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Game Rewind: Pacers 129, Warriors 118

Game Recap

It wasn't easy, but the Pacers secured a winning record on their five-game road trip on Friday night, withstanding a 3-point barrage from the Golden State Warriors on their way to a 129-118 win at the Chase Center.

The Splash Brothers were in street clothes, but the Warriors (10-37) still put on a 3-point shooting exhibition on Friday, hitting a season-high 19 shots from beyond the 3-point arc.

Luckily for Pacers fans, Indiana (30-16) was just as good from long distance, going 17-for-28 (60.7 percent) from 3-point range in the win.

T.J. Warren led the Blue & Gold with 33 points in the victory. Doug McDermott added 24 on 9-of-10 shooting off the bench and led the Pacers' 3-point attack, going 6-for-7 from beyond the arc.

"Guys are finding me," McDermott said. "I'm not gonna break you down one-on-one but I'm gonna try to get open and move without the ball. I'm really not doing anything different, shots are just falling."

The Warriors raced out to an early lead on Friday night. The hosts opened the game with a 9-2 run and stayed hot, knocking down seven of their first eight shots, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range on their way to a 19-10 advantage.

But Indiana quickly rallied, tying the game at 22 on Justin Holiday's 3-pointer with 4:56 left in the first quarter and took its first lead of the night on Warren's layup 33 seconds later. Two Myles Turner free throws and another Holiday three capped what proved to be a 19-3 Pacers run.

The Blue & Gold remained in front for the rest of the opening frame, taking a 35-30 lead into the second quarter.

Golden State guard D'Angelo Russell knocked down a pair of 3-pointers early in the second quarter to keep the home team within striking distance. But McDermott reeled off eight straight points as part of a 10-0 Pacers run to open up a double-digit lead.

Warren also went off in the second quarter, scoring 10 points in the frame to help the Blue & Gold push their lead as high as 19. The 6-8 forward led all scorers with 21 points in the first half, going 9-for-14 from the field and 2-for-3 from 3-point range, as Indiana took a 67-51 lead into the break.

Russell sparked a Golden State rally in the third quarter, hitting three 3-pointers on back-to-back-to-back possessions to cap a 14-2 run that trimmed the Warriors' deficit to 80-74 with 6:23 left in the third quarter.

Russell drilled another trey — his eighth of the night — at 4:04 to make it 85-81, but that would be as close as the hosts would get.

Aaron Holiday hit two 3-pointers of his own to push the Pacers' lead back to 10 before Warren picked Russell's pocket and raced to the other end for an easy slam.

The visitors led 98-86 after three quarters.

The Warriors mounted one last charge in the fourth quarter, as Jordan Poole knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 110-103 with just under eight minutes remaining. Poole later drew a foul on McDermott while attempting another three and made all of the subsequent foul shots to trim the deficit to 112-106 with 6:20 to play.

Indiana answered, however, reeling off a 9-2 run — capped by McDermott's sixth 3-pointer of the night — to push the lead back to 13.

Golden State scored seven unanswered to make it 121-115 before Aaron Holiday's three stopped the bleeding with 3:02 remaining and the Warriors never seriously threatened the rest of the way.

Domantas Sabonis quietly flirted with his second triple-double in less than a week on Friday, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. Jeremy Lamb also added 16 points for Indiana.

With starting point guard Malcolm Brogdon out after sustaining a concussion in Wednesday's win in Phoenix, backups T.J. McConnell and Aaron Holiday stepped up on Friday. McConnell got the start and finished with 12 points and eight assists, while Holiday added 12 points and seven assists off the bench, knocking down 4-of-5 3-pointers.

"T.J. did a good job to start establishing that first unit, then Aaron stepped in and was able to lead the second unit," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said. "Both made great plays and it helps when guys are able to step up and help out with the game."

Russell went 9-for-13 from beyond the 3-point arc and led all scorers with 37 points. Former Pacer Glenn Robinson III added 18 points and seven rebounds for Golden State, while Draymond Green finished with 10 points, six boards, and 11 assists.

Indiana concludes its five-game road trip on Sunday night in Portland before returning to Indianapolis to host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, when All-Star guard Victor Oladipo is expected to make his season debut.

Inside the Numbers

Warren topped 30 points for the third time this season and the second time this month. He had a season-high 36 points in a win in Charlotte on Jan. 6.

McDermott's stat line was nearly identical to his performance on Sunday's win in Denver. In both games, he scored 24 points while going 9-for-10 from the field and 6-for-7 from 3-point range while also pulling down two rebounds. His 24 points match his Pacers career high, while his six 3-pointers tie his most in a game in his entire career.

Indiana had 35 assists and just 10 turnovers. The 35 assists tie a season high. They also had 35 dimes in wins over Washington on Nov. 6 and Philadelphia on Dec. 31.

Russell's nine 3-pointers matched his career high, set earlier this season on Dec. 28 against Dallas.

The Warriors own the NBA's worst record. They have dropped three straight and 13 of their last 14 games.

You Can Quote Me On That

"It's all about moving the ball. The ball movement was good and we were shooting with confidence. We have a lot of guys that can make plays and make shots any given night and you'll see scoring outbursts from guys like Doug, Domas. Everybody just has to continue it and finish out the road trip strong." -Warren

"You know our second unit has just been really good, really solid and Doug has certainly been a big part of that. You know we are running a lot of actions for him when he and Domas are in the game and we went to an early substitution with the point guards because I wanted T.J. McConnell to get back with that group. They just a have a good combination going, with Domas, Doug, Justin and McConnell with that second group. I just feel like that ball is going in anytime he shoots the ball." -McMillan

"They play hard, really hard. They got hot there in the second half. They have some really good players on their team and that crowd was into it." -McDermott on the Warriors

"Coach called a trap game, they're playing tough every game. They're maybe not winning but they're in every game battling so we knew we just had to come in and take care of business." -Sabonis

"I thought that we just brought more intensity. Coach kind of got on us a little bit at halftime and we just tried to not make excuses and go out and play as hard as we can. To fight ourselves back into the game. We have to play that way all 48." -Robinson on the Warriors' second-half performance

Stat of the Night

The Pacers and Warriors combined to make 36 3-pointers on Friday, the most in a Pacers game in franchise history. Golden State's 19 3-pointers were one shy of the most ever by a Pacers opponent (Houston made 20 on Nov. 11, 2018), while Indiana's 17 were two shy of the franchise record (set on Nov. 24, 2015 in Washington and matched on Feb. 5, 2019 against the Lakers).

Noteworthy

  • Backup big men Goga Bitadze (illness), TJ Leaf (sore right knee), and JaKarr Sampson (sprained left ankle) were all unavailable for the Pacers on Friday.
  • The Warriors were without starting center Willie Cauley-Stein due to a pending trade that will reportedly send the 7-footer to Dallas.
  • After dropping four straight road games from Dec. 22 - Jan. 4, the Pacers have now won six of their last seven contests away from Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Next Up

Indiana concludes its road trip in Portland against Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 9:00 PM ET.

Tickets

After a five-game road trip, the Pacers will return home to host the Chicago Bulls at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 7:00 PM ET. All-Star guard Victor Oladipo plans to make his season debut that night. Find Tickets »

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