The Indiana Pacers took on the Houston Rockets on their final game of their four-game road trip. The Pacers came into the game riding a two game win streak and looking to go 3-1 on the road trip before heading back home. Unfortunately, Trevor Ariza and the sharp-shooting Rockets would rally late to defeat the Pacers in overtime, 107-103.
Indiana Had Narrow Lead Going Into Halftime
The Pacers started off slow and were trailing 28-24 at the end of the first quarter. The Pacers started to ramp up their defense and moved the ball on offense in the second quarter. Indiana would end the first half on an 11-5 run thanks to the three ball and cutting down the turnovers. The Pacers led the Rockets 50-48 going into halftime.
George Hill had 11 of his 13 points on the night in the first half. Rodney Stuckey added seven points and three rebounds, while C.J. Miles had six points and two rebounds in the first half.
Pacers Extend Their Lead In The Third
Indiana came out and played beautiful basketball to start the third quarter. Moving the ball with ease and playing lockdown defense. With 4:24 left in the quarter the Rockets had only scored nine points. Monta Ellis led the charge on offense racking up assist after assist. The Pacers led 71-64 with 2:24 left after a Paul George slam. The Pacers won the third quarter 27-16, and led the game 77-64.
The 13-point lead going into the fourth was thanks to Monta Ellis’ playmaking ability and Paul George’s scoring prowess. George scored 14 of his 20 points in the quarter, including three three-pointers. Ellis assists on five of Indiana's 11 field goals.
Houston Storms Back To Force Overtime
The Pacers started the fourth quarter with the same mentality and kept playing extremely well. With 5:37 left in the game the Pacers had 28 team assists and an 88-76 lead. But that’s when the Rockets made their come back. Houston clung to a 12-1 run to cut the lead to one point with 2:37 left.
With the Pacers up 93-90 a controversial call was made by the refs that gave the Rockets the ball and an opportunity to tie the game, which they did. Ariza hit a three with 17.1 seconds left to tie the game up at 93. The Pacers had the ball with a chance to win it but Monta Ellis missed a potential game-winning jump shot. Just like the first game of this road trip, the game headed to overtime.
Pacers Can't Hang On In Overtime
The Pacers jumped out to a 6-0 run to start overtime before the Rockets were forced to call a timeout. But the Rockets would storm right back and tie the game at 99. Ariza would knock down a three to give Houston a one point lead, and then Corey Brewer would hit a three-pointer to give the Rockets a 105-103 lead with 40.9 seconds remaining.
Monta Ellis had two opportunities to tie or take the lead in the final minute but failed to come through. The Rockets would go on and win the game 107-103 in overtime, bringing the Pacers record to 21-16.
Top Performers
Pacers: Paul George led the Pacers with 20 points, six rebounds and seven steals. Ian Mahinmi, George Hill and Rodney Stuckey scored 13 points apiece. Monta Ellis finished the game with 11 points and 13 assists.
Rockets: Trevor Ariza led all scorers with 24 points, knocking down five three-pointers. Dwight Howard added 21 points and 17 rebounds. James Harden nearly finished with a triple-double, accumulating 21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
Up Next
Indiana hosts the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. Houston will go on the road to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.