For the first time since March 10, the Pacers were back on the court on Thursday afternoon to compete against another NBA team.
In their first of three scrimmages in the NBA bubble in Orlando, the Pacers overcame a slow start to come away with a 91-88 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Blazers used an early 9-0 run to jump to a 20-9 lead, but the Pacers' offense kicked into gear after the second unit checked in. Brothers Justin and Aaron Holiday knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers before Doug McDermott converted a three-point play and then drew another foul and hit both free throws to cap a sequence that saw Indiana amass 11 points in four possessions.
"For the first scrimmage, I think we looked very, very good," Justin Holiday said of the bench group. "...We had a stretch there where we were flying."
Still, CJ McCollum scored nine points in the first quarter to give Portland a 29-20 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Blue & Gold's bench continued to produce at the start of the second quarter, as the Holiday brothers both made another three to help Indiana open the frame with a 12-6 surge to climb within three. JaKarr Sampson's three-point play with 2:47 left in the first half trimmed the deficit to 41-40, but that would be the closest the Pacers would get before halftime, as the Blazers took a 45-43 lead into the break.
Pacers head coach Nate McMillan went small to start the second half, inserting Edmond Sumner into the lineup as a third guard and bumping T.J. Warren to power forward. The move paid off, as Indiana dominated play in the third quarter.
The Blue & Gold opened the frame with nine unanswered points, taking the lead for the first time since the opening minute of the exhibition on Malcolm Brogdon's 3-pointer with 9:15 left in the third quarter. Brogdon later added two more threes and Victor Oladipo added five points as the Pacers strung together a 23-8 extended run to open the half.
Indiana remained in front for the rest of the quarter, taking a 73-65 advantage into the fourth.
The second unit kept Portland at arms' length throughout the final frame, with the Holiday brothers once again carrying the offensive load, combining for 11 straight points before checking out with 3:47 remaining and a 12-point lead.
The Blazers' reserves trimmed away at that lead over the final minutes, but the Blue & Gold held on for a narrow win.
Justin Holiday led all scorers with 16 points in the victory, going 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Little brother Aaron had 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, Brogdon tallied 11 points, four rebounds, and four steals, while Warren finished with 11 points and three steals.
Oladipo, who originally planned to sit out the restart but has decided to reevaluate his decision after arriving in Orlando, finished with eight points and six rebounds in 19 minutes, going 3-for-10 from the field and 2-for-5 from 3-point range.
"It was fun to be out there, just being able to compete," Oladipo said. "I felt pretty good."
Mario Hezonja led Portland with 15 points, while Jusuf Nurkic added 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Pacers were without all three of their centers on Thursday. All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis is out indefinitely with plantar fasciitis, while fellow starter Myles Turner and rookie Goga Bitadze missed Thursday's scrimmage with soft tissue injuries.
With Turner and Sabonis sidelined, second-year forward Alize Johnson and Sampson started in the frontcourt.
Thursday's scrimmage was just 40 minutes, with four 10-minute quarters. Indiana has two more scrimmages that will be 48 minutes in length on Sunday against Dallas and on Tuesday against San Antonio. The Pacers will officially resume the season with their first seeding game on Aug. 1 against Philadelphia.