Pacers (21-19), Pelicans (16-26)
INDIANAPOLIS – New Orleans fell behind big in the first half Monday, lost All-Star Anthony Davis to injury in the second half, faced another significant deficit after Davis’ exit, then rallied back again to make it a dramatic finish. That late-game push came up a bit short, however, in a matinee that somewhat improbably wasn’t decided until the final horn.
Indiana built a 16-point cushion prior to intermission, but New Orleans sliced it to 62-60 after Davis connected on two free throws in the third quarter. On the previous play, the 23-year-old fell hard to the floor after he tried to dunk over Indiana’s Myles Turner, who committed a common foul in trying to deny Davis. The Pacers went back up by double digits, before the Pelicans mounted a comeback and had multiple chances to tie or take the lead in crunch time. Trailing by two in the final seconds, Indiana native E’Twaun Moore missed a close-range floater that would’ve tied the game. The hosts kept the Pelicans alive with a spate of bad foul shooting in the final minute, but New Orleans couldn’t capitalize.
The Pelicans finished 2-3 on their Eastern Conference road trip, missing a chance to cut their deficit behind eighth-place Portland to just a half game in the standings.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Down three and with no timeouts remaining, New Orleans inbounded from the right sideline with 1.7 seconds left. Tyreke Evans took a Jrue Holiday pass and dribbled into the right corner with his momentum going away from the hoop, launched a three-pointer but came up well short as the buzzer sounded.
