The Eastern Conference play-in games started Tuesday night with a wire-to-wire Indiana Pacer win over the Charlotte Hornets, 144-117. Domantas Sabonis dominated every part of the game for the undermanned Pacers, who were missing one of their best players, Caris LeVert, due to the NBA health and safety protocols.
The Hornets did not show great effort tonight. They allowed the Pacers to get open looks from beyond the arc and easy shots at the basket. Once again, the Hornets came out flat in the first quarter, which is nothing new over the past several weeks. The Pacers’ Doug McDermott came out on fire, scoring 16 points in the quarter. They opened up a double digit lead in the first and the Hornets never made the game competitive. At the end of the quarter Indiana led 40-24.
The same trend lasted throughout the entirety of the game. It looked like the Hornets team gave up at times. P.J. Washington stood out like a sore thumb defensively, getting back-cut on several occasions. LaMelo Ball made some glaring rookie mistakes, over-helping on defense and being too passive on offense. At the half, the Hornets were losing 69-45.
In the third quarter, the Hornets had some fight to them, forcing a few turnovers, which led to some transition baskets. Ball and Miles Bridges did a little bit of damage late in the quarter, but it was already too little, too late. The Hornets trailed by thirty going into the fourth quarter, 108-78.
Charlotte tried their best to make it interesting in the fourth quarter, but it was too big a deficit to overcome. The game ended mercifully, 144-117.
Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 18 points and Cody Zeller added 17. Terry Rozier, Malik Monk and LaMelo Ball each ended the game in double figures. Sabonis had 14 points, 21 rebounds and 9 assists for the Pacers. Oshae Brissett led the Pacers in scoring with 23 points.
The Hornets’ season is over, but they have things to build on for next year. They have decisions to make about their veterans. The young players have work to do, but their future is promising.
The Indiana Pacers will take on the loser of the Washington Wizard-Boston Celtic game on Thursday night for the right to play the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of playoffs.
