PACERS RELEASE The top 3-point shooting team in the NBA lit it up from deep on Friday night, as the Charlotte Hornets (42-36) made 24 threes in a 129-108 win over the Indiana Pacers (18-59) at Spectrum Center. With the loss, the Pacers finish 2-2 against the Hornets this season. Just five games remain on Indiana’s schedule. The Hornets shot 47.9 percent from the field and 49 percent from 3-point range. The Pacers shot 46.2 percent as a team, and went 15-for-36 (41.7 percent) from three. All-Star forward Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 30 points on 13-for-24 shooting, Quenton Jackson scored 16 points, and Kobe Brown and Jay Huff added 12 points each. Brandon Miller topped the Hornets with 22 points, while rookie Kon Knueppel scored 20 points, Miles Bridges had 19 points and six rebounds, and LaMelo Ball logged 18 points and nine assists. Ball led the Hornets’ 3-point shooting brigade with five made 3-pointers, Miller and Sion James made four each, and Knueppel and Bridges hit three apiece. The Pacers were missing seven players Friday due to injuries, including Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, T.J. McConnell and Jarace Walker, among others not sidelined with season-ending ailments. The Hornets drained 14 3-pointers in the first half to build a 69-50 lead over the Pacers by intermission. James and Ball each hit four 3-pointers for the Hornets before halftime. In the first quarter, the Hornets shot 46 percent and made seven 3-pointers to go up 38-24. Four different players made a 3-pointer for the Hornets in the frame, as they led the Pacers by as many as 20 points. Charlotte could hardly miss off the tip, using a 24-2 run over a five-minute span — where Ball and James hit two 3-pointers each and Knueppel scored seven points — to take a 31-11 lead with 4:57 left on the clock. Out of a timeout, the Pacers answered with a 13-6 run thanks to an and-one by Siakam and 3-pointers by Ethan Thompson and Taelon Peter, but Indiana still trailed by 14 points at the end of the first quarter after Coby White and Pat Connaughton each hit a pair of free throws for the Hornets. The teams largely traded baskets to start the second quarter until a 13-5 Pacers run, anchored by five points from Huff, narrowed the deficit to 49-42 with 5:46 left in the half. Charlotte’s offense then kicked back into gear, as Ball hit two 3-pointers, and Josh Green, James and Brandon Miller also each added threes, in the final 3:15 of the second quarter to help put the Hornets ahead 69-50 at halftime. Neither team mustered more than a 4-0 run in the third quarter, as the Pacers outscored the Hornets 32-31 in the period by shooting 61.9 percent. Eight different players recorded a basket for the Pacers in the period, while Miller scored 10 points for the Hornets. Despite the uptick in scoring from Indiana, the Pacers trailed 100-82 going into the final frame. Siakam scored Indiana’s first 12 points of the fourth quarter, but the Hornets answered every shot during that span, including two 3-pointers by Bridges and one by Ball, to lead 114-91 with eight minutes left. The Pacers trailed by double digits the rest of the way as their two-game winning streak was snapped. Indiana will conclude its three-game road trip on Sunday at the Cleveland Cavaliers before hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. Inside the Numbers Pascal Siakam has scored 30 or more points six times this season. Siakam scored 14 points in the fourth quarter on 6-for-8 shooting. The Hornets have made 24 or more 3-pointers six times this season. On the boards, the Hornets outrebounded the Pacers 31-28. Indiana had 11 turnovers to Charlotte’s nine. The Pacers outscored the Hornets 56-42 in the paint. Charlotte has won 16 of its last 21 games. Stat of the Night The Hornets made 24 3-pointers in the game, which is the most given up by the Pacers this season. About The Author troyderengowski61@gmail.com See author's posts
