The Indiana Pacers hung around for a half, but fall victim to a three-point barrage from the Houston Rockets.
The Indiana Pacers trailed by five at the half and appeared to be playing the type of game that would keep them close to a superior Houston Rockets team. The Pacers held the Rockets, the most prolific three-point shooting team in the league, to 4-of-13 from distance in the first half.
Indiana tied the game early in the third quarter and looked to be able to compete with on the West’s best teams. However, Houston finally found its stride behind the line by hitting three long balls in an 11-2 run to put some distance between the teams. Then, James Harden took over. He ended the third quarter with back-to-back step back threes to give the Rockets an 18-point lead.
Indiana tried to get back into the game with a 7-0 run to start the 4th quarter, but the Pacers never got the deficit under double figures for the rest of the game.
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The Good: The first half. The Pacers played fairly well given the level of competition. They fought hard, moved the ball well, and played decent enough defense to stay in the game.
The Bad: The second half, particularly the three-point defense. Houston shot 14-for-27 from distance in the second half. The Pacers’ defense had no answers. To be fair, the entire league appears to have no answers for the Rockets right now.
MVP: James Harden. He was having a down game midway through the third quarter and was still flirting with a triple double. Eventually, he got his shot going and there was nothing the Pacers could do about it.
LVP: Cory Joseph. Virtually invisible in 25 minutes.
X-Factor: Clint Capela. A season-high 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Next: The Pacers at the Quarterpole: What we’ve learned so far
The Pacers take on the Toronto Raptors on Friday.