3 Best performances in Indiana Pacers preseason loss to Houston Rockets

The second game of the Indiana Pacers’ preseason is in the books, and this one was a bit less exciting than the first game against the Memphis Grizzlies, as they took on the Houston Rockets.

Indiana went on the road to face the new-look Rockets led by Jalen Green, Fred VanVleet, and Dillon Brooks (more on him in a bit). Unlike the Memphis game, which was close until the end, the Houston game seemed to be decided in the second quarter, with the Rockets taking a halftime lead and keeping it for the rest of the game.

In terms of interesting moments, one certainly stood out, and it wasn’t for any significant play on the court.

Less than five minutes into the first quarter, new Rocket and known agitator around the league, Dillon Brooks, undercut Daniel Theis on a screen and got whistled for a Flagrant 2 foul, which got him ejected from the game.

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1711903689391124576

Besides this obvious cheap shot and ejection, there weren’t many noteworthy moments on the part of the Pacers, as Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard still sat out along with Myles Turner. Both Bennedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker both struggled from the field after strong outings against Memphis.

However, despite this 19-point rout, there were still some bright spots within the Pacers team. Three stood out, to be exact, all coming from the bench and indicating good things for the future of this team, as they all came from players under 24 years of age.