It was the first game of the season for the Indiana Pacers and the Brooklyn Nets as they met on Wednesday night in Indiana. It was a sellout crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse as the Pacers were looking to start the season with a win. Paul George is no longer in town, as the Pacers traded him this past summer to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Indiana started the season on Wednesday with a retooled roster.
Indiana wins the high-scoring affair
Both teams played well in the opening period of this game, with Brooklyn leading 30-29 after the first quarter.
Indiana managed to regain the lead early in the second quarter as they held a 41-37 lead. Their biggest lead of the first half was nine points (57-48) and at halftime, the score was 65-63 for the home team. Midway through the third period of the game, the Pacers were up 94-82 and heading into the final quarter of the game, their lead was 106-98. It was a high-scoring game, as both teams seemed to have played little defense in this one. The Pacers outscored the Nets 34-33 in the final period of the game and ended up with a 140-131 win.
All five starters finished in double-digit scoring for the Pacers on Wednesday night. Victor Oladipo led them with 22 points, four assists, and four steals. Myles Turner also played a great game as he finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Darren Collison added 21 points and 11 assists for Indiana.
D'Angelo Russell was the leading scorer for Brooklyn with 30 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field. Russell also added five assists and three rebounds. Trevor Booker added 20 points and 10 rebounds off the Nets bench.
Wire to wire victory for the Pistons
More than 20,000 fans were in attendance on Wednesday night at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, as the Detroit Pistons hosted the Charlotte Hornets.
The Pistons led in this one from the opening tip and controlled the game to the very end. They had a 29-27 lead after the first quarter, and midway through the second period, they were already up by 12 points (44-32). The score was 56-45 for the home team at halftime. Heading into the final 12 minutes of the game, the Pistons held an 82-70 lead as they were looking to get their first win of the season.
They did so by routinely closing out this game with a 20-point fourth quarter, and ended up with a convincing, 102-90 win.
Tobias Harris played a great game for Detroit on Wednesday night. Harris finished with game-high 27 points, and also added 10 rebounds and three assists. Avery Bradley added 15 points, while Reggie Jackson finished with 13 points and eight assists for the Pistons.
For the away squad, the Charlotte Hornets, it was Kemba Walker who led the way with 24 points and six rebounds. Jeremy Lamb added 15 points and four rebounds, while Dwight Howard contributed with 10 points and 15 rebounds.
