BOXSCORE || PHOTOS || QUOTES || VIDEOS
Pacers (1-0), Pelicans (1-1)
Three nights after facing a Dallas team comprised primarily of rookies, D-League veterans and other inexperienced pros, New Orleans matched up Tuesday vs. a much more NBA-ready Indiana squad. The Pacers displayed some of their improved talent base, outplaying the Pelicans for much of the night, en route to a double-digit victory. Indiana's starting lineup Tuesday was very similar to what it will go with during the regular season, featuring Paul George, Monta Ellis and quality newcomers Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young. The Pelicans played a stellar offensive game vs. the Mavericks, but had much more difficulty this time, finishing in the low 40s in shooting percentage. New Orleans' next two preseason games will take place halfway across the globe, with tilts vs. Houston on Sunday and Wednesday (NBA TV will broadcast both at 6:30 a.m. Central).
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Indiana's Georges Niang tossed in a high-elevation three-pointer from the right wing, giving the Pacers a 105-92 lead with three-plus minutes remaining. Indiana essentially took control of the lead in the second quarter via a 33-24 edge and kept New Orleans at arm's length for much of the latter half.
PELICANS PLAYER UPDATES
Buddy Hield continued to be one of the big bright spots of New Orleans preseason, authoring a second straight very productive offensive night. He had 18 points on 7/14 shooting (2/5 treys), after compiling 19 points vs. Dallas on 8/12 shooting. …
Tim Frazier again excelled at distributing the ball, totaling 16 assists over the first two preseason games. The Penn State product helped Alexis Ajinca start quickly Tuesday, setting up the 7-foot-2 center for high-percentage looks at the basket. …
As he projected Tuesday morning, Anthony Davis played 18 minutes, up a handful from the 12 he logged vs. Dallas in Game 1 of preseason. Davis has uncharacteristically misfired on shots in the paint so far, this time going 3/13 from the field and 6/8 at the foul line. He notched six rebounds and two blocks.
QUOTES TO NOTE
“We have to do a better job in transition defense. That being said though, you can't turn the ball over. (We gave up) 14 turnovers that led to 16 points. Most of your turnovers are live ball turnovers where they'll go down and score. So we have to get better at that.” – Alvin Gentry on areas for improvement by the Pelicans
“It's a working trip. We play two games and we'll have a bunch of practices. We have to get things done, because when we come back, we basically have 10 days before the season will start. They understand that. The one thing about this group is that they work hard. They want to get better. They want to try to piece everything together, and we are working to get to that point.” – Gentry on the team's China trip, which began with a flight starting late Tuesday night
BY THE NUMBERS
67-50: Indiana total rebounding advantage. The Pacers were led by Young's 10 boards in only 19 minutes.
40.8: New Orleans shooting percentage from the field. Frazier noted after the game that a portion of the Pelicans' drop-off in performance compared to Saturday's win could be attributed to missing some of the same shots they made vs. the Mavericks
