The Indiana Pacers seek to string together two consecutive wins for the first time in two months on Sunday when they host a Portland Trail Blazers team nearing the end of a long road swing.
The Pacers won in Houston on Friday, 121-118. It’s the seventh time they have won in 25 games since Jan. 20 and have lost following each of those previous six victories.
Portland heads into Indianapolis for its fourth contest this week during a five-game road trip.
The Blazers held a 13-point halftime lead at Brooklyn before the surging Nets rallied in the second half to win, 128-123.
Portland has lost nine of 10, including the last seven on the road.
“We’ve got to start learning from these experiences, myself included,” Josh Hart said after scoring 25 points in Friday’s defeat. “It was a tough one, but I love the fight. We didn’t give up.”
Brandon Williams scored 24 points for his fourth game of at least 20 points since March 5. The rookie from Arizona played sparingly before becoming a regular part of the Blazers rotation in last February. He has scored in double-figures in 9 of 10 games since then.
“The coaching staff really trusts me,” Williams said. “Same with my teammates, as well. They trust me as a young guard, they trust me to make a lot of big plays down the stretch.”
Williams’ increased role is just one of several lineup differences for both teams since they last played on Nov. 5.
Of Portland’s five starters on Friday in Brooklyn — Hart, Williams, Drew Eubanks, Justise Winslow and Trendon Watford — only Watford was on the Blazers roster in the last meeting.
CJ McCollum, whose 27 points led Portland to a 110-106 win over Indiana in the last meeting, was traded to New Orleans. Norman Powell was sent to the Los Angeles Clippers, Damian Lillard has not played since Dec. 31 due to an abdominal injury, and Anfernee Simons — who scored 30-plus points in four games from Feb. 12 to March 5 — has missed the last six games with a knee injury.
Indiana faced its own significant roster change since its early-season trip to Portland. Domantas Sabonis and Justin Holiday, as well as Jeremy Lamb (who did not play against the Blazers), were sent to Sacramento in a trade that brought Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield to the Pacers.
Haliburton and Hield accounted for a combined scored 25 points and 10 assists in Indiana’s 121-118 win at Houston on Friday. Malcolm Brogdon scored a team-high 25 points, Goga Bitadze finished with 23 points and nine rebounds, and Oshae Brissett chipped in 14 points as all five Pacers starters scored in double-figures.
“When Goga plays like that, it’s hard to beat us,” Brogdon said. “He gives us an edge, for sure: Just his physicality, his ability to make shots, spread the floor, be tough on the inside and finish and then contest shots at the rim.”
Friday marked Bitadze’s return to the lineup after a two-game absence. Jalen Smith — acquired in a trade from Phoenix last month — has shared post duties with Bitadze. Friday’s 17-point, 10-rebound effort marked Smith’s sixth double-double since joining the Pacers lineup on Feb. 11.
–Field Level Media
