Game Rewind: Pacers 111, Pelicans 94

Home sweet home made all the difference for the Pacers on Saturday night. After a disappointing 0-3 road trip, Indiana (7-11) put together an inspired performance back at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, walloping the New Orleans Pelicans (3-15), 111-94, on the second night of a back-to-back.

After being benched by head coach Rick Carlisle in the second half of Friday's loss at Charlotte, the Pacers' starters responded. They jumped out to a 17-point lead midway through the first quarter and kept their feet on the gas pedal into the second half, building the lead to 32 points by the end of the third quarter.

For the second straight night, not a single Indiana starter saw the floor in the fourth quarter, but this time it was for much better reasons, with the outcome already decided.

Domantas Sabonis led the Pacers with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in just 22 minutes. Justin Holiday, who replaced Chris Duarte in the starting lineup, added 17 points while going 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Malcolm Brogdon chipped in 16 points and four assists, while Myles Turner added 11 points, nine boards, and two blocks.

"I'm not going to necessarily say it was a good thing what happened last game with us, but I think it was a wakeup call," Turner said. "Sometimes this league is all about how you respond."

The Pacers showed plenty of fire from the opening tip on Saturday. The Blue & Gold forced three early turnovers and Turner, Holiday, and Brogdon all hit 3-pointers as Indiana opened the game with a 15-4 run.

That prompted a timeout from New Orleans coach Willie Green. The Pelicans got the first basket out of the break on a Tomas Satoransky jumper, but the Pacers responded with eight unanswered points — the last six from Sabonis — to push the lead to 23-6.

"We wanted to play a real movement kind of random game," Carlisle said. "When the ball moves and we're playing with that kind of pace and tempo, a lot of good things happen for us. The key is to be aggressive and not frantic."

The Pelicans eventually got their offense going in the latter stages of the first quarter, but Indiana more or less matched them bucket for bucket and took a 32-19 lead into the second quarter.

In the ensuing frame, back-to-back threes by Sabonis and Brogdon pushed the Pacers' lead to 44-28 with 7:41 remaining. A short while later, Holiday drained two treys of his own, then scored again on a cut off a nice dish from Sabonis, drawing a foul in the process. The subsequent free throw completed a three-point play and made it a 20-point game at 55-35.

New Orleans responded, however, with an 11-3 run to close the half, with all their points coming from Brandon Ingram and Trey Murphy III over that run. Still, the hosts held a 58-46 lead at the intermission.

After going scoreless in the first half, Caris LeVert scored five quick points in the third quarter, nailing a three and mid-range jumper as Indiana opened the frame with a 10-5 surge.

The Blue & Gold led 72-58 with 7:30 remaining in the third quarter before unleashing the run that officially put the game away. First, Brogdon set up Sabonis for a three, then Sabonis returned the favor on the next possession. After a Kira Lewis Jr. layup, Indiana reeled off nine straight points — the highlight coming when Duarte missed a pull-up shot in transition, but Turner came flying in to finish over three New Orleans defenders for a two-handed putback slam.

After a 17-2 run, the Pacers led 89-60 and they extended the margin more before the quarter was over, taking a commanding 96-64 lead into the fourth quarter.

"I think we played with great energy," Brogdon said. "I think we played a lot faster than we have in games leading up to this. And I think we just played together. I think we were out there playing together on both sides of the ball. Those are the characteristics from this game that we have to let bleed over into every other game this season."

Carlisle emptied his bench in the final frame, as the hosts cruised to victory. The Pacers have won five of seven games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse so far this season, a good sign given the upcoming schedule.

Indiana will travel to Chicago for its next game on Monday, but nine of the Pacers' next 10 contests after that are at home.

12 of the 13 Pacers to see the floor on Saturday scored, with five reaching double figures. Kelan Martin was the lone reserve to cross that threshold, finishing with 12 points and three assists.

Jonas Valanciunas had a team-high 19 points and 13 rebounds for New Orleans in the loss. Naji Marshall added 14 points, while Lewis and Ingram both scored 12.

After visiting the Bulls on Monday, the Pacers will host a three-game homestand featuring visits from the last three NBA champions over Thanksgiving weekend. The Lakers are in Indianapolis on Wednesday, followed by Toronto on Friday, and Milwaukee next Sunday.

The Pacers outscored New Orleans by 24 points. Indiana went 14-for-38 (36.8 percent) from 3-point range, while the Pelicans were 6-for-18 (33.3 percent).

Ingram, the Pelicans' leading scorer and an All-Star in 2020, entered the night averaging 23.6 points per game. But the Pacers held him to just 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting.

Holiday continued his hot shooting at home. He has made four or more threes in five of seven home games this season and is shooting 42.8 percent from 3-point range at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, as compared to just 30.5 percent on the road.

The Pacers had just 11 turnovers on Saturday, while forcing New Orleans into 16.

Sabonis recorded his 13th double-double of the season and his 10th in his last 12 games. His six assists matched his season high in a non-overtime game.

"We played with better tempo, better pace, defended well...Obviously a much-needed win for us." -Carlisle

"Tonight I think we just wanted to come out here and share the ball. I think that's what we did. There's been a lot of ball stoppage the past couple games. The way we got it flowing here in the first half especially was encouraging and we've got to continue to build off it." -Turner

"Today (Coach Carlisle) said I'm going to back off a bit and let you guys play your game. I feel like that really helped with a lot of players out there to be more themselves (and me) personally. We were just going out there sharing the ball and that made it more fun." -Sabonis

"He's one of our best flow and movement players and doesn't need the ball. So the thought was to get him in the starting group, bring Chris off the bench right away for Caris, and then just kind of go from there." -Carlisle on starting Holiday

"I think it shows growth and maturity. We have vets on this team and I think it was up to us to set the tone." -Brogdon on bouncing back after Friday's disappointment

The Pacers led by as many as 32 points on Saturday, their largest lead in any game this season.

The Pacers welcome LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »

TV: Bally Sports Indiana - Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)