Pacers come back from 18-point third quarter deficit but fall to Pelicans 114-113

INDIANAPOLIS — Brandon Ingram scored 30 points to help the New Orleans Pelicans top the Indiana Pacers 114-113 on Friday night.

Lonzo Ball added 20 points and nine rebounds as New Orleans won for the fourth time in six games. Zion Williamson had 18 points, and Steven Adams finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The Pelicans led by as many as 18, but Myles Turner‘s 3-pointer got the Pacers within one with 39.1 seconds left.

Turner drove the lane in the final seconds, but his 5-foot jumper bounced off the outside of the rim and backboard. A resulting scrum for the rebound resulted in a jump ball with 0.5 seconds remaining. The possession arrow favored the visitors.

Ingram, the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2020, went 12 for 21 from the field. JJ Redick scored 12 points for New Orleans, and fellow reserve Josh Hart had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Justin Holiday led Indiana with 22 points. Jeremy Lamb scored 17 points, and reserve T.J. McConnell had nine points and 15 assists.

The Pacers rallied in the fourth. Holiday’s seventh 3-pointer gave Indiana a 105-104 lead with 4:02 remaining.

Ball hit five 3-pointers for New Orleans, including three clutch shots in the final quarter.

Two nights after scoring a career-high 33 points at Milwaukee, Pacers All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis kept missing hooks and jump shots in the paint. He ended up with just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting. He sat out the fourth quarter of Indiana’s third loss in four games.

TIP-INS

Pelicans: Williamson ranked No. 1 among active players in his first 40 games with 920 points. He also leads the league in points in the paint with an 18.1 average.

Pacers: Allowed season-high 130 points Wednesday after scoring a season-high 134 points on Tuesday. … Doug McDermott scored 14 points, and Malcolm Brogdon had 13. Turner finished with 12.

CHECK THAT RIM

The second half was delayed for about 15 minutes as a Bankers Life Fieldhouse worker climbed a ladder to fix the rim in front of the Pelicans bench. Williamson grabbed the rim with such ferocity on a first-half dunk, it wasn’t level. The rim initially wouldn’t cooperate and needed to be tugged repeatedly.

UP NEXT

Pelicans: Host Memphis on Saturday.

Pacers: Host Utah on Sunday.