Josh Richardson scored 27 points off the bench and Tre Jones canned a pair of crucial free throws in the final seconds as the San Antonio Spurs held on after a crazy final stretch for a 137-134 win over the short-handed Indiana Pacers on Friday in Indianapolis.
The Spurs survived a ragged final five minutes as Indiana continually fouled Jakob Poeltl, forcing the career 51.8 percent free throw shooter to convert from the line. Poeltl made 10 of 16 of his foul shots in that stretch while the Pacers cut their 21-point deficit to 135-134 after a steal and layup by Tyrese Haliburton with 6.7 seconds left.
Jones’ two free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining forced the Pacers to take a 3-pointer in an attempt to tie the game. Bennedict Mathurin missed a 26-foot shot for Indiana with 1.7 seconds left to allow the Spurs to escape.
Devin Vassell scored a career-high 23 points for the Spurs while Keldon Johnson also had 23. Poeltl had 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Jones added 18 points and Zach Collins hit for 11. San Antonio had 102 points by the end of the third, matching its total output in its season-opening loss against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
Haliburton led the Pacers with 27 points and 12 assists, with Mathurin adding 26 points. Isaiah Jackson scored 16, Andrew Nembhard added 14 and Buddy Hield put up 13. Indiana played without starting center Myles Turner (ankle sprain).
Indiana trailed from the start but got within 50-47 after Goga Bitadze’s putback layup at the 5:02 mark of the second before the Spurs ran off the ensuing eight points to jump ahead by 11 points. Richardson canned a 3-pointer at the buzzer to grant San Antonio a 70-55 advantage at the break.
Mathurin led all scorers in the half with 16 points off the bench while Richardson’s 14 paced the Spurs. San Antonio hit 12 3-pointers by halftime after making just seven shots from beyond the arc in their season-opening loss.
San Antonio never let off the accelerator, running its lead to as many as 21 points in the third quarter before carrying a 102-85 edge into the final 12 minutes. Five players had already scored in double figures by the end of the third.
–Field Level Media
