Raegan Walsh

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Saturday, March 16 at 7:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

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Game Recap: Pacers 121, Nets 100

After a first half of five lead changes, the Indiana Pacers were able to close out a win in their first matchup this season against the Brooklyn Nets.

Neither team led by more than nine points in the first half, but Indiana’s ability to hold the Nets to just five buckets on 18 attempts in the third quarter allowed the Pacers to set themselves up for a massive fourth quarter, where they’d extend their lead to as many as 27 points.

Indiana managed to hold the Nets to just 43 points in the second half by outscoring Brooklyn, 35-22, in the final frame.

The Blue and Gold were led by Pascal Siakam’s 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the floor. In the win, Siakam recorded his 11th double-double of the season by also pulling down 11 rebounds to go along with four assists and three steals.

Five other Pacers ended the night in double figures. Aaron Nesmith pitched in 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor to go along with four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Players who followed behind were Tyrese Haliburton (14), T.J McConnell (13), Myles Turner (11), and Ben Sheppard (11).

PLAYOFF PICTURE: Track the Latest Standings, Potential Matchups, and More >>

After Brooklyn won the tip and scored its first two points in its first possession, Indiana put itself on the board with a step-back jumper from Siakam a minute into the play. The Nets drilled a 3-pointer twenty seconds later, but the score would remain 5-2 for the next roughly minute and a half until Siakam scored another bucket at 9:05.

Within the first four minutes of play, each team had only made two buckets apiece, with Indiana attempting six and Brooklyn attempting eight.

Nesmith was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three free throws to give Indiana its first lead of the night, 7-5, at 8:03. While the Pacers went 1-of-4 for the next three minutes, the Nets shot a perfect 4-of-4 to gain a four-point lead, 13-9.

McConnell’s entrance to the game added momentum for the Blue and Gold, as his first touch of the ball was an intercepted Brooklyn pass. After the steal, McConnell ran down the court and lobbed the ball to Obi Toppin in the lane, who found Myles Turner under the basket for a layup to cut the deficit to two points.

After succumbing to a seven-point deficit, the Blue and Gold went on a 7-2 scoring run to bring the score to 20-18 with three minutes remaining in the first frame. Out of a timeout, Brooklyn scored seven uncontested points of its own over the next two minutes to extend its lead to nine points, 27-18.

Following two buckets from McConnell that shrunk the deficit to six points,  Sheppard hit a 3-pointer to put Indiana behind by three, 28-25, with 21.6 seconds left in the quarter. Lonnie Walker IV hit a layup to give the Nets a 30-25 lead at the conclusion of the frame.

Nesmith led the first quarter for the Pacers as he recorded eight points on a 2-of-2 shooting clip from the floor and 4-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe.

The teams went basket-for-basket to open the second frame, with Indiana keeping the deficit under seven points. An 8-2 run, started from a Sheppard free throw at 9:42 and capped off at 8:29 with a Jalen Smith layup, helped Indiana cut the deficit to two points, 38-36. Out of a timeout, Brooklyn hit two 3-pointers that pushed them ahead again to an eight-point lead.

Both teams went scoreless from 7:18-5:58 when Andrew Nembhard ended the scoring drought and drilled a 3-pointer. A minute later, Siakam picked up a rebound and put the ball back for a layup to bring Indiana within one point.

Nesmith earned Indiana another lead when he capped off a 6-0 scoring run with a 3-pointer at 4:44 that forced a Brooklyn timeout. This lead would not last long as Day'Ron Sharpe added on a quick layup to tie the game out of the timeout.

After the Nets extended their lead to as much as four points over the next minute and a half, two free throws and a layup from Siakam tied up the game again. Turner gave Indiana the advantage with a made layup at 1:32, and a three-point play from Nesmith put the Blue and Gold ahead by four points with 36.1 seconds remaining to play in the half. Two free throws from Cam Thomas allowed Brooklyn to end the half only trailing by two points.

To open the second half, Indiana extended its lead to four points with a layup from Siakam in its second possession. A small 6-2 scoring run from the Nets put Brooklyn closed the gap and put Brooklyn ahead by one point.

The lead would not last long, however, as Indiana soon found its long-awaited groove.

A 3-pointer from Nembhard put Indiana back in front at 8:01 and jumpstarted an eventual 21-9 scoring run that pushed the Blue and Gold to a lead. At 5:31, Haliburton followed up a made jumper with a steal on the other end of the court that he finished off with a fast break layup, putting Indiana ahead 75-68.

At 3:14, Nesmith swiped the ball from Cam Johnson, who was going up for a layup, and passed the ball down the court to Haliburton. Haliburton threw a no-look lob pass to a wide-open Toppin in the key, who finished off a spinning dunk to put Indiana ahead, 83-70. All-Star Haliburton ended the quarter with nine points on a 4-of-7 shooting clip.

While making their offensive push, earning themselves as much as a 15-point lead on one occasion, Indiana held the Nets to just five buckets on 18 attempts within the quarter. Indiana finished the third frame ahead, 86-78.

McConnell got the Pacers going to start the fourth frame as he drilled a 3-pointer to give the Blue and Gold a nine-point lead. After this, Indiana shot 5-of-6 from the floor to cruise ahead to a 16-point lead roughly three minutes later.

The Blue and Gold continued full speed ahead through the next few minutes, earning themselves a 19-point lead from a 3-point trey by Haliburton at 5:54, which also capped off a 20-7 scoring run.

The Pacers scored 13 uncontested points from 4:06 to 1:56 to push them ahead to a 27-point lead from a dunk from Kendall Brown. Indiana finished the game ahead by 21 points after ending the game outscoring the Nets, 35-22, in the final frame.

For the Nets, Brooklyn was led by Thomas’ 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the floor and 6-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe. Four other players ended the night in double-figure scoring, including Johnson (14), Schroder (13), Trendon Watford (12), and Dorian Finney-Smith (12).

Indiana was led in scoring by Pascal Siakam’s 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the floor. Siakam also recorded a double-double by pulling down 11 rebounds to go along with four assists and three steals.

Six Pacers ended the night in double-figure scoring.

The Pacers scored the Nets, 82-42, in the paint, and outrebounded them, 50-45.

Indiana shot 15-of-16 from the charity stripe in the win. Siakam (6-of-6), Nesmith (5-of-5), Sheppard (2-of-2) and Turner (1-of-1) contributed to the 93.8 percent shooting.

McConnell’s 13 points and Sheppard’s 11 points helped the Pacers reserves outscore the Nets reserves, 45-37.

Indiana recorded 13 steals to Brooklyn’s eight steals.

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Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability (vs. Brooklyn Nets) | March 16, 2024

“It was grit and guts that got the game won tonight. Anything less, it wouldn’t have happened.” -Head coach Rick Carlisle on the game

"It’s an emphasis in every game, and there have been some recent games where we didn’t do a good job of getting into the paint, and we paid the price. […] And then of course, we wanted to keep them out of the paint. [...] Holding those guys to 43 points (over the final two quarters) is an accomplishment. I think it just shows what we’re capable of defensively. On nights where we’re not shooting the ball from three well, like tonight, we’re shooting 20 percent, you got to have a 43-point half to be able to finish the game off." -Carlisle on dominating points in the paint

“We did a great job effort-wise from the jump. I thought we played hard, played with focus for 48 minutes.” -Nesmith on Indiana's defense

"Pascal was great tonight. He was great on offense. [...] And defensively he had his best game. It wasn’t even close. The play where he blitzed the pick-and-roll on the sideline and made the loose ball play (early in the fourth quarter) turned the game. Proud of him. This is what the top players have to do. These guys have to set the tone and make get-your-hands-dirty loose ball plays that don’t show up in the stat sheet." -Carlisle on Siakam's all-around impact

“Everyone’s learning. It’s easy to be like, oh, it’s been 25 games. But it takes a lot more for you to continue to learn about each other, our tendencies. I think we’re just going to continue to get better. And we’ve got to peak at the right time. That’s the focus we’ve got to have. All these games are hard. Continue to work hard, but just know that April, May, June — that’s when we want to play our best basketball.” -Siakam on getting more comfortable in Indiana

"He’s a phenomenal player to have, a phenomenal person to have on our team. Any time we have slow offense and we need help getting a basket, getting a bucket, you know you can just throw it to him and he’ll make something great happen.” -Nesmith on Siakam’s value

"He brings an energy and a level of speed to the game at both ends that is really important to us. And I just love the way he steps into his shots. […] He steps in with the same kind of conviction on each shot, the same process on each shot. That’s all that you can ask of a young player." -Carlisle on Sheppard's contributions

“Ben has always been a good defender. He’s always had really good feet, he plays with hands out, doesn’t foul much…Shepp is going to be a big-time defender in this league, a big-time player, in my opinion.” -Nesmith on Ben Sheppard

“With T.J. (McConnell), the pace and everything, I think it works well for me also. Just making sure that he has another option out there that he can go to whenever. I love playing with those guys, we play hard, bring the energy. I like those type of units.” -Siakam on getting consistent minutes playing with the second unit

After a first half that ended, 59-57, with neither team leading by more than nine points, the second half was the game-changer for Indiana. With the help of a fourth frame where they outscored the Nets, 35-22, the Pacers held Brooklyn to just 43 points in the second half on 14-of-37 shooting from the floor. In the final quarter, a 13-0 scoring run from 4:20 to 1:56 helped Indiana cruise to their largest lead of the night of 27 points.

The Pacers wrap up their homestand by welcoming Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday, March 18 at 7:00 PM ET.&nbsp;Find Tickets >>

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Game Rewind: Pacers 121, Nets 100

When the Pacers meet the Nets on Saturday night, it will have been roughly 15 months since they last faced off.

Saturday’s contest will look very different than the last time the two teams met Dec. 10, 2022. This is in part due to the fact both teams were active in the offseason and in making mid-season trades, but also because Brooklyn had eight players, including seven of its leading scorers and all five of its usual starters, sit out of its 136-133 comeback victory at Gainbridge Fieldhouse that night.

Since then, Indiana has added new key players to its roster, including Pascal Siakam, Obi Toppin, Ben Sheppard, and Jarace Walker. In Brooklyn, the Nets added eight new players, including guard Lonnie Walker IV, in the offseason, and recently picked up Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and Dennis Schröder through mid-season trades. Bridges and Johnson were involved in the blockbuster Feb. 2023 trade that sent 16-year pro Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns.

The sixth-place ranked Pacers enter the matchup following a 132-129 loss to the Chicago Bulls in their second game of a back-to-back Wednesday night. Myles Turner led the way for Indiana with 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor, while Siakam added 17 points and nine rebounds and Haliburton contributed 17 points and 14 assists.

Turner’s 27-point outing was his second game with at least 20 points this week, as he recorded 24 points on 11-of-17 shooting in the Pacers victory at Oklahoma City Tuesday night. Turner has now recorded 23 20-point games this season and has helped the Blue and Gold go 15-8 when he scores at least 20 points. The center has also shot 53.8 percent (35-of-65) from the floor over Indiana’s past five games, in which the Pacers won three of the five.

T.J. McConnell, who recorded 16 points on Wednesday, has provided a spark off the bench as of late by averaging 14.5 points over Indiana’s past six games and scoring in double digits in four of those contests. All-Stars Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam continue to impress as usual, averaging 19.4 points and 18.4 points respectively over the past five games.

The 11th-ranked Brooklyn Nets enter the matchup following a 114-106 loss to the Orlando Magic Wednesday night, which handed them their third loss over their last six games.

The Nets are led by the sixth-year pro forward Bridges, who is averaging career-highs in points (20.9 ppg), rebounds (4.7 rpg) and assists (3.8 apg) in his first season with the Nets. Eleven-year NBA guard Schröder, the newest addition to the team, is averaging 14.5 points per contest in his 15 games with the Nets.

Cam Thomas, who only made four starts last season, will be looking to start for the 37th time this season on Saturday. The guard is averaging 21.3 points this season and has averaged 30 points over Brooklyn’s most recent two games since missing six consecutive games with a right ankle sprain.

Pacers: G - Tyrese Haliburton, G - Andrew Nembhard, F - Aaron Nesmith, F - Pascal Siakam, C - Myles Turner

Nets: G - Dennis Schroder, G - Cam Thomas, F - Mikal Bridges, F - Dorian Finney-Smith, C - Nic Claxton

Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin - out (right shoulder labral tear), Doug McDermott - out (right calf strain)

Nets: Noah Clowney - out (G League assignment), Ben Simmons - out (left lower back nerve impingement), Dariq Whitehead - out (left shin stress reaction)

Dec. 10, 2022: Indiana suffered a surprise 136-133 loss to the short-handed Brooklyn Nets in the most recent meeting between the two teams last season. Though eight players were sidelined for the game, including seven of their leading scorers and all five of their usual starters, the Nets were able to pull off the win with a strong fourth quarter.

The Pacers held a 117-108 advantage midway through the fourth frame, but a 12-3 Brooklyn scoring run tied the game with less than four minutes remaining, forcing the game to come down to the wire. Brooklyn scored 41 points in the final frame to Indiana’s 33 points with the help of Cam Thomas’ 21 fourth-quarter points.

Despite the loss, Tyrese Haliburton had a career-night, recording a season-high 35 points and a new career-high seven 3-pointers. Six other Pacers ended the night in double-figures, including Buddy Hield (17 points), Myles Turner (16 points), Oshae Brissett (14 points), Jalen Smith (13 points), Bennedict Mathurin (13 points) and Aaron Nesmith (12 points).

Thomas led the way for the Nets with 33 points, while Patty Mills followed behind with 24 points. In addition, Edmond Sumner scored 21 points and Day’Ron Sharpe recorded 20 points. The Nets outrebounded Indiana 59-30 overall and 29-7 on the offensive glass.

Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings >>)

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)

The Pacers continue their homestand by hosting Mikal Bridges and the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, March 16 at 7:00 PM ET.&nbsp;Find Tickets >>

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Game Preview: Pacers vs Nets

Sunday, March 10 at 6:00 PM ET at Kia Center

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Game Recap: Pacers 111, Magic 97

The Pacers used a bit of their own magic to complete the comeback win over Orlando Sunday night.

After being down 15 points on one occasion in the second quarter, Indiana sealed the win with a massive third quarter where they outscored the home team 39-21.

Indiana was led in scoring by Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, who both contributed 20 points on six buckets and seven free throws made apiece. Haliburton neared a triple-double with a team-high eight assists and seven rebounds, while Siakam also contributed seven rebounds.

Obi Toppin and T.J. McConnell’s 17 points each helped to supplement Bennedict Mathurin's absence. The Pacers were also supported by Aaron Nesmith’s 16 points and Myles Turner’s 12 points, eight rebounds and season-high six blocked shots.

Magic forward Franz Wagner recorded Orlando’s first three points, but a layup from Siakam in response put Indiana on the board directly after at 10:48, cutting the deficit to one-point, 3-2.

From there, Indiana’s offense turned ice cold as they missed their next six shots over the course of the following five minutes. Though Orlando's offense was not at its best either, making just five shots on 13 attempts in the first six minutes of play, they jumped ahead to a 12-2 lead.

Coming out of a timeout, McConnell entered the game for the first time and got the Pacers rolling with a baseline jumper at 6:04 and a layup thirty seconds later. Orlando would soon extend its lead with two buckets from Joe Ingles, putting itself ahead 17-6.

During an Orlando possession directly following a Myles Turner layup, McConnell intercepted a pass, ran down the court and found Obi Toppin at the rim who dunked the lobbed pass, cutting the advantage to seven points, 17-10.

Indiana kept the game from getting away from them by holding Orlando to only four made buckets on 10 attempts in the final six minutes of the quarter. Two made free throws from Siakam and a jumper from McConnell, after having drawn an offensive foul the play before, put the Pacers within four points with 33 seconds remaining in the frame. Orlando gave themselves a six-point buffer with a Cole Anthony bucket as the quarter ended, while the Blue & Gold did not convert in their final possession.

Orlando took a 27-18 lead to start the second frame with the help of three made free throws, while Indiana missed its first four shot attempts. After two minutes of second-quarter play, Aaron Nesmith earned Indiana its first two points of the frame with a pair of free throws.

A 11-4 scoring run for Orlando propelled them to a 15-point lead, 35-20, at 9:23.

The tides soon turned for Indiana as a McConnell layup at 8:53 jumpstarted an eventual 20-8 Indiana scoring run. At 7:31, Haliburton earned himself a defensive rebound and passed the ball to Toppin, who had been sprinting the length of the court, for a layup. Almost a minute later, Haliburton made his first bucket of the night with a 3-pointer and soon after rattled off two free throws to quickly cut the deficit to six points at 6:13.

Indiana and Orlando went basket-for-basket over the next four minutes. At 1:41, Siakam made a layup that shrunk the deficit to three points; the last time the score had been that close was at 9:40 in the first quarter. However, Paolo Banchero quickly responded with a 3-pointer to put Orlando ahead by six.

After Haliburton knocked down a free throw from a technical foul, a hook shot from Siakam brought the deficit back down to three points with 44 seconds remaining in the half. A pair of free throws from Wagner was met with a bucket from Isaiah Jackson to allow the Pacers to head into the locker room trailing by three points, 50-47.

The Pacers tied the score at 50 with their first possession of the half after Haliburton dished out a pass to Nesmith who drained a 3-pointer. Orlando responded with three points, but two buckets from Haliburton earned Indiana its first lead of the game, 54-53, at the 10:44 mark of the third quarter.

While Orlando opened the second half 2-of-6 from the floor, Indiana opened 5-of-7 to propel them to a 60-55 lead at 9:08. Over the next roughly two minutes, each team added only one basket a piece, allowing Indiana to hold a lead of 63-59.

Haliburton drove to the hoop and hit a hook shot at 6:07 to give Indiana an eight-point lead, 67-59.

The final four minutes of the third quarter was where Indiana found its groove, completely reversing the momentum of the game. A 16-6 scoring run, fueled by eight points from Toppin on a 3-of-3 shooting clip from the field, allowed Indiana to take as much as a 15-point advantage.

Indiana shot 15-of-22 from the floor in the third frame while its defense held the Magic to just seven buckets on 21 attempts. The Blue and Gold outscored Orlando 39-21 in the third quarter with the help of nine points from Haliburton and eight points apiece from Nesmith and Toppin.

From down 15 points to up 15 points, Indiana entered the final quarter ahead, 86-71.

Orlando hit the ground running to start the fourth frame, going 5-of-6 from the floor to cut the deficit to ten points, 93-83. Anthony’s seven points played a large part in the offensive push.

Though the Magic made a run, the Pacers kept themselves a comfortable distance away. Indiana earned itself its largest lead of the game when McConnell picked up a deflected pass, ran down the court and handed the ball off to Toppin, who finished the play with a layup to put Indiana ahead, 96-83, with 7:46 to play.

Orlando’s only point for roughly three minutes came from a free throw. The Magic scored six unanswered points over the next two minutes to cut the deficit to single digits, 99-90, at 4:45. Orlando would continue to try to chip away at Indiana’s lead, cutting it to seven points with 2:02 to play, but the Blue & Gold held on by scoring seven unanswered points to close out the game.

For Orlando, Banchero led the Magic with 19 points, while Wendell Carter Jr. ended the night with 13 points and 15 rebounds. In addition, Anthony recorded 16 points and Wagner pitched in 13 points.

Indiana had six players end the night in double figure scoring, with five of them scoring at least 16 points. Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam led the way with 20 points each.

T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin led the Pacers reserves with 17 points apiece.

Myles Turner totaled a season-high six blocks.

Aaron Nesmith logged his 300th career 3-pointer in the third quarter.

Indiana held Orlando to 97 points, the lowest amount an opponent has scored against them all season.

Indiana scored 21 points off of Orlando’s 13 turnovers.

The victory in Orlando gave Indiana its 12th win this season when trailing by at least 10 points at one time in the game.

The Pacers dished out 20 assists. Haliburton led the team in assists with eight, while McConnell followed behind with six.

The Pacers outscored the Magic 39-21 in the third quarter, as they shot 15-of-22 (68.2 percent) from the floor to Orlando’s 7-of-21 (33.3 percent).

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Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability (at Orlando Magic) | March 10, 2024

"There just was a level of determination that we needed to have. Even in the first quarter when we were struggling to score, you know, we held them to 24 points. That's a number you can work with even if you're having trouble getting the ball in the basket. Everyone was committed to sitting down and trying to keep these guys off the rim, out of the paint as much as possible, and then I think our rebounding picked up in the second half." - Head Coach Rick Carlisle on the comeback effort

"Where we are right now in the season, they're all really important. So just taking it one game at a time and being locked in for the full 48 [minutes]. I mean that's just the message that I'm trying to send across. And that's the message we're all sending to each other. Just to be locked in for the entirety of the game because at this point in the season all of [the games] are important, especially for where we are trying to go." - McConnell on staying locked in for the rest of the regular season

"A lot of different guys contributed protecting the rim. I thought Myles was amazing protecting the rim. I thought he did a great job coming down helping rebound, but also blocking shots. The way they play is so rim oriented, so we just made a big focus on protecting the rim, having a tight paint, kinda spreading out just keeping guys in front." - Haliburton on defense

"They're one of the better teams that get in the paint and finish at the rim. We try to make an emphasis to try to cut that down some. They're a physical team and they try to assert themselves, but I think we did a good job of taking on the challenge and getting things done." - Turner on Orlando's front court

"When we lock in defensively, that leads us to the thing that we're most elite at, the transition. We were locked in on that end and got some steals and we were able to get out and run it. It opened the game for us in the third [quarter]." - McConnell on defense

"Because they had the lead we let them dictate the pace. And when we were able to get stops and get a lead in the third quarter, we then dictated the pace. When we're dictating the pace of a basketball game, we're really hard to play against. There's not many teams out there that want to play our style of basketball, getting up and down that fast." - Haliburton on offensive pace

"These are all playoff games. You need your best competitors in the game as early as possible [...] We needed [T.J. McConnell] tonight, and truthfully it was hard getting him out of the game, he played so well. I'm a big believer in involving the bench early and we needed everyone tonight." - Carlisle on bench players getting more minutes tonight

After trailing by 15 points in the second quarter, the Pacers used a massive third quarter to eventually take over the game and lead the Magic by 15 points at the end of the third frame. Nine points from Haliburton and eight points apiece from Nesmith and Toppin fueled the offensive effort in outscoring Orlando 39-21 in the third frame.

The Pacers will be back at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to tip off a three-game homestand against DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, March 13 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>

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Game Rewind: Pacers 111, Magic 97

The Indiana Pacers (35-29) will be seeking out their first win over the Orlando Magic (37-27) this season on Sunday night.

When the Blue and Gold take on the Magic for the third and final time, it will have been roughly two and a half months since the teams last faced off. As of recently, the Pacers are working through a slump coming out of the All-Star break. Though winning their first two games back, they now have lost four of their last six games coming into Sunday night’s matchup.

Though on paper, Indiana ranks number one in the league in points (123.3 ppg) and assists (30.8 apg) to Orlando’s 110.9 points and 24.5 assists per game, two unexpected stories were written in the previous matchups between the teams when Orlando defeated Indiana in both contests at Gainbridge Fieldhouse earlier this season. The Magic make up for what they lack with their defensive strength, ranking fourth in the league with a 111.3 defensive rating.

On Thursday, the Pacers suffered a close 113-111 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Despite shooting 51.2 percent (42-of-82) from the field to Minnesota’s 46.9 percent (46-of-98), the Pacers were ultimately taken out by the best defense in the league who outscored Indiana 66-60 in the paint and outrebounded the home team 48-39.

Pascal Siakam contributed 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting, while Tyrese Haliburton followed close behind with 23 points and 13 assists. In addition, Jalen Smith added 14 points off the bench on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting clip.

Siakam has recorded six 20-point games in the Pacers’ most recent nine matchups and has averaged 20.6 points in his 23 games in a Pacers uniform. Myles Turner has also added significant minutes for the Blue and Gold, contributing four double-doubles and averaging 17 points per game in the Pacers’ most recent eight matchups.

The Pacers will have had two days of rest entering their matchup at Orlando.

The Magic enter the matchup following an unusual 98-74 loss to the New York Knicks Friday night. As of Feb. 14, Orlando had won eight of their last nine games entering Friday night’s contest and were averaging 110 points per game, but ultimately their 34.2 percent shooting (27-of-79) sealed their fate against the Knicks.

All-Star forward Paolo Banchero still ended the contest with a near double-double, recording 23 points and nine rebounds to go along with four blocks. This season, Banchero has averaged a team-leading 22.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. When playing Indiana, the forward has averaged 29 points in the two matchups between the teams, supported by a 34-point outing in their most recent contest.

The sibling duo of starting forward Franz Wagner and reserve center Moritz Wagner has been a must-watch this season. Franz Wagner is averaging 20.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game this season, while his brother ranks 10th in the NBA in points off the bench averaging 11.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

In addition, the Magic have recently jumped to a fifth place ranking in the Eastern Conference, with Indiana holding out at eighth place.

Magic: G - Anthony Black, G - Gary Harris, F - Franz Wagner, F - Paolo Banchero, C - Wendell Carter Jr.

Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin - out (right shoulder sprain), Doug McDermott - out (right calf strain)

Magic: Wendell Carter Jr. - questionable (sore right knee), Jett Howard - out (G League assignment)

Dec. 23, 2023: Indiana fell to the Orlando Magic for the second time in a month when they were defeated, 117-110, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the most recent matchup between the two teams.

Though trailing by 14 points at haltime, 15 third-quarter points from Myles Turner got Indiana back into the game just in time for the start of the fourth frame. The Pacers got close to overtaking the Magic when they tied the game with 10:27 remaining, but Orlando followed up with seven unanswered points to widen the gap again. The Magic held the lead for the remainder of the matchup.

Tyrese Haliburton recorded his 20th double-double of the season as he ended the night with 29 points and 15 assists. Turner followed behind with 24 points and seven rebounds, Buddy Hield notched 20 points and Andrew Nembhard added 17 points.

Indiana went 15-of-34 (44.1 percent) from 3-point range while the Magic made only six 3-pointers on 18 attempts (33.3 percent). The Magic found significant help from the charity stripe as they shot 33-of-41, while the Pacers went 9-of-13.

The Magic were led by Paolo Banchero’s 34 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the floor. Franz Wagner followed behind with 24 points and six rebounds, while Fishers native Gary Harris recorded 15 points.

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Pat Boylan (studio host)

The Pacers will be back at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to tip off a three-game homestand against DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, March 13 at 7:00 PM ET.&nbsp;Find Tickets >>

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Game Preview: Pacers at Magic

Sunday, Feb. 25 at 5:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

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Game Recap: Pacers 133, Mavericks 111

In the first matchup between the two teams this season, Indiana (33-25) came up victorious at Gainbridge Fieldhouse when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks (33-24), 133-111, Sunday night.

A massive fourth quarter, where a 23-8 scoring run aided the Blue and Gold in taking as much as a 22-point lead, solidified the win for the Pacers and allowed them to snap a seven-game Dallas win streak. Indiana gained the lead at 6:58 in the second quarter and held on to it for the remainder of the game.

Seven Pacers ended the night in double-figures and were led by Myles Turner, who recorded 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor. Tyrese Haliburton recorded 17 points and 10 assists in recording his 33rd double-double of the year.

Andrew Nembhard added 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, while Ben Sheppard came off the bench to record a career-high 15 points, going 5-for-5 from 3-point range. Bennedict Mathurin also recorded 14 points and 11 rebounds to round out his third double-double of the season.

While Indiana struggled to convert in its first two possessions, Dallas sprung ahead to a 5-0 lead with two made buckets from Luka Doncic. It wouldn’t be until the 10:33 minute mark that Turner put the Pacers on the board for the first time with a successful three-point play.

Seconds later, Pascal Siakam swiped away the ball at halfcourt and completed a fastbreak layup to tie the score, 5-5. Another Doncic bucket gave the Mavericks the advantage once again, but the Pacers would not allow Dallas to remain too far out of range by keeping them within six or less points for the majority of the quarter.

Indiana put itself within three points of the lead when Jalen Smith picked up the rebound from a missed jumper by T.J. McConnell and dunked the ball at 4:02. Immediately after, Haliburton batted away the ball from Dallas, which was then found in the hands of Mathurin. Mathurin returned the ball back to the All-Star as he ran down the court and Haliburton completed the fastbreak dunk to put the Blue and Gold behind by one point, 24-23.

Indiana would tie the score twice in the remaining seconds of the quarter. To end the frame, McConnell spun around his defender at the top of the arc and hit a jump shot to tie the game, 32-32, going into the second quarter.

Indiana held on to its momentum found at the end of the first frame and extended a scoring run to 15-6 to start the second quarter. Indiana earned its first lead of the game at 11:37 when a jumper from McConnell put the Pacers ahead, 34-32. The Pacers would then shoot 9-of-11 from the floor in the minutes following.

A minute and a half after taking the lead, two back-to-back 3-pointers from Obi Toppin and Sheppard extended the Pacers lead to five points, 40-35, at 9:35. The Blue and Gold followed up these two plays with a 14-6 scoring run capped off with a Turner layup at 5:30.

Turner led the charge in the second quarter, totaling 10 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting clip.

After five lead changes in the half, a dunk from Turner at 6:58 gave the Pacers the advantage they would keep for the remainder of the half. The lead was extended to eight points two times in the half, once at 3:18 from a Haliburton layup, and again at 1:43 with two made free throws from Siakam.

The Pacers took a seven-point lead going into the half after a quarter of 61.9 percent (13-of-21) shooting from the court. Turner led the way with 15 first-half points, while Haliburton followed behind with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with seven assists.

The first seven minutes of the second half were owned by Turner and Siakam, who combined for the Pacers' first 19 points and led Indiana in increasing its lead to as much as 11 points on one occasion.

Turner, who had 15 of Indiana’s first 19 points, got the second half scoring going for the Blue and Gold as he recorded two free throws and a 3-pointer to put Indiana ahead by 10 points, 72-62, at 10:45. At 9:17, Turner again gave the Pacers their largest lead of 11 points with two more made free throws.

Mathurin put himself on the board for the Pacers when his made layup turned into a three-point play, giving Indiana another 11-point advantage at 4:56. He then took over the offense, scoring Indiana’s next five points.

To close out the quarter, Nembhard found himself on a scoring run of his own as he totaled six points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting clip in the remaining minute and a half of third-quarter play. Nembhard’s final made jumper put Indiana ahead by nine points going into the final frame, 100-91.

Two buckets from McConnell jumpstarted Indiana’s fourth quarter. However, slowing down Dallas was a difficult task as the Mavericks brought a once 11-point lead down to four points in the first three minutes of the frame.

Coming out of a timeout, Sheppard drilled a 3-pointer to put Indiana back ahead by a comfortable seven points, 107-100. After Dallas responded to a Toppin 3-pointer directly after with a dunk, Sheppard once again hit a clutch 3-pointer to force a Dallas timeout as Indiana raced ahead to an 11-point lead, 113-102, at 7:01.

A step-back 3-pointer from Haliburton capped off a 16-4 scoring run at 5:35 and gave Indiana an 18-point lead, 120-102. After stealing the ball at the other end of the floor at 4:26, a layup from Haliburton extended the Pacers’ advantage to 20-points.

A no-look pass from Toppin found Isaiah Jackson for a slam dunk to solidify the win at 1:02. This play gave Indiana its largest lead of the night of 22 points.

For Dallas, Doncic led the visitors in the scoring column, recording 33 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists. After scoring 25 points in the first half, Doncic was held to just eight points in the second.

Kyrie Irving followed behind with 29 points on 10-of-22 shooting and six rebounds, while Josh Green added 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

Seven Pacers ended the night in double-figure scoring, led by Turner’s 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting.

Both Haliburton and Mathurin notched double-doubles in the matchup. Haliburton recorded 17 points and 10 assists, while Mathurin recorded 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Sheppard led the bench in outscoring the Dallas reserves, 42-29.

Indiana recorded 12 steals on the night, with Haliburton leading the team with four steals and Mathurin following behind with three steals.

Indiana shot 55.9 percent (52-of-93) from the floor while holding Dallas to 47.1 percent (41-of-87).

The Pacers dished out 38 assists in comparison to Dallas’ 15 assists.

Indiana outrebounded the Mavericks, 46-38, and outscored them in the paint, 48-36.

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Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability (vs. Dallas Mavericks) | February 25, 2024

“The whole game for us was about our edge, our competitiveness. We wanted to be up the floor, making it difficult and our guys did virtually the whole game. We just wanted to stay aggressive and not look at the scoreboard, and just play the game, play our game.” -Head coach Rick Carlisle on team performance

“I just believe in those guys. They’ve been too important to us all year long. I just wanted to try to time out, and I said ‘we’re okay. Here’s what we gotta do.’ We got to get a couple of really good shots and we’re gonna make it harder on Kyrie. And they did exactly that. I’m proud of those guys. Otherwise, our starters were headed for a boatload of minutes. And this helps us a little bit for tomorrow night.” -Carlisle on keeping the second unit in when the Pacers lead was cut to four

“That means a lot. He brought us together and was just like, ‘We’re good. We’re fine. I trust you guys.’ The second unit came out and provided a bigger lead for the first unit to come in and close the game. It was cool that he trusted us like that. Just playing team basketball.” -Sheppard on Carlisle sticking with the second unit in the fourth quarter when the Mavericks cut the lead to four

“He rebounded tonight, very well again. He was putting pressure on the rim, both with rim runs and with rolls off pick-and-rolls. Tyrese is so good at hitting him at precisely the right moment that he’s able to cause a lot of damage in there. Cause a lot of problems.” -Carlisle on Turner

“It feels great honestly. Just contributing towards something bigger than myself. I think the biggest goal for all of us in here is to get to the playoffs, be a factor and make a run in the playoffs. Being a contributing factor to that is something that means a lot to me. I know it means a lot to the city so just continue to work hard and be the best version of myself.” -Turner on what it means to be playing meaningful games after the All-Star break again

“I thought Nembhard and Mathurin were both great… He made a couple of rebounds in traffic that were really big… And he made key shots at key times. Drew is the guy that everybody takes a little bit for granted… He does a lot of the dirty work. He has quietly gotten into a real offensive groove too.” -Carlisle on Nembhard and Mathurin

“For a young guy, he’s a very good system player and he stays in the process. He’s unphased by the moment. If it’s a good shot he takes it, and if not, he keeps it moving. Defensively, he does a good job with his length and with his feet. He’s been pretty good at avoiding fouls for a rookie. We need him.” -Carlisle on Sheppard

“I do think that he’s starting to come into his own a little bit. I think that the G League experience has helped him a lot in gaining confidence. We’re all always on him to just look at the rim. Sometimes he’s just playing at 150 miles an hour and he’s running up and down the floor, never even looks at the hoop.” -Haliburton on Sheppard

“The message has been clear, these last 24, 25 games whatever it is, what our goals are. We’ve got to take things one game at a time and we were able to come out with a win today.” -Turner on the team’s mindset

Seven Pacers ended the night in double-figure scoring, led by Turner’s 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Haliburton followed behind with 17 points, Nembhard added 15 points, Mathurin recorded 14 points, while Siakam and McConnell both contributed 12 points apiece. In addition, Sheppard recorded a career-high 15 points off the bench on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting clip from beyond the arc.

The Pacers continue their four-game homestand by hosting Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 26 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>

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Game Rewind: Pacers 133, Mavericks 111

The East and West’s sixth-ranked teams will face off Sunday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the first time this regular season.

The Indiana Pacers find themselves with a completely different team since their last matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on March 27, 2023, where they fell 127-104 in Indianapolis. With both Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner absent in that most recent matchup, having them back this go around with the addition of a new Pacer, Pascal Siakam, could make for a different outcome.

The Blue and Gold will also have had two days of rest before taking to the floor for the second game of their four-game homestand.

Indiana enters the matchup following a solid 129-115 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night. In their first game post-All-Star break, the Pacers allowed their fewest points in a half this season as they led at halftime, 72-43.

The six Pacers in double figures were led by All-Star starter Haliburton’s 25 points and 12 assists. T.J. McConnell followed behind with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, Siakam added 20 points, Bennedict Mathurin contributed 15 points while Turner scored 13 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.

Indiana has remained at the top of the league this season in points (123.8 ppg), assists (31.0 apg), field goal percentage (50.8 percent), and points in the paint (57.4 ppg). On the other hand, Dallas ranks far behind in these respective categories, finding itself at seventh in offensive output (118.7 ppg), 22nd in assists (25.6 apg), 13th in field goal percentage (47.8 percent), and 27th for points scored in the paint (46.3 points).

Raegan Walsh

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