Game Rewind: Pacers 134, Grizzlies 116

Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren paid no mind to Indiana’s heartbreaking loss to the Philadelphia 76ers just two nights ago. He appeared laser-focused on tonight’s performance.

“That was so long ago,” he said in his pregame press conference.

That sentiment paid off like Gamestop stock Tuesday night, as Indiana (12-9) torched a red-hot Memphis Grizzlies (9-7) team, 134-116, inside the friendly confines of Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The wire-to-wire victory snapped a seven-game winning streak for the visiting Grizzlies, who have lost just twice while playing on the road this season.

The Pacers shot a scorching 27-of-46 (58.7 percent) from the field en route to a season-high 71 first-half points. The elite performance allowed them to control the pace of play in the second, limiting the Memphis youngsters’ ability to run its fast-paced offense. Coming into tonight, the Grizzlies were allowing just 107.3 points per game.

“It was important, especially after the last game,” Domantas Sabonis said after the game. “We felt like we gave it away. So, we just wanted to come out and play a whole 48 minutes.”

Six Indiana players finished in double figures, including all five starters. Sabonis tied his career high with a game-high 32 points on 10-of-12 shooting. He hauled in 13 boards to record his 19th double-double of the season. Myles Turner also recorded a double-double, notching 22 points and 11 rebounds. Malcolm Brogdon added 23 and seven assists to round out Indiana’s top scorers of the night.

Behind three consecutive triples, including a pair from Justin Holiday, Indiana raced out to a 13-6 lead before three minutes had ticked off the clock. Myles Turner’s shot-clock beating 3-pointer from the top of the key then pushed the lead to double digits at the 8:16 mark of the frame. The Blue & Gold connected on seven of their first nine shots of the game.

The Pacers kept on flying high as the middle minutes ticked on. With 4:42 left in the first, T.J. McConnell found Holiday cutting into the paint from the right for an easy lay-in. Then, as is tradition, McConnell picked off the inbounds pass. Looking up, McConnell found Turner wide open in the lane for a powerful two-handed flush. The slam extended the Pacers’ lead to 29-15 and forced Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins to call a timeout.

Indiana led by as many as 15 in the frame before Memphis began chipping away. The visitors threatened to end the frame down eight after 2019-20 Rookie of the Year Ja Morant picked off a pass for an easy bucket. But, McConnell connected on a 13-foot jumper with 3.1 seconds left to take a 37-27 lead into the second.

The club held the Grizzlies at a distance in the early minutes of the second. After Desmond Bane connected on a 3-pointer to cut Indiana’s lead to 45-35, Jeremy Lamb responded with a deep trey from the right side to extend Indiana’s lead back up by 12 with 8:39 to play. The “fly guy” launched his shot from 32 feet away, right next to the Bankers Life Fieldhouse logo on the court.

Nothing appeared to slow Indiana down, as the crew kept chugging along. When Memphis cut Indiana’s lead to 11, the Blue & Gold responded with an 11-5 run over the next 3:24 of game time. Sabonis notched 20 first-half points on a three from the top of the key to push Indiana ahead 65-46.

Indiana pushed the margin over the 20-point mark on a pair of Brogdon free throws with 46.3 seconds to go. They would take a 71-50 lead to the break.

An 11-point quarter from Lamb and a 10-point quarter from Brogdon helped offset Dillon Brooks’ 14-point performance in the third. The squad started the frame with a pair of triples out the gate from Turner and Brogdon. Lamb followed with a pair of threes to elevate the Pacers to an 87-63 lead with 7:53 remaining. In total, he was 5-of-7 from beyond the arc tonight.

“I’m just trying to stay focused,” Lamb said of his performance from deep. “(I) continue to work on my game, continue to work on my craft, and (I’m) trying to stay confident. The mental part is a huge part of the game. I’m just trying to get better in every area.”

Though Indiana appeared comfortable, Memphis managed to make a small run midway through the period. Dillon Brooks scored nine points of an 11-4 Memphis run to trim the Pacers’ lead to 94-76 with 3:24 to go. Hoping to regroup the team, coach Bjorkgren called a timeout.

The call worked, as Brogdon tallied two easy buckets in 18 seconds to push Indiana ahead by 22. He added another layup at the 2:06 mark for his eighth and ninth point of the frame to give Indiana a 100-80 lead. The Blue & Gold then closed the third without much of an issue, taking a 104-85 lead into the fourth.

The first half of the fourth passed without a hitch, as the Pacers controlled the run of play. For a 2:06 span, Aaron Holiday and Turner combined for nine Pacers points to give Indiana a 121-97 lead with 6:51 to play.

That resonated throughout the remainder of the frame as coach Bjorkgren slowly rotated out the starters and headed deep into the bench. JaKarr Sampson, Edmond Sumner, and Kelan Martin all saw extended playing time to close out the fourth as the Blue & Gold prepared early for a road contest against the Milwaukee Bucks in just under 24 hours.

“Our guys come out fighting, whether it’s a back-to-back or not,” Bjorkgren said. “We’ll be ready to play.”

Jeremy Lamb (19 points) finished in double figures for the seventh time in eight games played this season

The duo of Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis combined for 54 of Indiana’s 134 points and 24 of its 51 rebounds

Myles Turner tallies another five blocks tonight, raising his league-leading season total to 75.

“It felt good to get back out there. It was a frustrating loss. It happens like that sometimes. But, we bounced back. So, it felt good to get a win under our belt.” –Lamb on rebounding after Sunday’s tough loss to Philadelphia

“It’s going to be great (to go) against a top team in the East. The key is just get as much rest as possible…you get as much sleep as you can, watch film, and be ready.” –Sabonis on playing the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow as part of a back-to-back

“I think that we’ve proven that we can play together. I think that it just took repetition. It took time. I think people were expecting it to work right away. But, we have about two or three years under our belt playing with each other, knowing what each other likes to do, and just creating that chemistry. I think that going forward, it’s only going to get better.” –Turner on playing well with Sabonis

The Pacers set new season highs in both 3-point percentage (55.2 percent on 16-of-29) and overall field goal percentage (59.8 percent on 49-of-82). Their previous highs were 45.7 percent (Dec. 31 against Cleveland) and 55.9 percent (Dec. 26 against Chicago), respectively.

Indiana travels to Milwaukee for a Central Division showdown with two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 7:00 PM ET.

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