Oladipo leads Indiana Pacers to 118-116 OT thriller over Pelicans

The Indiana Pacers rise to 5-2 with a bounce-back win behind Victor Oladipo’s 25 points.

The Indiana Pacers will return home victorious after securing their second road win of the season and first win against a Western Conference team. Tonight’s game marked the first of nine consecutive games against Western Conference teams and ended with an incredible floater by Malcolm Brogdon in overtime.

Before fouling out, Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis helped Indiana with three blocks and 11 rebounds respectively. Victor Oladipo deserves credit for his fourth-quarter heroics, but it was an incredible team effort across the board with some surprising names helping Indiana edge out New Orleans.

In the Pacers’ much anticipated first encounter with Zion Williamson, the 2019 first overall pick put up an impressive 24 points and 10 rebounds. It was his teammates that gave the Pacers the most trouble. Brandon Ingram‘s 31 points and the Pelicans’ combined 67 rebounds kept the game close the entire night.

Monday night’s game kicked off with an early layup by Myles Turner and was an overall slow start with both teams putting their game plans into action. Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis quickly added to the scoreboard but also picked up some fouls. The Pacers began making adjustments on the fly throughout the first quarter.

New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball quickly established themselves as early threats with some quick points. As the quarter drew to a close, Victor Oladipo found himself as Indiana’s leading scorer.

Going into the second quarter, New Orleans started with a quick run before being disrupted by a pair of JaKarr Sampson free throws. After a quiet first quarter, Zion Williamson quickly established himself as a handful for Indiana, not just as a scorer but also showing off his talent to draw fouls. As the game developed, both the Pacers and the Pelicans struggled in the shooting department.

As the quarter waned, Malcolm Brogdon finally joined the party with an impactful three and some trips to the line. The Pacers enter halftime with a two-point edge but with the Pelicans dominant in rebounding.

Coming out of halftime, New Orleans came out swinging with Turner picking up his fourth and fifth fouls of the night while Zion Williamson asserted himself on both ends of the court. Sabonis collecting his fourth foul stunted the Pacers’ offensive efforts throughout the third quarter. As the buzzer went off to end the quarter, Indiana found themselves up two points thanks to some clutch three-point shooting.

Entering the fourth quarter 79-77 in favor of the Pacers, the Pelicans jumped ahead with a JJ Reddick three but a Doug McDermott steal and dunk put the Pacers back in the lead early in the fourth quarter. As the quarter dragged on, Indiana struggled to keep the Pelicans in check. Explosive plays by Steve Adams put the Pelicans up seven with four minutes left in the game.

Sabonis fouling out all but sealed the game for the Pelicans, but Victor Oladip and Myles Turner had other plans! A clutch three by Oladipo brought the Pacers within three. An Oladipo steal and a Myles Turner three tied the game up and sent the game into overtime.

Through sheer determination by Victor Oladipo, the Pacers put themselves back into the driver seat to win the game. As the extra time ticked away, the Pacers found themselves tied once again with Myles Turner fouling out. With time running out, Malcolm Brogdon stepped up in a big way with an insane floater with a few extra bounces for good measure leaving New Orleans no time to respond and Indiana victorious.

The Pacers will attempt to build momentum with another win when they host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.