Buddy Hield
(Matt Kryger)

Game Rewind: Pacers 121, Wizards 111

Friday, Dec. 9 at 7:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Game Recap: Pacers 121, Wizards 111

Game Recap

There's no place like home.

The Indiana Pacers spent the last two weeks away from the friendly confines of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, dropping five of seven contests on a difficult Western Conference road trip -- the franchise's longest road trip since 1986.

The Pacers (14-12) landed back in Indianapolis early Thursday morning and got back to their winning ways on Friday night, tipping off a four-game homestand with a 121-111 victory over the Washington Wizards (11-15).

Fresh off scoring 26 in Wednesday's game at Minnesota, Buddy Hield scored a season-high 28 points for Indiana in the victory, going 12-for-19 from the field and 4-for-10 from 3-point range. Hield also tallied four assists and three steals in the victory.

"He's just had it going the last two games," Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. "He's in a zone right now, shooting the ball well. You knew he was due for it considering how both of us have been shooting lately, especially the majority of that West Coast trip...He puts a lot of work in, so (he's) just trusting what he's doing every day."

Haliburton was sharp himself, registering another double-double with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 11 assists, and three other Pacers reached double figures in the victory.

It was the fifth win in their last six home contests for the Blue & Gold, who handled their business against a Wizards team with just nine available players on Friday.

Hield got the Pacers off to a fast start. The veteran bucket-getter scored on a layup off the opening tip, then added a transition three a minute later to trigger a 9-0 Indiana run to open the game.

Hield scored 10 points in the first 5:11, but shortly thereafter is when Kyle Kuzma and the Wizards started to get hot from beyond the arc. Washington made seven 3-pointers in the opening frame -- four by Kuzma. That allowed the visitors to surge ahead and take a narrow 33-31 lead into the second quarter.

The ensuing frame was a back-and-forth affair, featuring four ties and nine lead changes. Rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin provided a major spark in the frame, tallying eight points, including a pair of threes.

Haliburton's 3-pointer put Indiana in front with 1:58 remaining in the first half. Hield's jumper on Indiana's next possession padded the lead. Haliburton added a layup with 12.7 seconds remaining, but Monte Morris answered with a floater shortly before the buzzer that made the Pacers' lead 69-65 at the break.

Washington made a charge out of the intermission. Kuzma scored six points as the visitors opened the second half with an 11-1 run. Indiana responded quickly with eight unanswered, taking back the lead on a trailing Myles Turner's two-hand slam off a dish from Haliburton.

The Wizards tied the game twice, but the Pacers never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the frame. Indiana led by as many as eight in the period and took a 95-89 lead into the fourth quarter.

Aaron Nesmith opened the scoring in the final frame with a three that pushed the hosts' lead to nine, but the Wizards reeled off the next six points to make it a one-possession game.

But the Pacers managed to hold on to the lead, pushing it to 108-99 following Haliburton's layup with 4:20 to play. The Pacers held Washington at a comfortable distance the rest of the way, sealing the victory with back-to-back threes from the top of the key by Turner and Haliburton that extended the lead to 13 with 1:37 remaining.

Haliburton added one more trey at the 1:01 mark for good measure, capping a 10-point quarter for Indiana's star point guard.

Hield and Haliburton combined for 51 points in the victory, with both players making concerted efforts to use their reputations as shooters to their advantage and get to the rim.

"I think my teammates and Ty just put me in the right spots where teams are forced to close out hard," Hield said. "And I just use my shot as a weapon to get that lean and either I have a dump off or a lane to the rim."

Mathurin finished with 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting and eight rebounds off the bench. Fellow reserve Oshae Brissett added 16 points and eight boards, going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc and 7-for-8 from the free throw line.

Turner tallied 14 points and six rebounds in the victory.

Kristaps Porzingis led all scorers with 29 points and nine rebounds, going 11-for-13 from the field. Kuzma added 27 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, while two-way guard Jordan Goodwin scored 19 and had five steals off the bench for Washington.

"When you consider the difficulty of coming off a Western trip, coming back East and everything, it's really a great win for us," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. "Washington's a desperate team. They were without guys, but the guys they have available are all really good players."

The Pacers return to action on Saturday night against Brooklyn, then host Miami on Monday and Golden State on Wednesday to close out the homestand.

Inside the Numbers

Haliburton recorded his 16th double-double of the season, the most of any guard in the NBA. He is tied with Denver's Nikola Jokic, Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis, and the Lakers' Anthony Davis for the league lead.

Mathurin reached double figures for the seventh straight game and the 24th time in 26 games to begin his NBA career. His eight rebounds matched his career high.

Brissett reached double figures for the fifth time this season and the third time in the last five games. The fourth-year forward out of Syracuse surpassed 1,000 career points in the victory.

Indiana outscored Washington by 24 points from beyond the arc. The Pacers went 18-for-41 (43.9 percent) from 3-point range, while the Wizards were 10-for-29 (34.5 percent).

Postgame Media Availability: Dec. 9, 2022

You Can Quote Me On That

"At the core, he's a guy who is a scorer. That's who he is. We need to understand that and celebrate it." -Carlisle on Hield

"Everyone showed out today and gave us a big boost and a lot of love. We need that. The road is tough, but coming home, it feels great having everyone there and seeing how amped up and revved up they get." -Brissett on being back home

"I really love the way Mathurin's playing right now. I just think he's playing with great poise. He's aggressive, he's moving the ball, he's just really playing the right way. He had a terrific game." -Carlisle on Mathurin

"Tyrese just has a great feel for what the team needs. I think he realizes that he can score when he needs to score, but that we need to have a lot of guys involved...There were times that we'd really need a basket and he'd find a way to get in there and kind of will the ball in, which was really needed." -Carlisle on Haliburton attacking the basket

"Just trying to be aggressive. I really felt like last game I had success getting to the cup and I've been doing a better job finishing around there. So that's just what I was trying to get to today, just getting to the cup more and creating offense more that way with paint touches." -Haliburton on trying to get to the rim more often

"To start the year he wasn't really getting minutes and that can be frustrating for any NBA player, but the thing is he's just stayed true to his work and prepared. You see the fruits of his labor come true today." -Haliburton on Brissett staying ready

"Just finding my spots. My teammates are really looking not only for me, but for everybody. I feel like I'm in the right spots and just being confident in myself...Just playing basketball, honestly. I feel like sometimes when you get out there you try to think too much. I feel like I've been doing a great job of just letting the game come to me." -Brissett on scoring more in recent games

Stat of the Night

Hield followed up his 26-point outing on Wednesday in Minnesota with 28 points on Friday. It was his second-highest scoring game in a Pacers uniform, trailing only his 29-point outing in an overtime game against Oklahoma City on Feb. 25 last season.

Noteworthy
  • Indiana now holds a 2-1 lead over the Wizards in the season series. The two teams will meet once more in Washington on Feb. 11.
  • The Pacers are 3-3 on the season on the first night of a back-to-back.
  • Pacers second-year big man Isaiah Jackson sat out Friday's game due to a sore right knee. It was just the second game Jackson has missed on the season.
Up Next

The Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the second night of a back-to-back, hosting the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>