Pascal Siakam totaled 28 points and 11 rebounds as the host Indiana Pacers pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 121-100 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.
Siakam’s double-double helped the Pacers improve to 8-5 in their past 13 and moved to within 1 1/2 games of the fifth-place Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference.
Siakam finished 11-of-22 shooting and scored 24 over the final three quarters to help the Pacers score 82 points in the paint. Tyrese Haliburton struggled with his shot and added 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting, including 1 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Aaron Nesmith contributed 16, T.J. McConnell finished with 13 while Myles Turner and rookie Ben Sheppard chipped in 11 apiece as the Pacers shot 6-of-30 from 3-point range but finished at 47.6 percent overall thanks to an ability to constantly get to the basket.
The Nets dropped to 1-4 on a six-game road that ends Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs and fell 3 1/2 games behind the 10th-place Atlanta Hawks for the final play-in spot in the East.
Cam Thomas scored 22 points to lead the Nets, who were outscored 35-22 in the fourth quarter and gave up a late 13-0 run. Cameron Johnson added 14 and Dorian Finney-Smith finished with 12 but Mikal Bridges was held to seven on 1-of-8 from the field as the Nets shot 42.9 percent and gave up 30 points off 21 turnovers.
Brooklyn held an eight-point lead when Finney-Smith hit a 3 with 7:44 remaining in the second. Indiana outscored the Nets 23-13 the rest of the half and held a 59-57 lead by halftime.
The Pacers began finding their rhythm midway through the third, ripping off a 14-2 run in nearly four minutes to take a 79-68 lead on Turner’s dunk.
Indiana took a 15-point lead on Haliburton’s 3-point play with 90 seconds left in the third and gave up the final seven points of the quarter to settle for an 86-78 lead.
Thomas hit a 3 to get the Nets within 91-83 with 10:23 left and Indiana pulled away again, taking a 99-83 lead on a layup by Andrew Nembhard a little over a minute later. Siakam’s 17-footer with 7:12 left and Haliburton’s first 3-pointer of the night with 5:54 put the Pacers ahead 106-87 to essentially finish it off.
–Field Level Media