Losing streak reaches six for the Pacers
By TYLER SMITH
ISL Editor
(Photo by Pacers Sports and Entertainment)
INDIANAPOLIS — With the Houston Rockets in town, the Indiana Pacers were looking to snap their losing streak and get back on track in front of their home fans. The Rockets had other plans, as they used an incredible night from the foul line to defeat the Pacers 110-100 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Pacers losing streak has now reached six games, with time running out in the season.
It’s not often that you see a team make nine more shots than its opponent and still lose by 10 points. That was the case in this game thanks to Houston’s 35-of-37 shooting from the foul line. Rockets star James Harden shot more free-throws than the entire Pacers team by himself, making 21-of-22 attempts. He scored 44 points on the night, after scoring 45 in the previous meeting against Indiana earlier this season.
Though Harden is having an MVP-caliber season, it’s a whole lot easier to score against Indiana with Paul George in a suit. In the last two seasons with Paul George defending Harden, he had only averaged 19 PPG on 33% shooting from the field.
“He’s got all the tricks to pick up fouls,” Coach Frank Vogel said of Harden. “We’ve got young defenders on him, and we didn’t do a good enough job on him. Whistles blow pretty quickly.”
The Pacers trailed 36-17 to start the game. They committed 11 turnovers in the first 14 minutes of action. Thanks to a big third quarter, the Pacers came all the way back to cut the lead to 68-66. The comeback effort wasn’t enough to get over the hump, as Houston pulled away late.
This was a night Solomon Hill and C.J. Miles would like to forget. Hill scored just five points and had five turnovers. Miles shot just 3-of-16 on the night including 0-for-8 from behind the arc.
The Pacers were led by C.J. Watson who scored 23 points off the bench. Roy Hibbert recorded his 15th double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Pacers played without Rodney Stuckey who was out with a sore calf.
With only 12 games remaining, the Pacers will try to right the ship in a hurry. Frank Vogel remained his optimistic self after the loss: “Frustrated, but we understand our goals are still within reach. We just have to focus on the process.”
That process is entering the final stages.
Follow Tyler on Twitter: @TylerSmith_ISL
