INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana lost its best player to a season-ending injury last month and trailed New Orleans by 20 points midway through Friday’s matchup, but the Pacers again showed why they’re one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams. Behind some hot shooting and contributions from an array of players, Indiana completely swung the momentum, going up by double digits in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we played well in the first half,” Alvin Gentry said. “I didn’t think we played with the same energy in the third quarter that we started the game with. (The Pacers) are a really good team. They are going to stay in the game.”
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Indiana sank a pair of free throws, then got New Orleans to misfire on its next three shots, resulting in the Pacers leading by a dozen points with two-plus minutes remaining. Bojan Bogdanovic banked in a mid-range shot for a 123-109 edge on an ensuing possession.
PELICANS PLAYER OF THE GAME
Third-year reserve big Cheick Diallo played one of the best games of his NBA career, posting an efficient and productive night. Diallo finished with a double-double consisting of 16 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. The native of Mali was 5/7 from the field and 6/7 from the foul line.
“I think the way Cheick plays, he’s going to always be involved, because he’s such an active guy,” Gentry said. “To come up with 18 rebounds, and I thought he played with so much energy throughout. He’ll continue to get better on the little things, positioning-wise and angles, by just playing. The energy that he plays with is the big key. The other things will be easy to come up with.”
FOCUS ON: ELFRID PAYTON’S RETURN
The team’s anticipated starting point guard this season played for just the 20th time in 60 games Friday. For chunks of the first half, he and the Pelicans provided glimpses of what they accomplished early in ’18-19 when Payton was in uniform, piling up 71 points and getting a steady stream of easy hoops and open three-point attempts. That changed dramatically in the second half, when one of the NBA’s top defenses started to put the clamps on New Orleans.
Payton logged 28 minutes, slightly more than the 20 to 25 he was projected to play, but was pleased with some aspects of his first game action since Jan. 26. The first-year Pelican notched 15 points on 7/10 shooting, while handing out four assists.
“I felt good,” Payton said in the visiting locker room. “Still got to get back into shape; I think that cost me a couple times on the defensive end, being out of position by one second. For the most part, I felt good. I’ve just got to get back in top shape.
“The whole first half we felt good about what we were doing. The ball was moving and wasn’t sticking. We were flying around defensively and covering for each other, even when we were making mistakes. We let that third quarter get away from us.”
“I loved it, the way he played,” fellow backcourt starter Jrue Holiday said. “I wish we had that all year. But I loved seeing him out there, loved seeing him be aggressive.”
“It was good, for him to be aggressive and do what he does well – attack the rim, make plays and keep playing hard,” said E’Twaun Moore (12 points in 20 minutes), also a recent returnee from injury. “He’s a competitor.”
BY THE NUMBERS
8/16: New Orleans three-point shooting in the first half. That changed to 0/11 in the second half.
6/20: Indiana three-point shooting in the first half. That changed to 8/12 in the second half.
18: New Orleans turnovers, leading to 25 Indiana points. The Pelicans only mustered seven points off 11 Pacers turnovers.