Game Rewind: Pacers 85, Trail Blazers 95

The Pacers got off to a better start on Saturday night, but a disastrous second quarter doomed Indiana (7-17) to a 95-85 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers (18-6).

Indiana has now lost eight straight games for the first time in five seasons. The Blue-and-Gold last lost eight in a row from Dec. 18-30, 2009.

Portland outscored Indiana 36-15 in the second quarter. Those 36 points were the most by a Pacers opponent in any single quarter this season. The Blazers shot a blistering 78 percent from the field in the quarter, making 14-of-18 attempts. The Pacers, meanwhile, were just 6-of-20 in the period (30 percent).

"We're just not playing good enough," Pacers forward David West said after the loss. "That's what Coach said. It just wasn't good enough. We gave them too big of a second quarter and that was basically the ball game."

The second quarter spoiled the Pacers' best start in several games. Indiana won the first quarter, 23-22. The Blue-and-Gold had lost the first quarter in five straight games and six of seven contests, falling into a significant hole on many occasions.

Rodney Stuckey and Roy Hibbert led the attack in the first quarter. Hibbert, who had amassed just 10 points and five rebounds over the past two games, had six points and five boards in his first 8:26 of action. Stuckey scored seven points, including a layup that gave the Pacers the lead with 28 seconds remaining in the quarter, and also grabbed five rebounds.

But the good vibes from the first quarter didn't carry over. The Blazers opened the period with an 11-2 run, hitting 3-pointers on back-to-back-to-back possessions, two by Wesley Matthews and one by Steve Blake. Portland reeled off another 8-0 run midway through the period and stretched their lead to 20 on Damian Lillard's layup just before the halftime buzzer.

"They made threes," Stuckey said of the quarter. "They got the lead up. And they never looked back. We took our foot off the gas pedal just for a short period of time, and that lead went up to 15, 16 points. (Against) a team like that, you can’t do that."

The Blazers stretched their lead to as many as 29 points midway through the third quarter before Indiana mounted an admirable charge. The Pacers scored the final seven points of the third and the first five of the fourth to cut deficit to 11 with 9:43 remaining.

The Blazers, meanwhile, missed their 12 of their first 13 shots to open the fourth quarter and managed just two points until 4:28 remaining in the game. But Indiana failed to take advantage, never getting closer than eight points.

C.J. Watson led the Blue-and-Gold with a season-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting (4-of-5 from 3-point range). Watson scored 12 of his 23 points in the third quarter. Stuckey added 14 points and set a new career high with 14 rebounds.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Blazers. Lillard added 18 points and four assists.

The Pacers will look to snap their skid on Monday night, when they host Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse at 7:00 p.m. ET.

"We've got to figure it out," West said. "The games keep coming, and in a couple days we've got another chance to get a win."

The Pacers shot just 38.6 percent from the field, finishing under 40 percent for fifth time during their eight-game skid. Overall, Indiana has shot 40.8 percent over the past eight games.

Portland outscored the Pacers in the paint, 44-34. The Blue-and-Gold has been oustcored in the paint over their last four games by an average of 11.5 points.

Stuckey's double-double was his first since Dec. 26, 2012. It was just the third time in eight NBA seasons that he had 10 or more rebounds. He last accomplished that feat on Jan. 20, 2010.

In addition to Watson and Stuckey, three other Pacers players finished in double figures. David West scored 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting, surpassing 12,000 career points on a jumper in the third quarter. Hibbert finished with 10 points and 10 boards for his team-leading sixth double-double of the season. Luis Scola added 10 points off the bench.

Portland's 13 points in the fourth quarter were the fewest the Pacers have allowed in a quarter all season. It was also the worst scoring quarter for the Blazers on the year.

"I was happy with the first unit. They came out and played well. Obviously the dam broke in the second quarter." -Pacers head coach Frank Vogel

"We're not making shots at a high rate. I thought tonight we should have taken some shots we didn't take and that's because we weren't knocking them down. We've just got to figure it out. We've got to look at all possibilities." -West

"I was just trying to go out there and help our bigs rebound. It was one of the big things we emphasized today. We knew that Lopez (Robin) and Aldridge (LaMarcus) and Kaman (Chris) were going to be on the offensive boards and stuff so we had to help rebound, our guards did, I was just trying to really focus on that today." -Stuckey on his career-high 14 rebounds

"I know what David West and Roy Hibbert can do, George Hill will be back soon and C.J. Watson is starting to get his legs back. Hopefully those guys are rounding into shape to elevate our game. We just have to keep working at it every day, try to improve each day." -Vogel on what gives him optimism

"It’s just frustrating losing. Last year we didn’t have a streak like this, and I feel for our older guys. You want to give it your all for some of the older guys’ sake. It’s just not happening for us right now.” -Pacers forward Solomon Hill

"I was really pleased with our attitude and demeanor coming in this game after two losses. Defense was really good in the first half and offensively we were really good. Our bench in the first half came in and really gave us a boost which allowed us to rest the starters. All the guys coming off the bench in the first half had a positive impact in the game." -Blazers head coach Terry Stotts

"Our second unit was huge for us. They came off the bench and did some really good things in the second quarter and gave us a little cushion to play with." -Blazers center Robin Lopez

This was an easy choice on a night like this: Portland's second-quarter domination was the clear difference in this one. Not only did the Blazers score 36 points, but they made 14-of-18 shots (77.8 percent), the highest shooting percentage allowed by the Pacers in a quarter this season.

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