Pascal Siakam scored five of his season-high-tying 29 points in a key late 7-0 spurt and the Indiana Pacers came on strong at the end to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 121-114 on Wednesday in Indianapolis.
Tyrese Haliburton played a supporting role with 28 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and Bennedict Mathurin chipped in with 24 points and 10 boards for the Pacers, who led just 103-100 after a basket by Portland’s Deandre Ayton with 6:45 to play.
But Siakam dropped in 3-point and 2-point baskets, and when Quenton Jackson turned a Haliburton assist into a dunk, all of a sudden Indiana had opened a 10-point cushion with 4:40 to go.
Portland never got closer than five the rest of the way.
Seeking to end a five-game trip with a second win, the Trail Blazers led by as many as 10 in the first half. However, Anfernee Simons had to hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the second period to send the teams to the break even at 60-all, setting up a tightly contested second half.
Siakam shot 12-for-20 from the floor and also found time for seven rebounds and four assists.
Myles Turner added 15 points, eight rebounds and five blocks to the Pacers’ third consecutive win. Indiana had 10 blocks and 10 steals.
Simons bombed in six 3-pointers en route to a game-high and season-best 30 points. He shot 10-for-21 from the field and 6-for-12 from deep as the visitors outshot the Pacers both 50.6 percent to 48.4 percent overall and 45.7 percent to 40.6 percent from long range.
Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson had 17 points apiece for Portland, while Ayton put up 16 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Henderson contributed a game-high nine assists, while Deni Avdija logged 16 points and seven assists.
–Field Level Media
