Charlotte Hornets 113 – Indiana Pacers 109 (Dec. 8th, 2024) Game Recap - Page 7
Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
1. First Quarter
For the fourth time in the last five games, Indiana’s starting lineup featured Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. Slow starts have been problematic at different times this season for Indiana. This afternoon, the Pacers let the Hornets jump out to a 9-0 lead in the first three minutes. Indiana would answer by scoring seven consecutive to make it a two-point game following a Nembhard layup. The Pacers eventually tied it for the first time with a T.J. McConnell field goal at twelve. Obi Toppin briefly provided Indiana with its first lead of the game with a three, but Charlotte responded with four quick points to retake the lead. Indiana would tie it again with 2:55 remaining in the quarter with a Jarace Walker three that made it 20-20. Charlotte only surrendered the lead once despite Indiana tying the game four times. Charlotte’s lead after a quarter was 28-24. Cody Martin, Myles Turner, and T.J. McConnell all had six points in the opening quarter. McConnell also dished out three assists in his five minutes of play.
2. Second Quarter
The second quarter between these two teams would be very similar. It started with Charlotte extending its lead to seven points with a Brandon Miller three. Indiana would come back and take another brief lead courtesy of Siakam. He would complete a three-point play to make it 38-26 with 9:06 left in the half. Charlotte answered by retaking the lead and going on top by five points when Martin scored a layup with 5:30 remaining. Vasilije Micic then put the Hornets offense on his back by scoring give straight points to maintain their lead. He erupted for 13 points in the period. Indiana had a chance to carry a lead into halftime, but Toppin could not convert the three. Through two quarters, Charlotte led Indiana 63-62. McConnell led all scorers with 14 points followed by Micic from Charlotte with 13. All three players in double figures for Indiana were bench players. Toppin scored 11 points and Walker recorded 10 points along with McConnell’s contributions. Haliburton was the only player to play for Indiana in the first half and not score.
3. Third Quarter
In the first half, Indiana’s largest lead was two points and the most the Pacers trailed by was nine points. The second half started with Siakam converting a free throw line jumper to give Indiana its only second half lead. Charlotte would score five straight points to take a four-point lead once again over Indiana. The Hornets eventually pushed their lead to seven points following a Brandon Miller three with 2:30 left in the quarter. Rick Carlisle would call a timeout to regroup, and his team responded by closing the final 2:30 by scoring six points and holding Charlotte to zero points. After three quarters, Indiana trailed 83-82. Both teams only scored 20 points in the third quarter after combining to score 73 points in the second quarter. After a scoreless first half, Haliburton paced Indiana with six points and then Miller also scored six points to lead Charlotte in the quarter. McConnell led all scorers after three quarter of play with 18 points. Indiana shot 38.1% from the field in the third quarter compared to Charlotte’s 32%.
4. Fourth Quarter
Despite it being a back-to-back for the Hornets, they did now show any signs of being tired or slowing down. There were four instances where the Pacers were within a point in the first two minutes, but they never forced a stop in any of those scenarios. With 6:28 left in the contest, former Pacer Isaiah Wong put the Hornets ahead 100-93 with a field goal. Indiana received a three from Mathurin and layup to make it a two-point contest with 5:17 remaining. However, the Hornets responded once again with four points to make it a two-possession game with 2:23 left in the game. The Pacer would draw within two points with 22 seconds left following a Mathurin layup but had to extend the game by fouling. Josh green went one for two at the line and the Charlotte fouled Haliburton with 9.6 seconds remaining. Haliburton missed the second of the two on purpose, but the Pacers could not grab the loose ball. Indiana falls to Charlotte 113-109.
5. Top Performers
Brandon Miller (26p, 6r, 5a), Vasilije Micic (18p, 9a, 2s), Cody Martin (14p, 6r, 2s), and Josh Green (10p, 4r). For Indiana, T.J. McConnell (30p, 6a, 2s, 2b), Jarace Walker (15p, 3r), Obi Toppin (11p, 3r, 2a), Bennedict Mathurin (11p, 3r), Andrew Nembhard (10p, 4r, 3a), Myles Turner (10p), and Tyrese Haliburton (9p, 8a, 2r, 3b). For tonight’s full box score, click here.
6. Notes
- Indiana Pacers are now 0-2 vs the Charlotte Hornets (one game left in series – April 2nd)
- Indiana Pacers 7-4 at home this season
- Indiana starters combined to score 49 points
- J. McConnell, Obi Toppin, and Jarace Walker combined to score 56 points
- Charlotte Hornets snapped eight-game losing streak and their eight-game road losing streak
- First road win since season opener
- T.J. McConnell recorded a season and career high 30 points in the loss
- Andrew Nembhard played his first full game since returning from knee tendonitis
- Tyrese Haliburton recorded a home season low 9 points
- Ties third worst scoring output at Gainbridge Fieldhouse since joining Pacers
- Haliburton 6th game this season scoring single digits
- Failed to reach double digits 6 times all last season in 69 games
- Pascal Siakam scored a Pacers career low 9 points in the loss
- First time since 11/5/23 scoring under 10 points
- Pascal Siakam grabbed 10+ rebounds for the 3rd time this season
- Vasilije Micic recorded season high 18 points
- Only 4th game with 10+ points
7. Next Up
The Indiana Pacers will get some much-needed rest, along with most of the rest of the team’s that failed to make the NBA Cup Quarterfinals. Indiana will next be in action on Friday to begin a stretch where the team will be on the road for six of the next eight games. Pat Boylan will have the pregame show at 6:30pm. Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play of Indiana Pacers at Philadelphia 76ers at 7pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.
Charlotte Hornets 113 – Indiana Pacers 109 (Dec. 8th, 2024) Game Recap - Page 7 was originally published on 1075thefan.com
