Aaron Nesmith poured in a season-high 31 points, Quenton Jackson and Pascal Siakam buried key 3-pointers down the stretch and the short-handed Indiana Pacers outfinished the visiting Golden State Warriors for a 114-109 victory Saturday night in Indianapolis.
Facing a winless team playing the second night of a back-to-back without Tyrese Haliburton, Ben Mathurin, Obi Toppin and T.J. McConnell, the Warriors appeared to be on their way to a comfortable win when Stephen Curry nailed a 3-pointer for a 104-93 lead with 6:05 remaining.
But the Pacers took charge from there, initially using a 9-0 run to get back into the game before finally overtaking the visitors at 109-107 with 1:09 to play on a Jackson 3-pointer following a Jarace Walker offensive rebound.
Jimmy Butler III had a chance to put Golden State back on top, but he missed a free throw after getting fouled on a game-tying dunk with 56.5 seconds left.
Siakam then drilled the difference-maker, a 26-footer with 37.1 seconds remaining to break the tie and put Indiana on top for good en route to its first win in six tries this season.
After Jonathan Kuminga misfired on a potential game-tying 3-pointer, Jackson capped a 25-point night with a pair of clinching free throws with 5.2 seconds to go.
Jackson also found time to complete a double-double with a game-high 10 assists, while Siakam finished with 27 points for the Pacers, who got 99 of their 114 points from their starters. Isaiah Jackson added 10 points and eight rebounds to the cause, while Walker was the Pacers’ top rebounder with nine to go with six points and five assists.
Curry paced the Warriors with 24 points, but misfired on 12 of his 16 3-point attempts. Golden State shot just 12-for-44 (27%) from deep.
Unsuccessfully attempting to avoid an 0-2 Midwest swing, the Warriors also got 20 points, seven assists, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks from Butler, 17 points from Kuminga and 16 from Brandin Podziemski.
Golden State’s Draymond Green was the game’s leading rebounder with 10 to complement eight points.
–Field Level Media
