Pascal Siakam amassed 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers cruised to a 119-86 win over the Washington Wizards in the final NBA Cup game for both teams on Friday in Indianapolis.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 20 points and matched his season high with four assists for Indiana, which led by as many as 33 and won for the third time in their first 19 games. T.J. McConnell tallied 14 points, Jay Huff added 12, and Jarace Walker and Isaiah Jackson scored 10 apiece.
Indiana shot 52.2% from the field and held Washington to a season-low point total. Both teams finished 1-3 in the NBA Cup.
Alex Sarr led Washington with 24 points. The Wizards were unable to carry the momentum from Tuesday, when they snapped a 14-game losing streak with a 132-113 home win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Khris Middleton added 12 points for Washington, while Bilal Coulibaly and CJ McCollum recorded 11 apiece. McCollum was 5-of-13 shooting after posting season highs with 46 points and 10 made 3-pointers in the win over Atlanta.
The Pacers took a 30-24 lead at the end of the opening quarter in a matchup between two teams that entered the contest with a combined 4-31 record. McConnell came off the bench and hit 3 of 4 shots and pace Indiana with six points.
Siakam scored three points in the first quarter before helping the Pacers take control in the second period. Indiana led 64-52 at the half after closing on a 16-4 run.
Siakam added 14 points in the second quarter for Indiana, knocking down 7 of 9 field goal attempts. The Pacers converted 60% from the field (15 of 25) in the stanza.
The Pacers extended their lead to 82-65 on Huff’s offensive rebound and put-back with 4:11 left in the third quarter. Washington struggled to keep pace with Indiana, which held a 94-73 advantage at the end of the period.
Washington fell behind 111-82 on Mathurin’s dunk with 5:48 left in the fourth quarter and trailed by double digits for the entire second half.
McConnell added a game-high eight assists, while Huff rejected four Wizard shots.
The injury-plagued Pacers played without several starters, including Andrew Nembhard (right quad contusion) and Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles tendon tear).
Washington forward Corey Kispert is out indefinitely after breaking the tip of his right thumb in the win over Atlanta on Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
