Friday, Jan. 6 at 7:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Game Preview
The Pacers are hoping to keep the good times rolling at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday night. Indiana (21-18) will be vying for its fifth straight home win when Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers (19-18) come to town.
The Blue & Gold swept a four-game homestand as the calendar flipped to 2023. They very nearly won a fifth straight game on Wednesday night in Philadelphia, but ultimately dropped a thriller.
The Pacers erased a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter and led 120-116 in the final minute of regulation, but a pair of costly turnovers allowed the Sixers to tie the game. Philadelphia ultimately prevailed in overtime, 129-126.
Still, the Pacers return to Indianapolis playing some of their best basketball this season. Two players that have really come on strong as of late are Buddy Hield and Bennedict Mathurin.
Hield made six more 3-pointers on Wednesday and has now made at least four threes in seven consecutive games. If he can do it again on Friday, he would be just the fifth player in NBA history to make four or more 3-pointers in eight straight contests (LaMelo Ball and Fred VanVleet have done it once, James Harden has done it three times, and Stephen Curry has accomplished the feat on eight different occasions).
Mathurin scored 19 points and went 9-for-10 from the free throw line on Wednesday. The rookie guard continues to show an uncanny knack for getting to the charity stripe. He has attempted 10 free throws in each of his last three games, 45 over his last five contests, and 233 on the season -- almost 100 more than the next-closest player on the Pacers roster (Myles Turner with 137 free-throw attempts).
The Blazers have hovered just above .500 for much of the season and are coming off a 113-106 loss on Wednesday in Minnesota.
Portland's strengths are on the offensive end, where the Blazers score at an efficient rate. They rank ninth in the NBA in offensive rating, scoring 114.2 points per 100 possessions, and third in the league in 3-point percentage (38.2 percent).
All-Star guard Damian Lillard is averaging a team-high 27.4 points and 7.2 assists per game and attempts a nightly average of 11 3-pointers, the second-highest average attempts in the league behind Curry.
Lillard's supporting cast includes forward Jerami Grant (22.5 points per game, .452 3-point percentage), young guard Anfernee Simons (22.4 points and 4.0 assists per contest), and veteran big man Jusuf Nurkic (14.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per night).
Projected Starters
Pacers: G - Tyrese Haliburton, G - Andrew Nembhard, F - Buddy Hield, F - Aaron Nesmith, C - Myles Turner
Trail Blazers: G - Damian Lillard, G - Anfernee Simons, F - Josh Hart, F - Jerami Grant, C - Jusuf Nurkic
Injury Report
Pacers: Kendall Brown - out (right tibia stress reaction), Isaiah Jackson - out (G League assignment), Daniel Theis - out (right knee surgery)
Trail Blazers: Jusuf Nurkic - probable (non-COVID illness), Jerami Grant - questionable (left quad contusion), Gary Payton II - questionable (right ankle sprain), Nassir Little - out (right femoral head impaction fracture), Justise Winslow - out (left ankle sprain)
Last Meeting
Dec. 4, 2022: Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers used a 39-point third quarter to seize control en route to a 116-100 victory over Indiana. It was the fourth loss for the Pacers over the first five games of their seven-game Western Conference road trip.
The Pacers were without starting point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who was sidelined with a sore left groin, and backup T.J. McConnell, who missed the game with a non-COVID illness.
Veterans Myles Turner and Buddy Hield did their best to carry the Indiana offense in Haliburton's absence. Turner finished with 24 points and nine rebounds, going 10-for-16 from the field and 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Hield added 22 points and 11 boards, while going 4-for-9 from beyond the arc, but it wasn't enough.
Jerami Grant scored a game-high 28 points for Portland, as all five Blazers starters finished in double figures. One night after scoring a career-high 45 in a win over Utah, Anfernee Simons tallied 22 points and six assists on 5-of-9 3-point shooting.
Lillard, back after missing seven consecutive games with a calf injury, added 21 points and six assists, going 5-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Noteworthy
- With a win on Friday, the Pacers would split the season series with the Trail Blazers for the fourth straight year.
- The Pacers are 13-7 at home this season. Their four-game win streak at Gainbridge Fieldhouse is their longest home win streak of the season.
- Mathurin was drafted sixth overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, one spot before Portland selected Shaedon Sharpe with the seventh pick.
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)
Tickets
The Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, Jan. 6 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>