Game Rewind: Pacers 94, Spurs 86

After two straight losses, the Pacers closed out their five-game road trip on a high note on Sunday, going into San Antonio and coming away with a rare victory, outlasting the Spurs, 94-86.

With the win, Indiana (25-22) ensured a winning road trip and their first season sweep of San Antonio since the 1994-95 season.

For the Spurs (30-18), it was just their third home loss this season and snapped a 14-game winning streak at the AT&T Center.

"It was big for this young team to come into San Antonio where they’ve only lost two games," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said after the win. "This has always been a tough place to play and to end the road trip when you're a little fatigued, a little tired, the challenge was mentally give yourself a chance. Giving that effort, staying connected, playing together, and they did."

The Pacers jumped out to an early 8-2 lead on Sunday, but the Spurs responded with nine unanswered points. From there, the two teams went back and forth in an opening quarter that featured seven lead changes and three ties and ended with San Antonio narrowly ahead, 23-22.

The Spurs extended their lead to five points in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but the Pacers surged back in front with a 13-2 run. They remained in front the rest of the half, taking a 46-43 lead into the break.

Indiana maintained its advantage throughout the third quarter and built a nice cushion thanks to a 10-0 run in the latter half of the frame, as San Antonio went 4:40 without scoring a point. The Blue & Gold extended their lead to as many as 15 points in the closing minutes of the third quarter and took a 71-59 lead into the fourth.

The Pacers led by as many as 17 points in the final quarter before the hosts made their final charge. An 11-2 San Antonio run made it an 83-76 game with five minutes to play, but the Pacers defense buckled down from there, holding the Spurs to just one field goal over the next three-plus minutes.

Patty Mills' 3-pointer made it a two-possession game with 1:37 remaining, but former Spurs guard Cory Joseph answered with a three of his own on the other end, the proverbial dagger to secure the Pacers' second victory over San Antonio in as many games this season. They won 97-94 on Oct. 29 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Victor Oladipo led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting.

Darren Collison added 15 points, while Thaddeus Young chipped in 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Bojan Bogdanovic was the fourth and final Pacers player in double figures, finishing with 10 points.

"It took a collective effort," Collison said. "We play our best basketball when we play together. Defensively, I thought we were at where we needed to be at all times. You can't make mistakes against this team, not even on the defensive end.

"I've been saying it all year long, if we play like this all the time, we're very tough to beat, even against a team like the Spurs."

Pau Gasol led San Antonio with 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.

The Pacers return to action on Wednesday night, when they host the Phoenix Suns.

The Spurs fell at home on Sunday for the first time since a 94-87 loss to Milwaukee on Nov. 10, a span of 73 days.

The Pacers had 14 steals on Sunday, their second-most steals in a single game this season (they had 17 in a win in Orlando on Nov. 20). Collison, Bogdanovic, Oladipo, and Young each had three steals against San Antonio.

San Antonio committed 20 turnovers on Sunday, while the Pacers had just 11 giveaways (six by Oladipo).

Indiana had a decided advantage at the free throw line, going 16-for-17 from the charity stripe while the Spurs were just 7-for-12.

While four players reached double figures for the Pacers, four others (Joseph, Domantas Sabonis, Al Jefferson, and Lance Stephenson) each tallied nine points on Sunday. It was a bounce-back performance for Stephenson, who went 4-for-7 from the field after making just 1-of-18 shots combined in losses at Utah and the Los Angeles Lakers earlier in the week.

LaMarcus Aldridge recorded his 20th double-double of the season for San Antonio in the loss, finishing with 10 points (on 5-of-14 shooting) and 10 rebounds.

"I think we forced 20 turnovers, and they're a team that takes care of the ball. We were able to force some turnovers, score some points off those turnovers. Guys played some big minutes. I thought Thaddeus [Young] did a really nice job of making LaMarcus [Aldridge] work. You don't stop those guys, but he was physical and made it tough for him to score. The rest of our guys did a good job defending and just keeping them in front." -McMillan

"I think we did a great job getting stops and moving the ball. They're a tough team to play, a well-coached team with great players over there. It was a tough-fought win, a team win. We just have to build off of it." -Oladipo

"This is one of our better defensive games as a collective group. It just seemed like everybody was connected. We were helping one another, if that person got beat off the dribble, we stepped and helped them, we were scrambling all over the place." -Collison

"By numbers we're the best defensive team in the league and that's why we have 30 wins. Otherwise it would be a different type of record. Our effort and our defense is keeping us in games. It's giving us a chance to win but our offense has to be a little better and a little sharper." -Gasol

"You have to make shots in this league. We're holding people under 100 points, again 94 tonight. I think 14 to 15 points under their average, against Toronto 26 points under their average...The ball has also got to go in the hole and we’ve been challenged that way for sure." -Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich

Sunday's win over the Pacers snapped one of the more impressive streaks in NBA history. The Spurs had beaten every team in the NBA at least once in each of the previous three seasons, the only team to ever pull off that feat since the league expanded to 30 teams.

They won't be extending that streak to four seasons, however, as the Pacers pulled off their first season sweep of San Antonio in 23 years. The last time the Pacers swept the season series with the Spurs, six current Pacers players (Ike Anigbogu, TJ Leaf, Ben Moore, Domantas Sabonis, Edmond Sumner, and Myles Turner) had not yet been born.

Following their five-game road trip, the Pacers return to Indianapolis to host Devin Booker and the Suns on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »