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The New Orleans Pelicans took on the Indiana Pacers for the first time this season on Wednesday. New Orleans, which demolished the New York Knicks 115-92 less than 24 hours ago, hoped to make it back-to-back road wins in the East. Although they were playing the second leg of consecutive games, the return of CJ McCollum from a foot injury gave them a boost against the Pacers.
Indiana, which struggled to hit shots in their 130-122 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Monday, came out sizzling hot. They raced to an early 12-point lead, behind Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam. As expected, the Pacers pushed the ball every chance they had to wear down the Pelicans.
The Pacers bench, which has been superb, came alive early behind Obi Toppin and Ben Sheppard, who combined for 15 points. After the first 12 minutes, Indiana rolled to a 40-24 lead. It could have been a rout had the Pelicans continued to be lethargic.
New Orleans, though, played much better in the second quarter. Zion Williamson found his groove while Ingram continued to sizzle. Indiana still had enough cushion, though, to lead 64-53 heading into the halftime break.
The third quarter was a seesaw battle. Despite playing the back end of a back-to-back set, the New Orleans Pelicans' energy kept up. They stayed within striking distance of the Indiana Pacers.
CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson provided the scoring punch for the visitors. Trey Murphy III, who started off the bench following McCollum's return, also hit timely baskets.
Indiana is leaning on balanced scoring to stay ahead of the Pelicans. Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin and Ben Sheppard breached the 10-point mark. After the first-quarter explosion, the Pacers carried a 96-86 advantage going into the final period.
The Pelicans had a several mini-rallies in the fourth quarter, but the Pacers responded every time. Siakam, Turner and Haliburton ended up with double-doubles to lead Indiana to a 123-114 victory.
New Orleans gave everything they could but couldn't overcome the big deficit they squandered in the first quarter. Had they not started out the gate slow, they might have had enough to pull off a late rally. The back-to-back set eventually took a toll on their legs early on.
New Orleans Pelicans vs Indiana Pacers game player stats and box scores
New Orleans Pelicans game player stats
Indiana Pacers game player stats
Guess the Lakers players!
