Pacers put together huge comeback win over New Orleans
By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers returned to action with a bang on Friday night. They trailed by 20 points, played without Myles Turner, and still managed to get the win by a final score of 126-111 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Only one team showed rust in the early going from the lay-off, and that was the Pacers. They turned the ball over on four of their first five possessions and trailed 12-4 out of the gate. The Pelicans then took at 35-24 lead after the 1st quarter, before pushing their lead to 71-58 at halftime. New Orleans shot 58% from the field in the first half, including 8-of-16 from 3.
But in the second half, it was a different story. Wesley Matthews went off in the 3rd quarter, and he led the Pacers with 24 points. He connected for six 3’s in his third game with the team.
“It was a great game for him,” said teammate Darren Collison. “I’m glad he’s starting to feel comfortable. When he’s confident, we’re all confident. It was a great pickup for us.”
Collison had quite the game himself. He dished out 12 assists and only had one turnover, to go along with 10 points on the night.
“He’s having to initiate a lot for us without Victor (Oladipo),” said Pacers Head Coach Nate McMillan. “He is the guy in that first group that we’re running most of our sets with. We need him to be efficient, and he was tonight.”
For the 27th time this season, the Pacers had six players in double-figures, which leads the NBA. The Pacers are 20-7 in those games. With the win on Friday, they also improved to 10-3 in home games without Victor Oladipo. Now, they’ll look to improve on their 5-6 record on the road without Oladipo.
Indiana will travel to Washington on Saturday night on the second night of a back-to-back. “We remember what they did to us last time in Washington,” said Doug McDermott. “We’ll have that in the back of our minds.”
