Game Rewind: Pacers 133, Clippers 116

Monday, March 25 at 10:30 PM ET at Crypto.com Arena

With under a minute left in the second quarter on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, the Pacers and Clippers were tied at 62. Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton went right off of a screen, then pulled up from the right wing, draining his fifth three in as many attempts in the first half.

Those were the last three points of the half and proved to be the decisive shot, as Indiana (41-32) never relinquished the lead after halftime, pulling away over the final two quarters for a 133-116 victory over the Clippers (44-27) on the second night of a back-to-back.

Pascal Siakam led all scorers with 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting as the Pacers bounced back after the Lakers ended their five-game road winning streak on Sunday night. Myles Turner added 24 points and seven rebounds in the victory, while Haliburton tallied 21 points and nine assists and went 6-for-9 from 3-point range.

"That felt good," Siakam said. "Obviously we've been getting to the paint a lot better. Today we were getting to the paint, but also we got some threes, which is always nice. Ty, when he's shooting like that, we're really hard to beat."

With the win, the Pacers remain in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with nine games remaining in the regular season, moving a game ahead of idle Miami and a game and a half up on Philadelphia, which lost in Sacramento. The top six teams at the end of the regular season advance directly to the playoffs, while the teams that finish seventh through 10th must compete in the Play-In Tournament for the final two playoff spots.

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After scoring 145 on Sunday against the Lakers, the Pacers' offense was still clicking in the first quarter on Monday. Indiana shot 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) in the first quarter, with Turner scoring eight points and Haliburton, Siakam, and T.J. McConnell each adding six in the opening frame.

But the Clippers were even better, going 13-for-19 (68.4 percent), with Kawhi Leonard scoring nine points and Norman Powell adding eight. Los Angeles led 34-29 after the first 12 minutes.

With starting small forward Aaron Nesmith out with a bruised right knee, rookie forward Jarace Walker was thrust into the rotation on Monday. The eighth overall pick produced early in the second quarter, knocking down a three and throwing down a dunk in transition.

With Walker on the floor, the Pacers tied the score four times over the first four minutes of the second quarter, but never managed to take the lead. They finally surged ahead on Haliburton's third 3-pointer of the half with 5:22 remaining in the quarter.

The two teams traded the lead five times over the ensuing two minutes before Haliburton provided some cushion with another three at 3:08 that put Indiana up 59-55.

The Clippers moved back in front briefly thanks to a Terance Mann three and Ivica Zubac putback before Turner's trey put Indiana back in front. Leonard's hook shot tied the game at 62 with 1:09 to play, but Haliburton answered yet again, hitting a three from the right wing to give Indiana a three-point cushion at the break.

Turner helped the Blue & Gold pad that cushion at the start of the third quarter, scoring Indiana's first eight points of the second half on two threes and a layup. Walker's three from the left corner off a crosscourt inbounds pass from Haliburton put the Pacers up 78-68 three minutes into the third quarter.

"You never know which night will be your night, so always staying ready, maintaining your abilities, and just keeping your confidence up even when you're not playing," Walker said of his mentality knowing he was going to get minutes on Monday.

Indiana remained in front for the remainder of the frame. The Clippers got within three after Russell Westbrook's free throw with 2:53 remaining in the quarter cut the lead to 87-84, but the Pacers reeled off six unanswered points in response, four from rookie guard Ben Sheppard.

The Pacers led 97-89 entering the fourth quarter, then opened the final frame with an 8-0 run that included a vicious right hand slam by Siakam.

The visitors continued to add to their lead, pushing the margin to 20 on Sheppard's 3-pointer with 8:05 remaining. Indiana cruised to victory, with both teams emptying their benches down the stretch.

McConnell finished with 15 points and six assists in 23 minutes off the bench. Walker also had a strong night, tallying eight points, four rebounds, and seven assists while hitting all three of his shots.

Leonard and former Pacer Paul George shared leading scorer honors for the Clippers, finishing with 26 points apiece. Powell added 22 points off the bench, while Westbrook tallied 14 points and seven assists.

The Pacers will wrap up a five-game road trip on Wednesday night in Chicago before returning to Indianapolis to host the Lakers on Friday and Brooklyn on Monday.

After scoring 36 points in Sunday's loss to the Lakers, Siakam surpassed 30 points for the second straight game and his third game overall since joining the Pacers via trade on Jan. 17.

Haliburton has been in a shooting slump for the past month and entered the night shooting just 22 percent from 3-point range over 12 games in March, but went 6-for-9 from beyond the arc on Sunday. Haliburton's six 3-pointers were his most in a game since he went 6-for-13 on Dec. 28 in Chicago.

Turner recorded his 26th 20-point game of the season, going 4-for-6 from 3-point range.

McConnell has scored in double figures off the bench in seven straight games and 10 of his last 12 contests.

Walker set a new career high with seven assists. The Pacers outscored the Clippers by 23 points in the 29 minutes he was on the floor, the best plus/minus of any player in Monday's game.

The Pacers committed just eight turnovers on Monday.

"The key guy in the game was Jarace Walker. He came in and he just played exceptionally well. He made open shots, he made the right pass at the right time, he defended, he rebounded, and he was the biggest plus we had on the team tonight. Congratulations to him. He's really worked extraordinarily hard to position himself to be ready for an opportunity like this. This is not easy. This is a team of Hall-of-Famers and a bunch of hungry guys and they're playing for a lot just like we are. So, really happy for him." -Carlisle on Walker

"I appreciate that. I feel like just being able to continue to work and just gain his confidence is big. So for him to say that, it definitely means a lot." -Walker on receiving praise from Carlisle

"I just am excited that he's handling it the right way. I think the biggest thing for our young guys and really just our team as a whole is just staying ready...Jarace is our latest example. In a world where when you're a first-round pick, they expect you to have all the success, play a bunch early, I think that he's really blocked out the noise. He's went to the G League, paid his dues, played the right way, and just asked a ton of questions, gets better every day." -Haliburton on Walker's maturity as a rookie

"It was fun, just being able to be in that position. Because as a kid, especially hooping, those are the type of players you watch -- the Paul Georges, the Kawhis, James Harden, just people like that, such special basketball players. So just being able to guard them and have fun with it just made it a lot of fun out there." -Walker on guarding future Hall of Famers

"I thought Myles Turner was spectacular in this game. Hit the three to start the second half (that brought the lead) from three to six, had a lot of big plays around the rim, he protected it, he rebounded." -Carlilsle on Turner's contributions

"Just being aggressive. I think I was a little hesitant (shooting) my threes over the past couple games, but just no conscience tonight. Just letting it go. I work on my shot too much not to trust it. My teammates were gassing me up and coach running plays for me, so it made my life easier." -Turner on his big offensive night

"I'm not worried about Ty's scoring. People have got to quit talking about that. The guy's a great point guard, maybe the best point guard in the world. And so the important thing is that he's doing the things that are necessary to help our team win. He's going to have some big scoring nights and sometimes Pascal's going to have big scoring nights and sometimes Myles is going to have 30 points." -Carlisle on Haliburton

"I think a lot of it starts with Ty. I think he's really found his confidence over these last couple games. It's been good to see him happy again and just back into it...He really stayed the course and he's continued to lead." -Turner on Haliburton regaining his shooting stroke

"I was getting good looks and they were just falling. Law of averages is going to start balancing out. Shots are going to start falling like (they) always (have). I love playing in this arena. Obviously the history behind it, but it's just one of my favorite arenas to play in." -Haliburton on making six threes

The Pacers had a distinct advantage from the 3-point line, where they outscored the Clippers by 33 points. Indiana went 17-for-28 (60.7 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Clippers were just 6-for-20 (30 percent).

After a five-game road trip, the Pacers will return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, March 29 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>