The Indiana Pacers will travel to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night in an inter-conference clash between two teams seeking to stop losing streaks.
Indiana lost its fourth game in a row on Sunday with a 114-83 setback to the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
Utah, in turn, dropped its third successive game on Monday with a 120-113 home defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Jazz did a lot right against Minnesota but were left to rue a momentum-turning third quarter, during which they were outscored 40-25.
“It’s another night where I feel like there’s way more good than bad,” Utah coach Will Hardy said. “We won the first half, (and) we won the fourth quarter. The game got away from us in the third quarter. I felt like early in the (second) half, our attention to detail wasn’t where it needed to be, and we ended up with a bunch of sloppy fouls.”
Keyonte George scored 27 points and Lauri Markkanen added 21 for the Jazz. Most memorable, though, was Ace Bailey’s maiden professional start.
Bailey, the fifth overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, gave Utah tons of energy while contributing 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
“His burst and athleticism are very evident,” Hardy said. “Not just off the dribble, but cutting, crashing the glass, he gives us a really good lift. He’s 19 years old … there were a couple of plays that were really ‘wow’ moments for a guy his age. The energy stuff is what stands out to me.”
Bailey’s stunning two-handed reverse slam over Minnesota superstar Anthony Edwards late in the fourth quarter stood out. The moment prompted Edwards to seek the Utah rookie after the game for a warm laugh and chat.
“I don’t know what happened — I just went baseline and went up,” Bailey said modestly of his impressive dunk. “It was my first regular-season start, so I was very excited. I came out and went as hard as I could. My name being called out in the starting rotation — that’s something I’ll never forget. It’s a dream come true.”
Utah was without Taylor Hendricks (right hamstring soreness), while Indiana’s lengthy casualty list finally looks to be easing.
Aaron Nesmith (right forearm contusion) and Pascal Siakam (rested) did not play against Golden State, but both are off the injury report. T.J. McConnell has been upgraded to questionable as he gets closer to making his season debut following a left hamstring strain.
The Pacers were in the fight against the Warriors — the score was tied at 65 inside the last three minutes of the third period — before being crushed down the stretch in the second leg of their back-to-back set set.
“First three quarters, that’s who we’ve got to be,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “Sticky defense, tied together, making tough plays on the floor, rebounding the ball well … then the fourth quarter, it just got away from us. We’ve got to avoid that kind of thing. We worked too hard for three quarters to give up 39 in the fourth.”
The short-handed Pacers are the only team in the NBA shooting below 40% from the field (39.6%) and under 30% from 3-point range (29.8%). They rank first in the league in average field-goal attempts (95.5), but last in makes (37.8).
