The Eastern Conference is full of surprises for these first days of the regular season. Already, the Sixers are leaders, then at the last step of the podium, we find the Pacers! The latter remain on three victories in a row and four in five matches.
They have just resisted Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 54 points to win against the Bucks. Above all, Indiana could have lost after having an 18-point lead in the first quarter. The Greek’s points reversed the trend and with seven minutes remaining, Milwaukee had a ten-point lead…
“The only way to truly progress collectively in this league is to be tested in difficult circumstances,” Judge Rick Carlisle for the Pacers official website. “In this match, the situation was complicated and our players did a remarkable job of showing their will, of hanging on. No one lowered their head, everyone remained positive. It was all about continuing to score, making a save and winning. »
A defense that is still weak but shows itself at the right time
The Greek’s two lost balls in the final seconds obviously helped, but the Pacers still only conceded four points in the last five minutes.
“In the last three minutes, we did two or three things on defense that we hadn’t worked on this season. We talked about it a little during the break but especially during the timeouts and the players were excellent in the two-man shots,” notes Rick Carlisle. “We exchanged baskets for the majority of the game so, in the end, we had to make the right save at the right time. We did it “, rejoices Tyrese Haliburton.
However, Indiana’s defense is not yet up to par as they concede 121.6 points on average and are one of the worst teams (26th) in the league in this area. Fortunately for them, the offense, the best in the league with 126 points per game, totally makes up for it.
“We are playing well at the moment. We handle things the right way. Everyone contributes their stone,” comments Tyrese Haliburton. “We probably have the best bench in the league at the moment. Everyone does a great job starting and ending quarters and finding a way to win. We are rolling out at the moment. »
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Tyrese Haliburton | 7 | 32.0 | 49.1 | 37.3 | 93.5 | 0.4 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 11.9 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 22.9 |
| Myles Turner | 8 | 25.9 | 54.4 | 38.7 | 77.1 | 1.5 | 7.0 | 8.5 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 17.1 |
| Buddy Hield | 8 | 23.3 | 43.8 | 40.6 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 13.0 |
| Aaron Nesmith | 8 | 24.8 | 54.4 | 48.6 | 64.7 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 12.9 |
| Bennedict Mathurin | 8 | 24.3 | 42.5 | 31.0 | 80.0 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 12.4 |
| Jalen Smith | 7 | 17.7 | 71.7 | 66.7 | 75.0 | 2.0 | 4.9 | 6.9 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 11.9 |
| Bruce Brown, Jr. | 8 | 30.3 | 46.2 | 42.9 | 75.0 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 11.3 |
| Obi Toppin | 8 | 22.4 | 53.6 | 22.2 | 90.9 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 9.3 |
| Andrew Nembhard | 8 | 19.8 | 46.0 | 26.1 | 75.0 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 4.6 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 2.1 | 8.4 |
| Tj Mcconnell | 5 | 13.3 | 58.3 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 6.8 |
| Isaiah Jackson | 3 | 15.1 | 66.7 | 0.0 | 66.7 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 6.0 |
| Jordan Nwora | 3 | 12.0 | 33.3 | 25.0 | 66.7 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 5.3 |
| Ben Sheppard | 3 | 10.8 | 41.7 | 37.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 4.3 |
| Jarace Walker | 3 | 8.8 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 3.3 |
