Mathurin, Walker push Pacers past Cavs after ‘forgettable’ first half.
Yes, the Pacers won their second preseason game, but game was far from a complete success.
The Pacers beat the Cavs, 129-117 in Cleveland on Thursday night but it sure didn’t feel like a win considering how the team and starting unit played in the first half.
Rick Carlisle referred to the first half as ‘forgettable’ and a wasted opportunity to get better as a team. The starting unit played their only minutes (all 18 minutes or less) in the first half, as Carlisle staggered the rotation to go with a general 9-man rotation for the most part.
And the Cavs scored 70 points in the first half.
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Now, the Pacers scored 69 points, but for a team that is trying to focus on improving at the defensive end it was a rough outing. Making it worse was that, aside from Jarrett Allen, the Cavs sat their other four most potent starters. So a game that was set up to be a good test for the defensive focus of the Pacers reverted back to dealing with the maturity of a team that burned the Pacers last season.
Exhaling against a short-handed opponent rarely works in the NBA, particularly for the Pacers, preseason or not. The first possession of the game saw Isaac Okoro blow by Pascal Siakam for a baseline drive resulting in a dunk as Myles Turner was late to provide help. An inauspicious start for sure.
Of course, the Pacers offense did keep pace and the rotation was similar to a normal game. Myles Turner was back and finished with 12 points 3 rebounds in about 16 minutes. Bennedict Mathurin, TJ McConnell and Obi Toppin entered the action midway through the first quarter. A few minutes later, Jarace Walker rounded out the initial 9-man group taking the floor with Siakam returning. Among the highlights of the Pacers offense was when they took the ball out of the net (natch) but pushed the ball and beat the Cavs down the floor for a Siakam layup after three passes in three seconds.
Photo: @Pacers
The reserves were far more ready to go and helped keep the Pacers in touch before starting the second half and taking control of the game. Bennedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker in particular stepped up with big efforts which made the second half as memorable as the first half was forgettable for a preseason game.
Mathurin not only scored 25 points, but did so in efficient fashion, only needing 12 shots while making 5 of 6 threes in just 19 minutes. As CC explained in detail, Mathurin brings the ‘ruckus’ and has that Lance Stephenson gene where good, bad or indifferent it is impossible to not notice him on the court. That also included seeing him cut off a baseline drive, with his chest squared up which was a nice to see as the easy 3-ball stroke he showed.
Walker, on the other hand, had a quiet night, but delivered just as impactful a performance. In 18 minutes of burn, Jarace made all three of his shots, including a pair of threes and all four of his free throws to finish with 12 points and 4 rebounds. While he appeared a bit tentative in the preseason opener, and early play to get Walker a look seemed to be the spark to ramp up his assertiveness on the floor. See the first highlight from the below reel.
