The Indiana Pacers found their offense and ended a three-game losing streak in their last game.
The New Orleans Pelicans will try to rediscover their offensive touch and end their three-game skid when they host the Pacers on Friday night.
Host Indiana played its best game of the young season on Wednesday, outlasting the defending champion and previously unbeaten Boston Celtics 135-132 in overtime.
That same night, the Pelicans, who won their first two games, lost at Golden State (104-89) for the second time in two nights to cap a 1-3 road trip.
“There was a different attitude, a different vibe,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said of the win. “We did rebounding and loose-ball drills (during shootaround). Nobody does that, but rebounding missed 3s has become the ultimate Achilles heel for us. We were last in the league in rebounding those, so we had to do something.”
Indiana had to scramble after leading by as many as 24 in the second half before Boston rallied to force the extra period. The lost lead was reminiscent of the 2024 Eastern Conference finals in which the Pacers squandered significant leads in three games during the Celtics’ four-game sweep.
“It’s easy to go into that overtime pretty negative because you felt like we had the game won for the most part,” All-Star Tyrese Haliburton said. “But we’ve been in this exact same position with this exact same team. It’s a big win for us.”
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 29 points, including the final five of overtime after Boston had taken a two-point lead.
The Pacers struggled offensively during the skid but finished with a season-high point total against the Celtics.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans scored fewer than 100 points for the first time this season and shot just 36.7 percent from the floor on Wednesday. Zion Williamson had 12 rebounds but made just 5 of 20 shots from the floor and finished with 12 points.
“We’ve just got to find a rhythm, especially me offensively,” said Williamson, who’s shooting 36.4 percent from the floor this season. “I’ve just got to make it happen. I don’t put it on anybody else.”
Williamson, who went 12-of-19 shooting while scoring 31 in a 124-106 loss to the Warriors on Tuesday, said he must be more patient after “forcing the issue” on Wednesday.
On the injury front, Trey Murphy III has yet to play because of a strained hamstring, while Dejounte Murray is expected to miss four to six weeks after surgery to repair a fractured left (non-shooting) hand suffered in the season opener.
CJ McCollum (adductor) and Herbert Jones (shoulder) were injured Tuesday and will miss the contest. Daniel Theis was sidelined after an ankle injury on Wednesday and is questionable.
Coach Willie Green said his short-handed team “battled our tails off” on Wednesday and “took a step in the right direction.”
“We’ll get home, build from here and try to get some guys back,” he added.
–Field Level Media
