The Jazz and Pacers faced off in a Monday night matchup at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse in Indiana.
Both teams came into this game under .500, with Indiana really feeling the losses of Paul George and Lance Stephenson, as they’ve started off this young season with a 1-6 record. The Jazz come in at 3-4 after getting a big win on the road against Detroit on Sunday. The first half was a back and forth affair as the teams shared the lead on several occasions.
Jazz center Enes Kanter got off to a quick start with 7 early points, but was offset by The Pacers All-Star center Roy Hibbert, who finished with 17 first half points on 6/12 shooting from the field. Gordon Hayward paced the Jazz in the first half as he finished with 13 in the first 24 minutes of play, however the Pacers took a 47-41 lead into the locker room.
The Jazz broke out on a 19-4 run in the first six minutes of the 2nd half with Gordon Hayward scoring 9 of those points, and the Jazz taking a 60-53 lead. The Pacers fought right back though behind the play of Solomon Hill (13 points) and Roy Hibbert (29 points and 5 rebounds). The Pacers ended the quarter on 9-2 run of their own to take a 72-69 lead into the 4th. The Pacers started the final period on 10-0 run getting a solid contribution from A.J. Price who finished with (20 points).
They also got great production from Lavoy Allen off the bench who finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Despite a 30-point effort from Gordon Hayward in his homecoming, the Jazz were not able to generate much offense in the 4th quarter, falling to the Pacers 97-86. The Jazz continue their five-game road trip, as they visit the Hawks on Wednesday night, while the Pacers face off with the Heat down in South Beach.
