3 Major takeaways from Pacers win vs. Wizards on Opening Night

1. Balanced scoring output makes history

I know what you’re thinking: That’s a lot of points.

While certain players have had nights where it seems like they could not miss from the field, tonight was just that night for almost every player on the roster, as the Indiana Pacers had eight players score in double-figures, with the highest being Bruce Brown, who put up 24 points on 6-foot-8 from deep in his Pacers debut.

These fantastic individual performances led to history being made, as Indiana’s 143 points are the most points scored in a season opener in Pacers franchise history, as well as the fifth-most points in a game by the Pacers. and the second-most at home.

In addition to this team record, 143 points is also the most points scored on a season opener game since the year 1990, giving Indiana the highest opening night score in 33 years.

With these new records, there had to have been some fantastic individual performances, and indeed there were. Most notably, the aforementioned Bruce Brown, who impressed mightily in his debut, scoring 24 points on a career-high six three-pointers made, all the while catching fans’ attention with his bizarre pregame outfit.

In addition to Brown’s cowboy shenanigans, the Pacers also saw 20 points from Tyrese Haliburton in limited minutes, as he put on a show for the home crowd in his first Pacers game in 215 days.

Buddy Hield also had a great night, scoring 18 points and shaking any memories of a rather unimpressive preseason, minus the final game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Obi Toppin, another Pacers offseason acquisition, also made his mark, dropping 11 points on the night and giving Pacers fans a little taste of what they can see as the season goes on, as his first points in a Pacers uniform came from a spectacular alley-oop layup that resulted in an And-1 finish.

Tonight’s performance was really an indicator of how good this Pacers team can be when they are on their A-game, and the eight double-figure performances also show how deep this team is and how many players are capable of scoring a bunch of points at any given time.