Game Rewind: Pacers 116, Spurs 111

The Pacers (37-24) picked up their fourth straight victory Monday night in game two of its current five-game road trip, corralling the San Antonio Spurs (25-34), 116-111, at AT&T Center. Winners of six of its last seven, Indiana's magic number to clinch a spot in the 2019-20 NBA Playoffs is now nine.

After recording just five points through the first three quarters, Domantas Sabonis scored nine consecutive Pacer points in a 2:25 span to earn a 109-106 Indiana lead late in the fourth.

Then, in a game that had the makings of a shootout, the Pacers defense held the Spurs to just two points over the final 2:23 of the contest. Malcolm Brogdon eventually sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with 16.7 seconds to go.

Despite coming into the game making a combined average of just 20.5 threes per game, the teams combined to finish 31-of-63 beyond the arc. Six Indiana players finished in double figures. Brogdon led the way with 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while T.J. Warren added 23 and seven boards. Myles Turner tallied with 17 and four blocks, including a game-changing swat with 18.1 seconds to play.

Warren also had the tough defensive assignment of covering Spurs' leading scorer DeMar DeRozan. Entering tonight scoring an average of 22.6 points per game, DeRozan finished with just 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting.

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After falling behind by eight after one, the Pacers outscored the Spurs 40-23 in the second quarter to take a 66-57 lead into halftime. Indiana finished the half 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc – including nine in the second.

San Antonio raced out to a 10-0 lead early in the first behind a pair of threes from Indiana native Trey Lyles and Bryn Forbes.

Aaron Holiday finally connected on the Pacers' first field goal of the game – a three – with 8:23 to play. The shot sparked an 8-3 spurt that trimmed San Antonio's lead to 16-10 before Spurs coach Gregg Popovich halted play with a timeout at the 6:00 mark.

Later in the period, a string of seven unanswered Pacer points – four from Warren – cut the lead down to 21-19 with 3:22 to play. But Lyles' third three of the quarter, followed by a Derrick White jumper swiftlyly pushed San Antonio's lead back to seven.

Indiana cut the lead down to two once more, but veteran sharpshooter Patty Mills notched six points in a 3.9 second span to earn a 34-26 Spurs lead after one. After completing a four-point play, Mills stole the ensuing Indiana inbound pass and finished an easy layup.

But the Blue & Gold roared back in the second. With the team finding passing lanes through the Spurs' zone defense, Doug McDermott found space to sink consecutive treys in a 28-second span. Warren then followed with a nifty floater in the paint to trim the Spurs' lead to 44-40 with 7:55 to play in the half.

After a brief timeout, McDermott and Warren knocked in a pair of triples to tie the score, 46-46. Brogdon then grabbed Indiana's first lead of the game, 48-46 after connecting on a reverse layup with 6:20 to play.

From there, Indiana reeled off a 13-7 run, including three more triples, over the next 4:00 to capture a 61-53 lead heading into the final 2:20 of the half.

In the final two minutes of the half, it was Brogdon who helped keep the lead for the Pacers. The clutch guard scored the final five Pacer points of the half with under 45 seconds to play to take a nine-point lead into the break.

A Turner three off a nice feed from Sabonis stretched Indiana's lead to 72-60 with 9:42 in the third. The Blue & Gold continued to keep the Spurs at bay through the midway point of the frame. After Turner collected a block, a Brogdon jumper started a 9-2 spree that stretched Indiana's lead to 84-69 lead with 4:39 to go.

However, a run of sloppy offensive play from the Pacers allowed the Spurs to make a run. Three straight Indiana turnovers helped San Antonio cut the lead to 87-80 on a pair of Rudy Gay buckets in the paint with 1:21 in the third. Gay would add another jumper with 26.3 seconds left in the third to trim Indiana's lead to six. However, Warren responded on the other end, banking in a jumper give Indiana the 92-84 edge heading into the final frame.

Spearheading the Spurs comeback attempt in the fourth was Mills and second-year guard Lonnie Walker IV. Walker, the former Miami standout, scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth.

With 7:51 to play, Walker tied things at 96 with a monstrous running, one-handed slam. After a McDermott layup regained a Pacers lead, Mills drilled his sixth three of the night to put the Spurs up by one. Walker then stretched their lead to 102-98 with a triple from the right wing with 6:44 to go.

But Indiana then turned to its All-Star.

After two Turner free throws cut the Spurs' lead to two, Sabonis sandwiched a DeRozan free throw with consecutive layups. On the next possession, he scrapped for a tough second-chance layup to give the Blue & Gold a 107-103 lead with 4:23 to go. Later, when Forbes cut the lead to one, the former Gonzaga star sank two more free throws to put Indiana back up by three with 3:21 to play.

A Brogdon jumper gave the Pacers a 112-109 lead with 2:23 to play. Then, neither team found the net for the next 2:07. With 18.1 seconds to play, Turner denied a Lyles layup, swatting the ball out of bounds with 0.2 showing on the shot clock. The defense then forced a shot clock violation.

With the Spurs forced to foul, Brogdon connected on a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 114-109 with 16.7 seconds. Justin Holiday then came up with the loose ball on the ensuing Spurs inbounds pass, sealing the victory for the Blue & Gold.

Indiana won the rebounding battle tonight, 40-32.

The Pacers committed just three turnovers in the fourth quarter, leading to zero Spurs points.

Doug McDermott finished as the Pacers' leading scorer off the bench with 14 points, including four 3-point shots. It's the 15th time this season he's finished with three or more 3-point field goals made.

Despite struggling for the majority of the game, Domantas Sabonis finished with 14 points and 11 boards to notch his 47th double-double of the season. He needs three more to earn the record for most double-doubles in a single season in Pacers NBA franchise history.

"We just had to be patient. We had matchups, and I think we missed them a couple times which frustrated him. We settled down in the fourth quarter and slowed down and started to take advantage of the mismatches. We had matchups all over the floor, but we didn't do a good job of taking advantage of the inside play. We did the last five minutes and were able to take the lead and win the game." –Pacers coach Nate McMillan on Domantas Sabonis breaking out in the fourth quarter

"I mean one thing that's been preached a lot to me this season is when you're not scoring you have to find other ways to effect the game. That's kind of what I think I was telling him [Domantas Sabonis], that he does a good job assisting, and getting guys good shots and in the second half he got himself going. He looked more aggressive, so I think it's just the matter of staying with it." -Myles Turner on if they changed anything in the fourth quarter

"Yeah, I'm just in a good rhythm, just staying aggressive. My guards and my teammates do a good job of just finding me. Me cutting and just finding the open spots and me getting out on transition, really just compliment my game and I want to continue that." –T.J. Warren on the way he's been playing lately

The Pacers travel to Milwaukee to take on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the East-leading Bucks on Wednesday, March 4 at 7:00 PM ET.

After a five-game road trip, the Pacers return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to host Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, March 10 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »

Jack's Donuts: Visit your local Jack's Donuts the day after a Pacers victory and mention the Pacers win to receive a free 12-ounce coffee or donut with any purchase. Visit JacksDonuts.com to find the Jack's Donuts nearest you.