Buddy Hield scored 25 points, Tyrese Haliburton had a double-double with 19 points and 13 dimes and the Indiana Pacers halted a four-game losing streak, routing the Charlotte Hornets 144-113 on Wednesday night behind a red hot 61% shooting from the field. Haliburton became the first player in NBA history to have at least 10 assists in 17-straight games.
“Our offense looked better,” Haliburton said. “We got a lot of good looks. I thought we went back to the basics on a lot of stuff (in practice), and it helped. A good win for us. Just figured out a way to win.”
The Pacers were on fire from the charity strike, knocking down 28 of 30 free throws and led by 33. Aaron Nesmith added 19 points, Myles Turner had 18, Bennedict Mathurin 14 and Jalen Smith and Isaiah Jackson 10 apiece. T.J. McConnell did a little bit of everything with nine points, nine assists and five rebounds.
Embed from Getty ImagesTerry Rozier led the undermanned Hornets with 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and rookie Brandon Miller added 21 points and six boards. The Hornets shot 47% from the field, making only eight shots from distance to the Pacers’ 18.
“It just gets frustrating when they’re scoring like that,” Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. “We don’t have a lot of room for error. Our guys know that. Weak fouls, second-chance points, not getting matched up. It takes its toll.”
Playing without starting point guard LaMelo Ball and center Mark Williams, the Hornets dropped their sixth consecutive game to fall to 7-19 on the season. Ball, averaging 24.7 points, 8.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds, his contribution is impossible to replace, missing his 11th straight game due to a sprained right ankle. Williams, averaging 12.7 points and 9.7 rebounds, was sidelined for his sixth in a row because of a back contusion.
The Pacers led 31-29 at the end of the first quarter, 71-60 at halftime and 107-86 entering the final period. The Hornets never led by more than two.
“Winning cures a lot,” Hield said. “Everybody’s relieved. Coming off the high of the in-season tournament, we rode the storm (out). (Thursday night at Memphis) we have another storm to weather. Ja Morant is back.”
Hornets: Host Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Saturday
night.
Pacers: Travel to Memphis to face Ja Morant and the Grizzlies on
Thursday night.
