The Pacers' young players showed out on Tuesday in Las Vegas, but Indiana dropped its second straight Summer League contest, falling to the Atlanta Hawks at the buzzer, 84-83.
The Hawks jumped out to an early 10-2 lead on Tuesday, but the Pacers battled back. Indiana surged ahead thanks to a 14-3 run that was capped by a 3-pointer from rookie guard Chris Duarte. The 13th overall pick put on a show in the first quarter, scoring 10 points, knocking down a pair of treys, and connecting with fellow first-round pick Isaiah Jackson on a transition alley-oop to help the Pacers out to a 21-19 lead entering the second quarter.
Atlanta dominated the opening minutes of the ensuing frame, however, with a 16-3 run. The Hawks remained in front for the rest of the half, though Duarte's buzzer-beating three got the Blue & Gold back within single digits at 45-37.
PHOTO GALLERY: Pacers 83, Hawks 84 »
Second-year wing Cassius Stanley came alive after halftime, first throwing down a one-hand slam through contact on the break and then quickly following up with two 3-pointers.
Stanley's outburst got the Pacers within four, but Hawks rookie guard Sharife Cooper responded with three treys of his own during a 9-2 run that pushed the margin back to double digits.
Atlanta remained in front for the rest of the frame, but Duarte once again provided a spark, draining a pull-up three at the third-quarter buzzer to give the Pacers some momentum entering the fourth.
Indiana then opened the fourth quarter with eight straight points, retaking the lead following back-to-back triples from Keifer Sykes and rookie Duane Washington Jr.
The two teams went back and forth throughout the fourth quarter. Indiana surged ahead on a 6-0 run featuring jumpers by Duarte and Stanley and a putback slam by Jackson, only for Cooper to tie the game at 79 with another 3-pointer with 2:56 remaining.
Neither team scored again until the 1:39 mark, when DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell hit a pair of free throws to put the Hawks ahead. On the other end, Duarte was blocked at the rim, but Jackson was there for the putback.
"Just going out there and hooping," Jackson said of his mentality. "...I was just going out there, playing my game, having high energy. I feel like all the other stuff is going to come."
After a Cooper miss, Duarte pushed the break and dished to Tyrone Wallace, who hit a cutting Jackson with a nice wraparound pass. Jackson was fouled with 44.9 seconds left and the rookie hit both foul shots to give the Blue & Gold the lead.
"His activity level was great," Pacers Summer League head coach Mike Weinar said of Jackson's impact. "Obviously that was identified early on in the (draft) process...He certainly has a quick bounce, a quick jump off the floor."
That looked like it would be the game-winning basket, but Cooper stunned Indiana, hitting a buzzer-beating shot from the corner off a broken play to give the Hawks a dramatic win.
Duarte led Indiana with 21 points on 8-of-19 shooting (5-of-10 from 3-point range), seven rebounds, two steals, two assists, and a block.
Stanley added 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, Jackson had 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and 12 rebounds, and Oshae Brissett tallied 13 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
It was an especially impressive performance from Jackson, who has not yet practiced with the team and was just cleared to play during the first half of Monday's Summer League opener, when the last player involved in the five-team trade that brought him to Indiana passed their physical.
"It's been really hectic for me," Jackson said. "I've been going to practice and stuff, but I haven't been able to go on the court and practice with my teammates. I was doing little workouts like conditioning and shooting and stuff...I feel like today was a good step up from what I was doing."
"I've got to give him props because that's some serious stuff," Stanley added. "No practice, limited workouts. He hasn't played (five-on-five) since maybe (when he was at the University of) Kentucky. This was his second game, basically his first real full game, and he went out there and got a double-double.
"He's a monster on the boards. The sky's the limit for him."