Tag: Indiana Pacers

• The Toronto Raptors play the second of consecutive games at Indiana on Monday night. OG Anunoby scored a season-high 30 points to help Toronto defeat the Pacers, 107-102, yesterday afternoon. The Raptors have now won four in a row against Indiana. Toronto will not face the Pacers again during the first half of season.
• The NBA has incorporated steps to reduce travel this year, including the use of a “series” model where a team will play twice in one market. The Raptors will play five “series” in the first half; they have already swept Charlotte and
split with Miami with both “series” being played at home in Tampa.
• The Raptors have won two straight and five of their last six games (Jan. 14-22) after starting the season 2-8. Since Jan. 14, the Raptors rank third in the NBA in points allowed (101.3) and second in opponent field goal percentage (.436). Toronto has held its opponent below 44 percent shooting four times in the last six contests. OG Anunoby and Norman Powell lead the team in scoring, averaging 18.8 and 17.0 points, respectively, during this stretch. The duo combined for 50 points in Sunday’s victory over the Pacers.
• Toronto’s Nick Nurse and Indiana’s Nate Bjorkgren faced each other as head coaches in the NBA for the first time Sunday. Bjorkgren was hired by the Pacers following two seasons as an assistant coach on Nurse’s staff and
was a part of Toronto’s first NBA championship in 2019. Bjorkgren also served as an assistant on Nurse’s staff with the Iowa Energy from 2007-11, where they won an NBA G League championship together in 2011.
• Following the 2011 NBA G League title, Nick Nurse became head coach for Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Nate Bjorkgren became head coach for the Dakota Wizards (which later became the Santa Cruz Warriors). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Nurse and Bjorkgren met head-to-head seven times in G League action between 2011-2013. Bjorkgren’s teams held a 3-2 edge in five regular-season games, however, Rio Grande Valley and Santa
Cruz met at the 2013 NBA G League Finals with Nurse’s squad prevailing 2-0.
• Former Indiana Hoosier OG Anunoby has scored at least 10 points in a career-high eight consecutive games (Jan. 10-24). Anunoby is averaging a team-high 17.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.5 steals during this stretch. He is
shooting .516 (49-95) from the field, including .571 (28-49) form beyond the arc, over the last eight contests.
• OG Anunoby recorded a season-high 30 points (9-16 FG, 4-6 3PT, 8-10 FT), eight rebounds and tied a season best with five steals Sunday afternoon at Indiana. Anunoby joined Kawhi Leonard as the only players in franchise
history with multiple games of at least 30 points, five rebounds and five steals. Anunoby tallied career highs of 32 points and seven steals, along with seven rebounds, Mar. 1, 2020 at Denver.
• Chris Boucher led the reserves with 12 points Sunday against the Pacers. Boucher has now led the bench in scoring in nine games, something he did 13 times in 62 contests in 2019-20. Boucher currently ranks fifth among
reserves in the NBA (min. 10 games off bench) averaging 14.6 points – behind Jordan Clarkson (17.4), Terrence Ross (15.2), Derrick Rose (14.8) and Shake Milton (14.6).
• Kyle Lowry needs 14 points to join DeMar DeRozan (13,296) and Chris Bosh (10,275) as the only players in franchise history to score 10,000 career points. Golden State’s Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Washington’s Bradley Beal and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo are the only active players with 10,000 points with their current team. Lowry is Toronto’s all-time leader in three-pointer made (1,424), assists
(4,031) and steals (841).

.Kyle Lowry will play after missing two games with an infected toe. Pascal Siakam (left knee swelling) will not play for the second game in a row.

PACERS NOTES

• The Pacers will play on the second night of a back-to-back for the fourth time this season. Indiana is 2-1 this season in the second night.
• Malcolm Brogdon led the Pacers with 23 points in the win over the Magic, and sank the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining to lift Indiana to the win. Brogdon has made the
game-winner in both of the Pacers’ overtime wins this season.
• Brogdon is Indiana’s leading scorer this season with 21.9 points per game, an improvement of 5.4 points per game off his previous career-high average he set last season (16.5). He also
leads the Pacers with 7.1 assists and is averaging a career-best 1.6 steals per game.
• After missing the previous two games with a right hand injury, Defensive Player of the Year candidate Myles Turner has averaged 23.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game and shot
65.4 percent (17-26) from the field and 53.8 percent (7-13) from 3-point range over the last two games.
Turner returned to the court Friday against Orlando and scored 22 points to go with nine rebounds and three blocks in 43 minutes. He set a new season high with 25 points and recorded
three steals and six blocks Sunday against Toronto.
• Despite missing two games, Myles Turner leads the NBA this season with 59 blocked shots, a total of 16 more than the NBA’s second-ranked player (Utah’s Rudy Gobert, 43). Turner has
ranked in the NBA’s top four in blocks per game in each of the last four seasons.
• Domantas Sabonis has opened the season by recording 16 consecutive double-doubles. Sabonis’ streak is the longest of his career and the longest streak in NBA franchise history. With his
109th double-double as a member of the Pacers Wednesday against Dallas, he passed Roy Hibbert (108) into seventh place for the most double-doubles in franchise history.
• Sabonis is one of six players since the ABA-NBA merger to record a double-double in at least 15 straight games to open the season (Basketball-Reference). He joins Bill Walton (34, 1976-77),
Moses Malone (16, 1981-82), Kevin Love (15, 2011-12), Giannis Antetokounmpo (19, 2019-20) and Nikola Jokic (16, 2020-21) on that list. Joining Denver’s Nikola Jokic with 15 double-doubles
through 15 games this season, this is the first NBA season since 1967-68 that two players had 15 double-doubles in the first 15 games of a season in the same year when Nate Thurmond and
Wilt Chamberlain did so.
• Sabonis leads the NBA in minutes per game as he has averaged 38.3 minutes played. He logged a career-high 45 minutes in Friday’s overtime win over Orlando as he tallied 18 points, 11
rebounds, nine assists and a career-high five steals.
• After missing the first 13 games this season, and 29 straight regular season games after suffering a torn left ACL on Feb. 23 last season, Jeremy Lamb returned to the court Wednesday
against Dallas. He finished with 10 points off the bench, and made his first four shots from the floor. Lamb followed that by posting 22 points on 7-for-14 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free
throw line to go with seven rebounds in 28 minutes of Friday’s win over Orlando.
• Doug McDermott has scored in double figures in five straight games and 12 of his 16 outings overall this year. He has started each of the last four games and has averaged 16.3 points, 4.5
rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 45.8 percent from 3-point range over that span.
• McDermott made his first start of the season Sunday against the Clippers (and only his second start in his three seasons with the Pacers), and led all scorers with a season-high 23 points
on 9-for-12 shooting and 5-for-7 from 3-point range. He made his first six shots from the field including his first three triples.
• After starting the season shooting 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) from 3-point range over the first four games, McDermott has shot 25-for-61 (42.6 percent) over the last 12.
• Justin Holiday has started the last seven games and has averaged 11.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 41.0 percent from 3-point range over that span.
• T.J. McConnell missed three games from Jan. 9-12 due to personal reasons. Over the five games since his return, McConnell has recorded 33 assists and 12 steals and has only committed
six turnovers over 24.6 minutes per game. He finished with six points, three rebounds, six assists and three steals with only one turnvover in 31 minutes (the most he has logged in his two
seasons with the Pacers) in Friday’s win over Orlando.

PACERS
• After losing consecutive games for only the second time this season, the Pacers bounced back to earn a 120-118 overtime win over the Orlando Magic Friday night. Indiana is now 2-0 this season in overtime contests.
• Malcolm Brogdon led the Pacers with 23 points in the win over the Magic, and sank the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining to lift Indiana to the win. Brogdon has made the game-winner in both of the Pacers’ overtime wins this season.
• Brogdon is Indiana’s leading scorer this season with 22.5 points per game, an improvement of 6.0 points per game off his previous career-high average he set last season (16.5). He also leads the Pacers with 7.2 assists and is averaging a career-best 1.6 steals per game.
• After missing the previous two games with a right hand injury, Defensive Player of the Year candidate Myles Turner returned to the court Friday against Orlando and tied his season high with 22 points to go with nine rebounds and three blocks in 43 minutes.
• Despite missing two games, Myles Turner leads the NBA this season with 53 blocked shots, a total of 11 more than the NBA’s second-ranked player (Utah’s Rudy Gobert, 42). Turner has ranked in the NBA’s top four in blocks per game in each of the last four seasons.
• Domantas Sabonis has opened the season by recording 15 consecutive double-doubles. Sabonis’ streak is the longest of his career and the longest streak in NBA franchise history. With his 109th double-double as a member of the Pacers Wednesday against Dallas, he passed Roy Hibbert (108) into seventh place for the most double-doubles in franchise history.
• Sabonis is one of six players since the ABA-NBA merger to record a double-double in at least 15 straight games to open the season (Basketball-Reference). He joins Bill Walton (34, 1976-77), Moses Malone (16, 1981-82), Kevin Love (15, 2011-12), Giannis Antetokounmpo (19, 2019-20) and Nikola Jokic (15, 2020-21) on that list. Joining Denver’s Nikola Jokic with 15 double-doubles
through 15 games this season, this is the first NBA season since 1967-68 that two players had 15 double-doubles in the first 15 games of a season in the same year when Nate Thurmond and Wilt Chamberlain did so.
• Sabonis leads the NBA in minutes per game as he has averaged 38.2 minutes played. He logged a career-high 45 minutes in Friday’s overtime win over Orlando as he tallied 18 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and a career-high five steals.
• After missing the first 13 games this season, and 29 straight regular season games after suffering a torn left ACL on Feb. 23 last season, Jeremy Lamb returned to the court Wednesday against Dallas. He finished with 10 points off the bench, and made his first four shots from the floor. Lamb followed that by posting 22 points on 7-for-14 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free
throw line to go with seven rebounds in 28 minutes of Friday’s win over Orlando.
• Doug McDermott has scored in double figures in four straight games and 11 of his 15 outings overall this year. He has started each of the last three games and has averaged 17.3 points, 5.0 reboundsa nd 3.0 assists while shooting 47.6 percent from 3-point range over that span.
• McDermott made his first start of the season Sunday against the Clippers (and only his second start in his three seasons with the Pacers), and led all scorers with a season-high 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting and 5-for-7 from 3-point range. He made his first six shots from the field including his first three triples.
• After starting the season shooting 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) from 3-point range over the first four games, McDermott has shot 25-for-58 (43.1 percent) over the last 11.
• Justin Holiday has started the last six games and has averaged 10.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game while shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range over that span.
• T.J. McConnell missed three games from Jan. 9-12 due to personal reasons. Over the four games since his return, McConnell has recorded 26 assists and 10 steals and has only committed five turnovers over 24.8 minutes per game. He finished with six points, three rebounds, six assists and three steals with only one turnvover in 31 minutes (the most he has logged in his two
seasons with the Pacers) in Friday’s win over Orlando.
• After totaling just 17 points and six assists over the first five games in January, Aaron Holiday provided a burst off the bench in the win at Golden State, 1/12, with 16 points and 12 assists, his first double-double of the season. He tallied nine points and six assists in the fourth quarter. Holiday finished with 13 points in 26 minutes off the bench in Wednesday’s loss to Dallas.