Friday, February 28 at 8 p.m. ET at the Smoothie King Center
Halftime Rewind
To come away with a victory in The Big Easy, the Indiana Pacers must complete their biggest comeback of the season.
After turning out the lights, the New Orleans Pelicans (35-25) hold a 74-56 lead over the Pacers (34-26) at halftime at the Smoothie King Center.
The Pacers trailed by as many as 31 points in the first half after the Pelicans gave up an NBA season-high 48 points in the first quarter on 91 percent shooting, making 20 for 22 from the field (5 for 5 out of 3). -point range).
At the break, the Pelicans were shooting 67.4 percent overall compared to 48.9 percent for the Pacers.
Trey Murphy III leads the Pelicans with 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and Brandon Ingram — fresh off a 30-point game against Indiana on Wednesday — has 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting at halftime.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers in scoring with 12 points, and Myles Turner had 10 points and four rebounds.
Indiana’s bench has nearly half of the team’s points so far, 26 thanks in part to nine points from Jalen Smith, eight from TJ McConnell and seven from Bennedict Mathurin.
Indiana received some great news before the game. After missing four straight games with a sprained ankle, Aaron Nesmith returns to the Pacers’ starting lineup tonight.
New Orleans led 48-26 at the end of the first quarter thanks to a hot start.
The Pelicans shot 90.9 percent in the first period, with Ingram going 9 of 11 for 19 points to lead his team. The 48 points were also a first quarter record for the Pelicans and tied their franchise record for points in any quarter.
New Orleans couldn’t miss the start, making seven of its first eight shots, including two 3-pointers from CJ McCollum, to lead 17-9 and force a Pacers timeout with 8:21 left in the first quarter .
The Pelicans continued to shoot out of the break, extending their hot shooting to make 17 of their first 19 while going on a 17-0 run behind Ingram’s 15 points down the stretch to lead 38-16 with 2:49 left. to play in the quarter.
A basket from Obi Toppin stopped the Blue & Gold’s bleeding, but five points from Murphy in the final 41 seconds extended the Pelicans’ lead to 22 points.
The Pacers used a 23-3 scoring run to take the lead midway through the second quarter, but a late explosion by the Pelicans put them back up 21 points.
Murphy’s momentum carried into the second quarter, as he went up 9-0 with two 3-pointers and an and-one to extend the Pelicans’ lead to 57-26 with 10:34 left in halftime.
After another timeout, the Pacers finally got going thanks to strong play from the second unit. From 7:39 to 4:16, the Pacers went on a 15-0 run behind five points from Nesmith and four from McConnell.
In the final 3:17 of the half, the Pelicans used a 17-7 run, where McCollum scored seven points, and Murphy hit two 3-pointers – including one at the buzzer from 27 feet – to keep a big advance.
Indiana has been outscored 19-18 so far and outscored 34-32 in the paint.
Broadcast information (TV and Radio Programs >>)
TV: Bally Sports Indiana – Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)
Tickets
The Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m. ET. Find tickets >>
