The Pacers Summer League squad returned to action Friday night for its fourth game in Las Vegas, Nevada. The crew took on the Washington Wizards without the talents of Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, and Terry Taylor. The talented trio proved enough through three games and was sidelined for the remainder of the Summer League schedule.
Unfortunately, the Pacers could not pull off the win tonight at Thomas & Mack Center. After a hard-fought first half, Washington used an 18-2 run in the third quarter and outscored the Blue & Gold 35-22 in the period to take a sizeable lead it would hold for the remainder of the game. After 40 minutes, the Wizards emerged victorious, 97-79. With the loss, the Pacers were eliminated from Summer League championship contention. The Pacers will play in their fifth and final game on Sunday.
Nonetheless, there were a few individual performances that stood out. Kendall Brown finished with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He also tallied two assists and two blocks. Aaron Nesmith also finished in double figures with 12 points. Meanwhile, Andrew Nembhard finished with seven points, six rebounds, and a game-high nine assists.
"(Kendall) was good," said Pacers Summer League head coach Ronald Nored. "He affected the game on both ends. He blocked shots at the rim. He was able to get to the rim and make some dump-offs."
"He's such a great athlete that his athleticism can overwhelm people, and we saw that a little bit tonight."
Just as they did on Tuesday, the Blue & Gold started the game with a spark. First, Nesmith and Nembhard knocked in back-to-back triples. Then, Nesmith added a tough bucket from the paint to cap an 8-0 run to start the game.
The Pacers held Washington to just 3-of-9 shooting through the first 4:50 of the quarter. However, Washington methodically chipped away at the Pacers' advantage. At the 3:19 mark, Tahjere McCall finished a three-point play to give the Wizards a 13-12 lead.
From there, the squads fought neck-and-neck for the lead. At the 1:01 mark, Bennie Boatwright banked in a hook shot through a foul to break a 15-all tie. The defense held Washington to a single free throw to keep a one-point edge heading into the second frame.
An 8-2 Wizards run, six from Jaime Echenique, helped the foes grab a 24-19 lead with 7:56 left. From there, Washington controlled a slim lead for a spell. Three free throws from China native Fanbo Zeng cut Indiana's deficit to 26-25 with 5:37 left. But, Arturs Zagars quickly retaliated with a triple on the other end.
Washington soon stretched its lead to seven as the Pacers had some trouble with turnovers. Then, with 2:39 left, an errant Brown pass wound up in the hands of Jordan Schakel. The guard quickly found Jordan Goodwin on an outlet pass for an easy transition flush. The bucket gave Washington a 38-29 lead and forced an Indiana timeout.
However, the Pacers did not fold. Trailing 42-33 with 1:04 left, the squad rattled off a small 7-3 run, five from Gabe York, to cut the gap to 45-40 before halftime.
Both sides started the third quarter lights-out. Indiana sandwiched a Goodwin triple with an alley-oop from Brown and a Nesmith three from the top of the key. However, Schakel quickly responded with a three of his own. Washington led 55-47 with 7:13 remaining in the frame.
At the 5:49 mark, the Pacers cut the deficit to 55-52 with a pair of Nate Hinton free throws. But that would be as close as they would get for the rest of the frame.
Washington erupted for an 18-2 run, seven from Goodwin, over the next 3:59. The spree gave the Wizards a 73-54 lead before Nesmith hit a step-back jumper from the left side. Nonetheless, Washington worked back to an 18-point advantage before the teams entered the final frame (80-62).
"The biggest thing was their defensive pressure," said coach Nored when asked about the run. "Conversely, they didn't feel us. We didn't pressure them the same way."
Washington quickly pushed its lead over the 20-point mark early in the fourth. Former Northwestern guard Pat Spencer tallied five straight in 28 seconds for Washington to grab an 85-64 lead with 8:14 left.
Indiana attempted a comeback with a 9-0 run over the next 2:40. However, Washington quickly patched up the holes to prevent a major collapse. Indiana could not cut the deficit to fewer than 12 for the remainder of the game.