Indiana Pacers routed the Charlotte Hornets 144-117 in the Eastern Conference’s first play-in game Tuesday. With the loss Charlotte Hornets eliminated from the play-off contention.
The Pacers will travel to Washington to face the Wizards on Thursday, with the winner claiming the East’s final playoff spot and loser will go home.
all-star Domantas Sabonis delivered for Pacers, he scored 14 points, along with 21 rebounds and nine assists.
“He’s a point forward and sometimes when you’re a point guard you have to score more and sometimes you have to assist more and make the right plays,” coach Nate Bjorkgren said. ”That’s what I thought he was doing tonight. He was passing, hitting cutters, making the right play. He wants to make the right play.”
McDermott led the initial charge and scored 16 of his 21 points in the first quarter as Indiana continually beat Charlotte to loose balls and stayed in front of the Hornets on defense. The Pacers jumped out to a 23-9 lead, which they extended to 40-24 after one, 69-45 at halftime and 76-45 early in the third quarter.
Also Pacers started the game 7 of 11 from 3-point range – a decisive flurry that put Charlotte in a big hole. But they ended the game 14 of 31 on 3s and shot 55.2% from the field overall. The Pacers never trailed in the game.
”There are many ways to impact the game and as one of the leaders you have to do that,” Sabonis said. ”So I was setting up teammates, passing, playing defense. We were up 20 early and we just kept building the lead.”
Oshae Brissett scored 23 points for Indiana while T.J. McConnell had 17 points, five rebounds and four steals. Goga Bitadze clinched double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 16 points along with 8 Assists in his first game since April 29 for Pacers.
For Hornets, Terry Rozier had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. While Malik Monk added 13 points. Rookie of the year leader LaMelo Ball had 14 points and four rebounds in his postseason debut.
Miles Bridges led all Hornets scorers with 23 points. Former Indiana University star Cody Zeller had 17. ”In a 30-point loss, nothing goes right,” Zeller said. ”They came out and punched us in the mouth. They were the more aggressive team and played with a lot of energy.”
The Hornets finished the season with six straight losses and lack of post-season experience in the squad is exposing them in the key games. ”They played like a veteran group,” Charlotte coach James Borrego said. ”They played like a tougher group that had been here before. They weren’t fazed by the moment.”
