PORTLAND, Ore. — Guard Scoot Henderson scored 28 points and the Trail Blazers blew out the Pacers 131-111 at the Moda Center on Sunday night.
The Pacers have lost nine straight and fell to 15-49. They are winless since the All-Star break and sit in last place in the Eastern Conference. The Trail Blazers improved to 31-34 and sit in 10th in the West, holding the last play-in spot.
Guard Jrue Holiday and forward Jerami Grant scored 21 points each for the Blazers. Guard Deni Avidja posted 18 points and eight assists. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 22 points. Center Jay Huff had 16 points. Guard Andrew Nembhard had 14 points and nine assists, forward Jarace Walker had 14 points and center Micah Potter had 13.
Here are three observations.
Pacers disintegrate in late second quarter
Second quarters have been the Pacers disaster quarter for much of this season and such was the case again on Sunday night.
The game was tied at 30 after one thanks to a 16-5 Pacers run at one point in the period. The Pacers led 45-44 with 5:55 to go and even though the Blazers took the lead shortly thereafter, Portland was still up just 50-47 with 3:38 to go before halftime when the bottom fell out for the Pacers entirely.
The Blazers went on a 14-0 run — which was a 20-2 run stretched back to the 5:55 mark and the Pacers didn’t score a point in three minutes. Jrue Holiday accounted for six of the points in that stretch with a pair of 3-pointers and Jerami Grant got to the rim for a pair of easy layups. Andrew Nembhard finally broke the Pacers’ drought with a 3-pointer but Henderson immediately answered with a 3 of his own. Aaron Nesmith scored a layup on a dish from Nembhard but then Henderson hit a 16-foot pull-up to make it a 19-5 run in the half’s last 3:38. In the final six minute of the half, they were outscored 25-7. The Blazers were 7 of 9 from the floor for that stretch and won the second period 39-22, shooting 60% from the floor for the period and posting 1.37 points per possession.
“We had breakdowns,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “We had four turnovers the whole half, I think all four of them happened during that stretch. We had done some good things leading up to that and there were some good things sprinkled throughout the game, but consistency and being able to sustain are essential on the road.”
That stretch led to the eighth straight game in which the Pacers have allowed at least 125 points. The Blazers scored 58 points in the paint, shot 50.5% from the floor and hit 15 3-pointers on 36.6% shooting.
“They were just getting into the paint whenever they want,” Siakam said. “Once you get in the paint like that you get 3s. You get wide open 3s and you get confidence. I think we started out well and we kind of let go of the rope.”
Scoot Henderson had his best game of the season
Scoot Henderson, the No. 3 pick in the 2023 draft, hasn’t found his path to stardom as easy to follow as that of the No. 1 pick in that draft, Victor Wembanyama. The former G League Ignite star has dealt with injuries and didn’t get on the floor until Feb. 6 this season. Entering Sunday’s action, he was averaging 11.7 points per game, but hadn’t scored more than 19 points in a game and had only cracked 15 twice.
But facing the Pacers, who have had the worst defense in the NBA since the All-Star break, gave him the chance to go off for his most productive and his most efficient night of the season.
Henderson got to the rim at will, made plays in the open court and also hit outside shots, scoring 28 points on 10 of 15 shooting including 3 of 7 from 3-range. Five of his 10 field goals were layups and he hit on both of his mid-range attempts. He also dished out six assists against zero turnovers and was +26 in his 26 minutes.
“He got the drive game going and he got the 3 going,” Carlisle said. “This is one of the best games I’ve ever seen him play. Hats off to him. He was aggressive. He was unbending in his will to get into the paint and he had great rhythm on his 3-point shot. We didn’t do a good enough job on him. He rejected us on pick-and-rolls a few times. He got by us. We gave him too many angles. But he played a great game.”
T.J. McConnell ruled out with sore right hamstring
Veteran Pacers point guard T.J. McConnell left the game in the fourth quarter with a sore right hamstring and didn’t return. McConnell has been dealing with hamstring injuries since the preseason, so it might not be too much of a reason to concern but it does make it seem unlikely that he’ll play in Tuesday’s game in Sacramento.
McConnell scored six points on 2 of 7 shooting and recorded three assists in 17 minutes.
Carlisle said “there’s concern” about the hamstring and the Pacers will “circle the wagons with the medical staff” on Monday. He also said forward Jarace Walker turned his ankle late in the game, and he had the ankle in an ice tub in the locker room.
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers get blown out again, this time it’s Scoot Henderson, Blazers
Reporting by Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
