Game Rewind: Pacers 115, Timberwolves 121 - NBA.com

Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 8:00 PM ET at Target Center

Game Recap

There was plenty of drama through the first six games of the Indiana Pacers’ seven-game road trip, so it was no surprise the last leg of the away stretch proved no different.

The Pacers (13-12) trailed by 23 points in the second quarter, led by eight in the third quarter and re-tied the game with a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left in the game, but weren’t able to overcome the Minnesota Timberwolves (13-12) down the final stretch in a 121-115 loss at Target Center.

After Pacers center Myles Turner hit his third 3-pointer in the final frame to tie the game at 115, the Timberwolves sank four straight free throws and added a dunk with 3 seconds left to secure the season sweep over the Pacers. Indiana has now lost four straight to Minnesota dating back to last season.

“There are a lot of positives to take from this, but this is not Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “This is NBA basketball and we have to face the realities. We have to face the realities of our poor starts and just take the challenge as a group.”

During their longest road trip of the season, the Pacers went 2-5.

Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton finished with 26 points and 15 assists while Buddy Hield also scored 26 for the Blue & Gold, but on seven made 3-pointers.

D’Angelo Russell topped the Timberwolves with 28 points, scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter. Anthony Edwards totaled 26 points while adding eight rebounds, eight assists and six steals and three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert had 16 points to go along with 21 rebounds.

Like the first outing, the Pacers were dominated in the paint by the Timberwolves, as they were outscored 64-36 inside while also being outrebounded 51-31. The Pacers shot 48 percent from the field to the Timberwolves’ 47 percent.

The first and second quarters were polar opposites for the Pacers.

After trailing 35-17 at the end of 12 minutes, the Pacers outscored the Timberwolves 44-28 in the second quarter to make it a 63-61 deficit at halftime.

The Pacers shot 13-for-20 in the second quarter (7-for-11 3-point range) after making just 28.6 percent of their shots in the opening frame.

Indiana trailed by as many as 19 points in the first quarter – the largest deficit the team has faced in an opening frame this season.

The Timberwolves jumped to a 12-3 advantage midway through the opening quarter as the Pacers missed six of its first seven shots and turned the ball over twice.

An and-one conversion by Haliburton stopped the Blue & Gold bleeding, but the Timberwolves responded with a 3-pointer from Jaylen Nowell and layup from Edwards to go up 19-6 with 5:30 left in the first quarter, prompting a Pacers timeout.

While the Pacers were able to get some offense going out of the mini break, with rookie Bennedict Mathurin coming off the bench and scoring six points, Edwards dazzled in the final 5:10 of the quarter scoring nine of his then-game-high 14 points.

At the end of the first quarter, trailing 35-17, the Pacers had turned the ball over eight times and were outrebounded 15-6.

Minnesota led by at least 20 points in the second quarter, after scoring five quick points in the first minute, until two 3-pointers by Hield and a trey by Turner narrowed the Timberwolves lead to 49-33 with 7:38 left in the half.

From 6:29 to 5:58 the Pacers scored seven unanswered points, capped by Hield’s fourth 3-pointer of the game, to trail 51-40 into a Timberwolves timeout.

After going on a 7-0 run, Aaron Nesmith scored a layup for the Pacers with 3 seconds left to make it a one-possession game.

Both Hield and Edwards had 16 points at the break.

The teams traded the lead twice before an 11-3 Pacers run – on two 3-pointers by Haliburton and a trey from Hield – put the Pacers up 75-67 four minutes into the third quarter.

Indiana then led until the Timberwolves scored seven unanswered points in the last two minutes – capped by a buzzer-beating 10-foot jumper by Jordan McLaughlin – to tie the game at 90 going into the final frame.

The Timberwolves used an 11-2 run, on seven points by Russell,  to lead 105-96 halfway through the fourth quarter.

Over the next five minutes, it became a 3-point contest as the Pacers made four treys and Russell hit a pair of threes to keep his team ahead 115-112 with 1:02 left in the game.

After Turner's game-tying 3-pointer, a key stop came off a Gobert block on a Hield layup attempt. From there, the Timberwolves closed it out.

Going into the matchup with the Timberwolves, the Pacers had a much healthier roster compared to Monday at Golden State, as four of the six Indiana players that sat out against the Warriors returned to active status, including Haliburton, Turner, T.J. McConnell and James Johnson.

The Timberwolves were missing an important player in All-Star forward Karl Anthony-Towns, who is sidelined with a calf injury.

Indiana will kick off a four-game homestand against the Washington Wizards on Friday. The Wizards, who will be without star Bradley Beal due to injury, beat the Pacers 114-107 on Oct. 19.

Inside the Numbers

The Pacers are 10-1 when shooting better than their opponent in a game this season.

After going 18-for-24 from the free throw line in the first half, the Pacers didn’t attempt a shot at the charity stripe in the second half.

The Pacers bench, which is ranked third in scoring at 41.8 points per game, was outscored by the Timberwolves reserves 32-24

Haliburton has now achieved 15+ assists in a game seven times in his career, including three times this season.

Hield has now made seven 3-pointers twice this season, with the other being against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 26. The franchise record for 3-pointers in a single game is nine, shared by Paul George (2012) and T.J. Warren (2020). Hield’s personal high is 11, set in 2019 as a member of the Sacramento Kings.

Haliburton notched his 14th double-double of the season against the Timberwolves, which is the most by any guard in the NBA.

The Pacers are 6-2 when Hield hits five or more 3-pointers in a game.

You Can Quote Me On That

“We have great guys. They go hard,  love to play and love playing with each other. I’ve had a lot of different teams over the years. This team is as likable a group of guys and as loveable a group of guys to coach as I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a championship team, too. We’ve got great guys. It’s a pleasure every day and I think our fans see that – they see the joy that our guys play with, and it’s one thing that has captured the imagination of a lot of people in the league this year.”  – Carlisle on coaching this year’s team

“We’ve gotta be nastier to start games. That’s just a fact.” – Carlisle on the slow starts

“I don’t know that I’ve seen a player quite like (Haliburton). That’s one of the things that makes him so special – he is just himself. He’s the first Tyrese Haliburton. He’s not really a clone of anyone. He’s a great young player and leader and is learning a lot of the responsibility that comes with that.” – Carlisle on Haliburton’s strong start to the season

“I think the biggest thing we learned is we need to stick to who we are. I think who we are is a hard-playing team, togetherness, playing with energy and physicality on both sides of the floor. I think that’s just what we need to stick to.” – Nembhard on lessons from the long road trip

“I was just trying to just find open spots and use my 3-point ability to help my teammates score, too.” – Hield on his strong shooting night

“We’re a young team. With a young team, you have that fighting spirit. I think that’s one thing we’ve built on. ... That will be important against these better teams.” –Turner

Stat of the Night

In the second quarter, the Pacers shot 65 percent from the field (13-for-20), 63 percent from 3-point (7-for-11) and 84 percent from the free throw (11-for-13) to outscore the Timberwolves 44-28 after trailing by 23 points early in the frame.

Noteworthy

• Pacers forward Oshae Brissett is 14 points from hitting 1,000 for his career.
• Jalen Smith, who played in each of the first 24 games this season, was a late scratch for the Pacers due to a sore right knee. Chris Duarte has missed 16 straight games due to an ankle sprain and Daniel Theis has yet to make debut for the Blue & Gold after having knee surgery.
• The seven-game road trip was the longest since the 1985-1986 season for the Pacers.

Up Next

The Pacers will return to Indiana to host Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday, Dec. 9 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiQWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm5iYS5jb20vcGFjZXJzL25ld3MvcmV3aW5kLXBhY2Vycy10aW1iZXJ3b2x2ZXMtMjIxMjA30gEA?oc=5

2022-12-08 04:55:00Z
CBMiQWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm5iYS5jb20vcGFjZXJzL25ld3MvcmV3aW5kLXBhY2Vycy10aW1iZXJ3b2x2ZXMtMjIxMjA30gEA

Bagikan Berita Ini