Game Preview
The Pacers will take the floor on Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks for their second of three scrimmages in preparation for the NBA season restart in Orlando. Indiana came away with a 91-88 win over Portland in its first tune-up on Thursday.
While there were certainly signs of rust after 135 days without a game due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pacers still showed plenty of promise in Thursday's exhibition.
The second unit, in particular, looked sharp, as the trio of Justin Holiday, Aaron Holiday, and Doug McDermott combined for 39 points and seven 3-pointers, while backup point guard T.J. McConnell dished out six assists in just 14 minutes of action.
The starters, meanwhile, got off to a slow start but dominated the third quarter, opening the frame with a decisive 23-8 run. Malcolm Brogdon and T.J. Warren scored 11 points apiece, while two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo added eight points on 3-of-10 shooting and pulled down six rebounds. Oladipo said afterwards he felt good, but still has not made a final decision on whether or not he will play when the season resumes on Aug. 1.
The Blue & Gold hope to have reinforcements in the frontcourt for Sunday's scrimmage. All three of the Pacers' centers — Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, and Goga Bitadze — missed Thursday's exhibition due to injuries, forcing head coach Nate McMillan to experiment with smaller lineups. Turner, who has missed a couple practices with a minor knee bruise, seems the most likely to return on Sunday. Sabonis is battling plantar fasciitis and left the bubble to receive medical treatment. McMillan said Saturday the All-Star big man is out "indefinitely."
Thursday's scrimmage was shortened to 40 minutes out of concern for teams' conditioning, but Sunday's game will be bumped up to the normal 48-minute length. Fans within a 75-mile radius of downtown Indianapolis will be able to watch a live stream of the scrimmage right here on Pacers.com and in the Pacers mobile app.
Broadcast Information TV & Radio Listings »
TV: Pacers.com, Pacers mobile app - Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst)
NBA TV - Broadcasters TBD
Radio: None