2018 Summer League

Wheat Hotchkiss

LAS VEGAS — The Pacers saved their best performance for last in the 2018 NBA Summer League, rolling to a dominant 116-79 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday in a consolation game at Cox Pavilion.

"We told the guys and really pushed for them to play a full 40 minutes," Pacers Summer League coach Steve Gansey said after the win. "We really did. We shared the ball, 24 assists, and did really well the entire game."

Just as they did on Wednesday against Atlanta, the Pacers got off to a stellar start on Friday. C.J. Wilcox knocked down a three on the team's opening possession to trigger an 8-0 run.

Indiana led 15-4 before the Nets found their footing, stringing together 10 unanswered points to make it a one-point game. Brooklyn briefly tied the game at 17 on a Theo Pinson three late in the first quarter, but a reverse layup by Tra-Deon Hollins gave the Pacers a two-point lead after the opening frame.

The Blue & Gold blew the game open again in the second quarter, reeling off a 16-0 run over just 1:49. 2018 second-round pick Alize Johnson capped the sequence with an impressive three-point play, finishing a fastbreak layup through heavy contact and then converting the subsequent free throw.

"I'm just blessed to get the opportunity to compete with these guys," Johnson said after a strong Summer League where he averaged 12.4 points and 8.6 rebounds over five games.

The Pacers extended their lead to as many as 20 points before halftime and took a 52-41 advantage into the break.

Unlike on Wednesday — when Indiana blew a 22-point halftime lead — the Pacers came out strong to start the third quarter. With Wilcox knocking down shots, Edmond Sumner pushing the break, and big men filling the lane, the Blue & Gold strung together a 25-7 run to open up a 19-point lead.

"We talked about playing a full 40 minutes today, so that's what we wanted to come out here and do," Sumner said. "We ended on a good note going home."

Bryce Alford's shot-clock beating corner three in the closing seconds of the third quarter gave Indiana a 91-58 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Indiana extended its lead to as many as 41 points in the final frame and cruised to a comfortable victory. The Pacers finished Summer League play with a record of 2-3, but all three of their losses were by six points or less.

Wilcox led Indiana with 22 points, going 7-for-8 from the field and 6-for-7 from 3-point range. Henry Sims added 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting and four rebounds, while Alex Poythress added 14 points.

Sumner stuffed the stat sheet on Friday, finishing with 13 points, three rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block. Johnson was also solid, tallying nine points, 10 rebounds, and two assists.

Most impressively, that duo of players — both of whom are working on improving their shooting stroke — went a combined 12-for-12 from the free throw line, with Sumner making seven free throws and Johnson converting five.

For Sumner especially, Summer League was an important opportunity to show his athleticism. The 6-5 guard had a two-way contract with the Pacers last year, but spent much of the season rehabbing an ACL tear he suffered the previous season at Xavier and never felt fully healthy even when cleared to play in the G League.

"I think I gradually got better each game (in Summer League)," Sumner said. "I improved, the game kind of slowed down. (It was) the first time I've been back out there 100 percent, so everything felt a little fast at first, but as time went on, I felt like I got better."

Tyler Davis had a team-high 19 points for the Nets, who lost all five of their Sumer League games.

The Pacers held two key players out of Friday's Summer League finale for precautionary reasons. TJ Leaf, the 18th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, sat out due to left knee soreness. Aaron Holiday, the 23rd overall pick in last month's draft, was in street clothes due to a thigh contusion.

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Game Rewind: Pacers 116, Nets 79 (Summer League)

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Pacers 116, Nets 79 (Summer League)

For much of Wednesday's first-round tournament game, the Indiana Pacers looked like a legitimate threat to win the 2018 NBA Summer League. They raced out to a 22-point halftime lead over the Atlanta Hawks and led by as many as 25 in the third quarter.

But the Hawks mounted a furious comeback, outscoring Indiana 59-28 over the final 16:15 to come away with a 107-101 win in Las Vegas.

"We panicked a little bit...well, big time," Pacers Summer League head coach Steve Gansey said after the loss. "We've got to be able to sustain that energy for 40 minutes.

"We didn't get shots, we turned the ball over...we just had a lot of mental mistakes."

&gt;Because of the loss, the Pacers will play a consolation game at 4:00 PM ET/1:00 PM PT on Friday afternoon against the Brooklyn Nets. Atlanta advances to take on Portland in the second round on Thursday night.

The Pacers got off to a fast start on Wednesday, thanks in large part to Alex Poythress. The third-year forward hit his first three shots, including a two-handed dunk in traffic and a 3-pointer, as Indiana opened the game with a 12-2 run.

"I was just trying to be active today," Poythress said. "Be around the rim, bring energy, and do what I do."

The Blue & Gold continued to scorch the nets throughout the first quarter. The Pacers went 12-for-21 from the field in the opening frame (3-for-5 from 3-point range) as they doubled up the Hawks, 32-16.

Atlanta briefly trimmed the deficit to 10 points early in the second quarter, but the Pacers immediately countered with a 7-0 spurt.

With balanced scoring on one end and tenacious defense on the other end, the Pacers extended their lead to 62-40 heading into the break. The Blue & Gold shot 55.8 percent from the field while forcing the Hawks into 15 turnovers in the first half.

"I thought our blitzes were probably the best we've seen this entire tournament," Gansey said about his team's first-half defense. "We got deflections (and) we had 64 points in the paint. That should be enough to win a basketball game."

Indiana stretched the margin to 25 points early in the third quarter. Atlanta responded with an 11-2 run, then put together a 13-2 spurt later in the frame to make it a 10-point game.

Edmond Sumner tried to stop the bleeding, converting a three-point play in the closing seconds of the quarter to give Indiana an 85-72 cushion heading into the fourth.

The Hawks, however, kept coming. Atlanta scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter and tied the game at 87 on a vicious putback dunk by Omari Spellman with 6:09 remaining.

The Pacers retook the lead shortly thereafter, when 2018 first-round pick Aaron Holiday connected with second-round pick Alize Johnson for a fastbreak slam.

Atlanta took its first lead of the night with exactly five minutes remaining, as Trae Young — the fifth overall pick in last month's draft — drew a foul on a 3-pointer and then knocked down all three free throws.

The teams briefly traded the lead, but the Hawks moved in front for good on Alpha Kaba's basket with 4:17 remaining.

"It's a game of runs and we didn't withstand the runs," Poythress said. "There's always going to be runs. Players in this league are too good to stop them for 40 minutes."

Poythress led Indiana with 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting and seven rebounds in the loss. Holiday added 13 points, nine assists, and three steals, while Johnson had 12 points, 14 rebounds (seven offensive), and three steals.

TJ Leaf, the 18th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, scored nine points in 13 minutes in the first half, but sat out the second half due to left knee soreness.

Tyler Dorsey led all scorers with 24 points and also tallied eight rebounds and five assists for Atlanta. Young added 23 points and eight assists.

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Game Rewind: Pacers 101, Hawks 107 (Summer League)

After a day off, the Pacers returned to action in the 2018 NBA Summer League on Monday, playing their third game in four days.

TJ Leaf scored 20 points and Indiana got a strong performance from second-round pick Alize Johnson, who amassed 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting and seven rebounds in Monday's contest.

But it wasn't quite enough to overcome the Cleveland duo of Cedi Osman and Collin Sexton, who combined for 46 points and 10 assists to lead the Cavaliers to a 93-88 win at Cox Pavilion.

Offensively, the Pacers put together an uneven performance, tallying six more turnovers than assists.

"We had 17 turnovers, our last game we had eight turnovers," Pacers Summer League coach Steve Gansey said after the loss. "That's the game. In a 40-minute game, you've got to have 10 or less turnovers. You've just got to be smart."

PHOTO GALLERY: Pacers 88, Cavaliers 93 »

Both of the Pacers' two 2018 draft picks got off to strong starts on Monday afternoon.

First-round pick Aaron Holiday scored five of Indiana's first six points, knocking down an early jumper and then later converting a three-point play.

Johnson then provided a nice spark off the bench, crashing the glass and playing with energy. He scored seven points in the opening quarter, including a 3-pointer from the left corner, to help the Blue & Gold out to a 24-21 lead.

"Coming off the bench, being a spark plug right now for my team has been really helpful," Johnson. "I'm just trying to contribute as much as I can."

In one sequence midway through the opening frame, Holiday came up with a steal, then dished back to a hustling Johnson for a basket plus the foul.

The Pacers fell behind in the second quarter despite seven points in the frame from 2017 first-round pick TJ Leaf, and trailed 47-42 at halftime. The chief reason for the deficit was poor shooting, as Indiana shot just 37.5 percent in the first half, while Cleveland converted 52.8 percent of its attempts.

The start of the second half featured a memorable duel between Holiday and fellow point guard Sexton, whom the Cavs took with the eighth overall pick in last month's draft.

Sexton scored five quick points at the start of the third quarter to help Cleveland open up a 52-44 lead. But Holiday responded with seven points of his own to key an 11-2 Indiana run that put the Pacers back in front.

"Those are going to be two top point guards in this league," Gansey said. "It was kind of fun to watch."

Second-year forward Osman then put together his own personal showcase, scoring seven points, blocking Holiday, and drawing a charge in a little over a two-minute span to give Cleveland a five-point cushion. Cleveland maintained that advantage for remainder of the period, taking a 69-64 lead into the fourth quarter.

Johnson had another strong showing in the opening minutes of the final frame, scoring eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and showing a high level of assertion offensively, taking defenders off the dribble and attacking the rim.

"He got going for a little bit," Gansey said. "He just needs more time and more reps out there playing."

Nevertheless, the Cavaliers remained in front by multiple possessions for much of the fourth quarter. The Pacers twice cut the deficit to two points, but never could quite get over the hump as the Cavaliers pulled away late.

Leaf had 20 points and nine rebounds, but struggled again offensively, going just 8-for-21 from the field. Holiday also was inconsistent on that end, scoring 12 points and dishing out eight assists, but going just 4-for-14 from the field (1-for-7 from 3-point range) and committing eight turnovers.

"I had too many turnovers today," Holiday said. "I've got to go back and watch film and shoot layups. I had the layup, but I tried to pass it out (and committed turnovers)."

Second-year guard Edmond Sumner was the only other Pacers player to reach double figures. The former Xavier Musketeer scored 14 points and knocked down 6-of-11 shots, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range.

Osman led all scorers with 25 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists. Sexton added 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting for Cleveland in the win.

Indiana will begin tournament play on either Wednesday or Thursday. The tournament is single-elimination, but all teams that lose their first-round game will play a consolation game on Friday.

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Game Rewind: Pacers 88, Cavaliers 93 (Summer League)

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Pacers 88, Cavaliers 93 (Summer League)

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Pacers 86, Spurs 76 (Summer League)

After struggling to find his stroke during Friday's Summer League opener, TJ leaf erupted on Saturday, sending in a team-high 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting as Indiana notched its first victory of the summer, beating the Spurs 86-76.

Leaf was in the zone from the start, making three of his first four shots of the game as he led Indiana offensively. While the Pacers trailed for much of the first half, an overpowering third quarter gave Indiana an 11-point lead going into the fourth.

"Just credit to my teammates, they did a good job getting me in the flow early," said Leaf after the victory. "I just tried to come out and be more aggressive, take good shots, and I'm just glad we got the win at the end."

Over the final 10 minutes, Indiana was able to keep the Spurs at arm's length with a series of hustle plays, which included an offensive rebounding exhibition put on by Alize Johnson, who converted a bucket and the foul to push the Pacers ahead by 13 with 5:45 remaining.

Summer League Central: Learn More About The Team »

In the final minutes, Ben Moore flew over the Pacers' bench to save a loose ball, crashing through a Gatorade cooler in the process. The all-out play resulted in a basket from Alex Poythress as Indiana continued to extend its lead.

"That's what we're all about," said Pacers Summer League Head Coach Steve Gansey of the diving save. "That was a huge play by Ben."

Aside from Leaf's impressive performance, the Pacers also received strong contributions from Moore (10 points) and Johnson, who nearly notched a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

On San Antonio, it was Derrick White who had the scoring touch, sending in a game-best 19 points.

The Pacers got off to a slow start to the game offensively, falling behind 22-17 after going just 7-of-24 as a team in the opening quarter.

As the second quarter got underway, Indiana started to hit a rhythm with its second unit in the game, as C.J. Wilcox banked in a layup to pull within four.

With the starting unit cycling back into the contest, the Pacers began to inch even closer to the Spurs as Leaf continued to shine on offense.

Trailing by three with just under three minutes remaining in the half, rookie Aaron Holiday buried his first 3-pointer of the game, knotting things up at 40.

Moments later, Travis Leslie found space driving down the lane and threw down a right-handed slam, jolting energy into the Las Vegas crowd and putting the Pacers up by one.

But the Spurs had an answer, scoring two unanswered field goals to close the half with a 45-42 lead.

To begin the second half, Indiana's defense put forth a masterful quarter, limiting the Spurs to just eight points and opening up a 64-53 lead entering the fourth.

In the final quarter, Indiana was able to do enough on offense to put the game away as the Pacers snagged their first win of the MGM Resorts Summer League.

"We want to win. We're competitive," TJ leaf said after the victory. "No matter what game we're playing, we want to win."