The first of the two meetings between the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers will take place in Los Angeles on Sunday, cramming their season series into six days.
The Pacers have defeated the Detroit Pistons and Golden State Warriors in back-to-back games to start their five-game road trip at 2-0. Tyrese Haliburton scored 26 points and dished out 11 assists, while Pascal Siakam pulled down 25 points and 16 rebounds to lead the team to a 123-111 victory over the Warriors on Friday in San Francisco.
Indiana (40-31) is attempting to stay in the top six of the Eastern Conference standings in order to guarantee an automatic playoff place. The team has already guaranteed a position in the play-in round.
Perhaps Haliburton’s shooting battle with Golden State’s Stephen Curry, one of the best, helped him get even further away from a recent shooting slump. Prior to the road trip, Haliburton shot 19% from three-point range and 39 percent from the floor in an 11-game span.
Haliburton was 4-of-8 from distance and 9-of-18 overall, while Curry went 6-of-18 from 3-point range and scored 25 points. Haliburton is shooting 45.5 percent from three-point range and 58.1 percent overall over the last two games.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stated, “We’re building this team to be a playoff team and a contending team.” “These games against high-level teams that are physical and emotional are essential.”
Myles Turner of Indiana had five blocked shots and now has 1,249 for his career, breaking the franchise record held by Jermaine O’Neale.
“It’s amazing I can leave with something no matter what happens in the future,” Turner stated. “I can tell my kids and grandkids about this moment.”
The Lakers are attempting to build their first three-game winning streak in more than a month after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 101-94 on Friday to win their second straight game.
The Pacers’ victory over the 10th-place Warriors helped Los Angeles (38-32) move up to ninth place in the Western Conference standings. The Lakers were ahead of the Warriors by 1 1/2 games and behind the eighth-place Sacramento Kings by 1 1/2 games going into Saturday.
Even though Philadelphia was playing without top player Joel Embiid due to injury, Anthony Davis scored 23 points with 19 rebounds and LeBron James scored 20 points with eight rebounds and six assists against the 76ers, but the Lakers did not seal the victory until the very end.
James remarked, “Ugly, but we got the job done,” following his 11-point fourth-quarter performance. “In the second half, we played defense. In the fourth, they had just eighteen. That’s significant given how poorly the offense was performing at the time.”
With four more 3-pointers on Friday, D’Angelo Russell finished with 14 points, breaking the previous record held by the Lakers for most 3-pointers made in a season. At the moment, he has 187.
“This franchise is one of the most prestigious, so to have my name be a part of it, more than grateful, blessed beyond measure,” Russell stated. “Just want to keep continuing to shatter it if I can and make it really hard for the next person.”
Christian Wood (knee) and Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will be out for the Lakers on Sunday. Taurean Prince is anticipated to return against the Pacers after missing the victory over the 76ers for personal reasons.
