Indiana Pacers survive comeback attempt from Houston Rockets for much-needed road win
The Indiana Pacers were in Houston to take on the Rockets on Tuesday night. It was an important outing for the blue and gold, who had lost six of their last seven games. They needed a win badly.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle opted to make a big change to his starting lineup in an attempt to get things back on track. Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Jalen Smith, and Myles Turner opened the game for the blue and gold. They went big and were rewarded for their good play from recent games.
That lineup was going to need to start strong. They had very limited experience together entering the night. Thanks to a barrage of three-point shots, Indiana was ahead 9-8 early in the game.
That lead grew to 14-10 after four minutes. The new-look group was clicking on offense early and helped the blue and gold look threatening to start the game, which was something that hadn't happened in recent duels.
Indiana knocked down their first six three-point shots, and they were up by eight points as the first quarter turned to the later stages at 23-15. The Rockets were doing some good stuff on both ends, but they couldn't keep up as the Pacers drilled every outside shot.
Houston went on a mini-run to cut the advantage to two in the coming minutes. Carlisle took a timeout with his team ahead 25-23. Their advantage was slipping away with their three balls no longer being perfect.
The Rockets tied the game up at 29 with just over one minute to go. They had slowly trimmed the lead for several minutes. The even score remained as the quarter ended at 33-33.
Period number two opened up with a surge from the Rockets. They were clicking on offense and getting just enough stops to create a lead. Carlisle took a timeout a few minutes into the frame with his team down 43-39. Ex-Pacer Aaron Holiday was making plays for Houston.
The home team kept pushing and expanded their lead as the quarter continued. They went up by 10 after just over five minutes of the period had gone by. Indiana's good start was a thing of the past. They were getting thoroughly outplayed.
Indiana found a groove thanks to some effective play from Haliburton, and they were able to slash the lead down to four over the next few moments. To that point, the Pacers were still winning Haliburton's minutes during the game. His impact was immense.
The Pacers were able to continue playing well to close the half. Despite trailing by double digits during the second quarter, the blue and gold were only down three at 67-64 when the break came. Haliburton's 15 points and seven assists led the way.
The second half opened with nice play from the Pacers, who took the lead at 70-69 after a few minutes of play. They needed a good start to the third quarter to stay in the game, and they got it.
Haliburton and Isaiah Jackson were shining early in the quarter. Jackson was making plays on both ends, and Haliburton couldn't miss, scoring 10 quick points. Indiana got their lead up to nine but still had a lot of work to do.
They kept things rolling as the quarter progressed. Haliburton was on fire, and the Pacers defense was playing at a higher level than they were in the first half. Those two successes, in tandem, helped the blue and gold keep their lead. It was much needed after they gave up a first-half lead.
Late in the frame, the Pacers bench came in. They continued the team's excellent play from the earlier parts of the quarter. Nembhard controlled the action, Buddy Hield made threes, and Obi Toppin was solid on both ends.
Indiana wound up taking care of the third period and outscored the Rockets 37-23. They were up 101-90 entering the final frame. It was a much-needed turnaround after the Pacers looked outmatched in the second period.
Dillon Brooks, one of Houston's better defenders, was announced as out for the rest of the game just before the final quarter. That was big for the Pacers. But the Rockets went on a 5-0 run in the first 67 seconds of the fourth period to cut the lead to six, and Carlisle took a timeout.
His team needed to stabilize and keep their lead. Not long after the timeout, with Indiana up by five, Haliburton re-entered the game. They hoped he would get some momentum back.
Houston kept up their energy edge and were able to get the lead down to three fairly quickly. They were playing well after an awful third quarter and even had a few chances to tie it with just over eight minutes to play.
Houston continued to have chances to knot up the score, but they couldn't get any of them to fall. The Pacers, meanwhile, found enough answers to keep their lead. They were up by six points with five minutes to go.
Finally, with 3:22 to go, the Rockets tied the game on a two-point jumper from Jabari Smith Jr. Houston was on a 6-0 run at the time. But Nesmith answered on the other end and gave the Pacers the advantage right back. The ending of this game was going to be a tight one.
With 1:50 to go, the Rockets reclaimed the lead via a bucket from Fred VanVleet. But the Pacers took a timeout and responded. Turner drilled two free throws and Haliburton canned a three on consecutive possessions, and suddenly Indiana was ahead again with about one minute left.
The Pacers close to the game was fantastic. They had presence around the rim on defense and made timely, important plays on offense. The blue and gold grabbed key rebounds, knocked down shots, and made free throws. Those plays were all important in closing out the action.
In the end, Indiana held on to win 123-117. It was their best win since the In-Season Tournament ended, and they climbed back over .500 at 15-14.
Haiburton finished with 33 points and 10 assists. Myles Turner had 18 points. Eight players scored in double figures for Indiana.
The Pacers next play on Thursday when they travel to Chicago to take on the Bulls.
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