Play-In game Hornets vs. Pacers: scores, stats, highlights...
The opening contest of the first every NBA Play-In Tournament is in the books, and it was never much of a contest. The Pacers started a new era in the NBA with a blowout victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
McDermott on first out of the gate
The home team set the tone early on, on the shoulders of Doug McDermott. The former Creighton Blue Jay had 16 first quarter points and the Hornets had no answer to the Pacers hot shooting.
Indiana shooting let to big first half lead
Indiana went 7-10 from long distance in the opening 12 minutes in route to a 40 point first quarter. By the end of the half the Pacers were up by 24 points.
Oshae Brissett finished as the high scorer for the winning side with 23, while McDermott had 21. Domantas Sabonis had a relatively quiet first half on the offensive end, but his shooting touch recovered in the second half. The Lithuanian was pulled at the end of the third quarter just one assist shy of a triple double.
Hornets lack of expreience on display
The Hornets never seemed to be able to get off the ground. Their poor defense led to poor offense, and their inexperience rose to the surface in the biggest game of their season. Mile Bridges led Charlotte with 23 points, while big man Cody Zeller followed with 17.
The Pacers will set sights on the late game tonight, as they await the loser of the Wizards-Celtics game for a chance to make it in to the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
The Pacers will take on the loser of the late game tonight
It's all over from Indiana!!!
Darling off the inbound
Richards on the and 1, makes the FT
Matin hits one of two free throws
one minute remaining in Indiana
Riller with two free throws
Martin responds with a three
Martin in the corner for three
Riller splits a couple FTs
Martin with a 180 dunk off the Hornets bench
Martin sinks the three ball
Stanley off the bench with a hammer
Bridges spins through the land and finishes close to the bucket. Timeout in Indiana. Less than five minutes remain
Martin this time with a jumper from inside the arc
Bridges from three on the far corner
Martiin with a one handed jam
Bitadze back at the line, hits both
Bridges following up the Ball miss
Martin with a lay up for Indiana
Bridges on the up and under
Bitadze slams one home and a timeout coming for Charlotte
McConnell racing to the rim, draws a foul and gets the bucket. Hits the FT
Bridges with the dunk on the no look pass from Ball
Bitadze follows up the miss with a tip in
Ball at the line hits one of two.
What a fast break for Indiana!!. Brissett on the alley oop finish
Tear drop down the lane from Holiday
Bitadze on the follow up
Ball gets the roll on the long ball
McDaniels to the line out of the timeout, hits both from the line
LaMelo with a three ball
Brissett off the glass on the drive
Into the last quarter here from Bankers Life Fieldhouse
MCConnell with a buzzer beater from the baseline. End of three quarters and the Pacers lead by 30
Bridges with a deep ball
McConnell with a close range effort
Bridges dashes to the rack and finishes off the glass
Brissett and then Holiday with back to back three balls
Monk from downtown, he's got 13 points
McDaniel hits one of two free throws
Sabonis with three straight buckets. He's getting close to another 20-20 game
Monk with a three ball
Sabonis is starting to warm up
McDaniels with an and 1 hits the FT
Sabonis taking on defenders
Bridges leaping through the lane with the hoop and the harm, hits the and 1
McDermott hits a technical FT coming out of the timeout
Brissett this time from behind the arc, he's got a quick flurry of 5 and 19 for the night
Brissett hits an open jumper
Rozier and Zeller with a couple of quick buckets in transition
Sabonis on the drive with the left hand
Zeller on the steal and the score, will goes to the line for an and 1, which he knocks down
Brissett stretching to the basket
Sabonis gets the roll on the fall away jumper
Rozier from the free throw line
Holiday on the lay up and it's too easy for the Pacers tonight, Timeout Hornets
Rozier high floater off the glass
Zeller goes to the line, hits both
Rozier on the board for the Hornets in the second half
Sabonis trying to heat up after a 1-8 first half
Brogdon from downtown
Back in play in Indiana, and Brissett with an easy bucket downlow
What a first half for the Pacers, they go to the half time break with their largest lead of the night
Holiday for three. and why not?? They started the half on fire from three point range, and the Pacers finish the first half with a three
Zeller on the slam
McDermott wide open off the inbound
Under a minute to go in the first half
Rozier to the line, hits both from the stripe
Brogdon pulls up from three on the fast break. Indiana lead by 23, their largest lead of the night
Brissett on the double clutch reverse
McDermott with his first bucket since the first quarter. He's on 18 for the night
Zeller on the reverse
Brogdon has 10
Brogdon to the basket off the timeout
Monk off the alley oop, after the big block from Bridges. Timeout in Indiana
Brogdon gets fouled and gets the bucket, then hits the FT
Monk strings a three
Bridges of the trampoline!
Bitadze goes back to the line, this time hits both
Bitadze gets fouled underneath the basket, goes to the line and hits one of two
Monk with an easy dunk off a Pacers TO
Martin with an easy deuce in transition
McConnell slicing down the lane in traffic
Rozier with the finger roll down the lane
Ball cherry picking for an easy two
Rozier falling away from the basket
Sumner in the corner for three
McConnell in the paint
Inexperience showing for this young Hornets team. They need to find some composure, and figure out how to slow down McDermott in the second quarter. He's got 16
Sumner on the buzzer beating floater to end the first quarter!!! It hung on the rim for an eternity before dropoing
McConnell with the steal and the score
Graham with a deeeeep three to beat the buzzer
Sumner on the slash to the rack
LaMelo Ball to the line, hits both. And Ball is on the board
McConnell from the mid range.
McDermott has 16 points in the first quarter
2:42 left in the first quarter, and it has been all Indiana tonight. They are 7-11 from three point range. Timeout from Bankers Life Fieldhouse
McDermott gets fouled on the drive, goes to the line and hits two
Zeller with another bucket, he's got 6 quick points off the bench
Sabonis with a lay up in traffic
Rozier close to the bucket
Brissett in the corner for the triple
Zeller with a couple straight buckets out of the timeout
Brisset with a dunk of the feed from Brogdon
Washington responds with a three
McDermott is on fire from downtown
McDermott has 11 points already, the one game the Pacers won against the Hornets, Doug McDermott had a monster game.
McDermott with three triples off the bat! Timeout Charlotte
Brisset with a three ball in the far corner
Bridges with an and 1, but misses the free throw
McDermott already has 8
McDermott with another three!!
Washington showing the hops, with a big dunk
Brogdon with a quick step going to the basket, he's got 5
McDermott from the top of the key
McDermott cleaning up the miss, on the o rebound
Holiday to the line hits one of two
Washington responds with a three
Brogdon starts us off with a three
We are underway from Indiana, and let the Inaugural Play-In Tournament begin
Bad news for the Pacers, Caris LeVert will miss tonight's game. LeVert was starting to find his groove in the absence of Brogdon
There are fans in the stands at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, it may be a limited crowd, but it's a big boost for the Pacers
Domantas Sabonis has registered 48 double-doubles this year, and the two time All Star is going to have to have a big night tonight
And a run down the Indiana Pacers roster
Here's a look at the 2020/21 Charlotte Hornets roster
The Hornets enter the Play-In game on a 5 game losing skid, and will be hoping to avoid their sixth straight defeat against the Pacers tonight.
Big news for the Pacers just in time for the Play-In. Leading scorer Malcolm Brogdon is back in the starting 5 for Indiana
The Hornets lead the season series agaisnt the Pacers 2-1, one of those wins was in Indiana in early April when Charlotte won 114-97
Both Gordon Hayward (foot sprain) and Cody Martin (ankle sprain) have been ruled out for tonight's contest.
If you haven't yet brushed up on how this brand new Play-In Tournament will be carried out here is an in-depth look at the format and rules for the four day tourney
Indiana holds the homecourt advantage in tonight's game after winning thier regular season finale against the Raptors, but the Pacers were won just 13 of 23 games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse this season.
The Hornets- Pacers game will determine who plays the loser of the No. 7 vs No. 8 game which will take place at 9:00 ET tonight
We are less than an hour away from tipping off the inaugural Play-In Tournament
Hello everyone and Welcome to Bankers Life Fieldhouse where AS English will have live coverage, scores, and updates of the second game of the inaugural NBA Play-In Tournament between the Charlotte Hornets and the Indiana Pacers.
Hornets have a flair for the theatrics
The Hornets have been a far cry from fantastic this year, but they have made quite a stir in Lamelo Ball’s first season in Charlotte. The boys from Buzz city are one of the flashiest most highlight worthy teams in the league, but that hasn’t always resulted in W’s for Michael Jordan’s franchise.
It looks as if they will be without one of their stars of the show, Gordon Hayward who has been inactive since early April. The Hornets are limping into the Play-In on the heels of a five game losing streak to close out the regular season.
Pacers end the season at .500
The Pacers have been anything but flashy this year, and have been hampered with injuries of late. They have one of the top big men in the game in Domantas Sabonis, but could be without their top scorer Malcom Brogdon who has been bothered by a bad hamstring in recent weeks.
Indiana beat the Toronto to earn the ninth position in the standings and host the Hornets in Bankers Life Fieldhouse as the winner of tonight's game will play the loser of the Celtics-Wizards contest.