite his team only having played a few possessions.
After the break, the Pacers offense came alive, but their defense still struggled. The Jazz were scoring on seemingly every possession and kept expanding their lead — they made seven of their first nine shots and were up by seven at the time.
Indiana kept it close thanks to strong offense, but they were trailing for the early portions of the game because their defense was dreadful. They were undersized and conceding open looks. Were it not for three outside shots from Buddy Hield, the Pacers would have been down big after six minutes.
But Hield was on fire and had 12 points in the first seven minutes of action, which kept his team in it. His shot hasn't been as strong of a weapon this season, but he was fantastic to open this game.
With two minutes to go in the first frame, Utah's advantage was at five points. Their strong opening few possessions set the tone for the game, and they didn't give it up as the quarter progressed.
The Jazz led 33-26 after the first period. Hield had 12 important points, but the rest of the Pacers struggled on offense, and the whole team was poor on defense. Indiana needed to raise their level on both ends to keep up.
The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair for the first few minutes, with the Jazz lead hovering around the same number. They looked like the better team, and they had an answer for everything Indiana threw at them.
Between some foul trouble in the frontcourt and injuries, the blue and gold were using some new lineups throughout the first half. Both of their first-round picks were playing rotation minutes, as was Jordan Nwora. Those players were giving Indiana just enough to stay in the game.
With fives minutes to go in the first half, the blue and gold were down by nine points. They weren't good enough on either end to keep up despite being within striking distance of the Jazz. Pacers center Myles Turner was having a strong second quarter, though.
Utah kept pushing, and Indiana couldn't keep things close. A layup from Lauri Markkanen, who had 15 points at the time, put the Jazz up by 10 with 2:46 left in the half. Carlisle took a timeout to recalibrate.
It didn't help. The home team expanded their lead to 14 before the half and led 64-50 at the break. Collin Sexton had 17 points for Utah while Hield led the Pacers with 14. Indiana needed to find some lineups with size that could succeed if they were going to cut into the lead.
The second half started off with dominant play from Utah. It took them less than three minutes to balloon their advantage to 21 points, the largest of the game at the time. They were crushing the Pacers on both ends, and foul trouble hurt Indiana in the frontcourt.
Indiana made some substitutions early in the third quarter in search of answers, but little changed on the scoreboard at first. Utah maintained a 20+ point lead for the next few minutes. The Pacers cut it under 20 a few times, but the Jazz had answers every single time.
The Pacers got unfortunate news during that stretch as Mathurin suffered a sprained left ankle after landing awkwardly. He made a free throw in the ensuing moments, but he was forced to exit the game with 11 points. The blue and gold announced that he would be out for the rest of the night later in the quarter.
Not much changed as the third frame continued. The Pacers had a younger unit on the floor out of necessity, but all of their lineups struggled in this game. They couldn't slow down the Jazz and their size, and the physicality of the game favored Utah.
Jalen Smith and Turner both reached five fouls for the Pacers before the end of the third quarter. Indiana was in trouble in every way, and their frontcourt rotation was jumbled. The Jazz seized the opportunity and were ahead by 26 entering the final frame.
The fourth quarter started with a reserve lineup for Indiana. Kendall Brown, Oscar Tshiebwe, Nwora, and Jarace Walker all shared the court. The Pacers likely weren't going to win, so they were grabbing some development time.
Kendall Brown scored his first points of the season to kick off the period, and Walker started to make some plays. They were able to keep the Jazz lead at just under 20 for the first half of the fourth quarter.
Utah kept a few starters in, so the Pacers young players got some valuable experience late in the game. The Jazz were winning comfortably, but the blue and gold still found value late. They were down 17 with 6:16 to go as Carlisle called a timeout.
Brown reached a career high later in the quarter, but the Jazz were still up big and were going to cruise to a win. They kicked butt all night.
The final minutes were all Utah, who expanded their lead to nearly 30. After watching it slowly shrink for much of the final period, they were able to dominate the final minutes to earn a big win.
The Jazz ended the night with a 132-105 win. They were the better team from start to finish. The Pacers fell to 23-17 with the loss.
Hield and Andrew Nembhard were Indiana's leading scorers with 14 points. Jalen Smith had 12 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
The Pacers next hit the court on Thursday when they take on the Kings in Sacramento.
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- James Johnson's contract with the Indiana Pacers is guaranteed for the rest of the 2023-24 season. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers win first game in Tyrese Haliburton's absence with a good defensive effort against Washington Wizards. CLICK HERE.
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