The Pacers upset by the Trail Blazers Malone: Sika debuted with 21 points and Haliburton returned with 21+17
On January 20, Beijing time, the NBA regular season Pacers played away against the Trail Blazers, of which the Pacers were the second game of a back-to-back. Siakam made his promotional debut, with Haliburton returning from injury and Ayton returning from 12 games out of absence. The Pacers were suppressed and once trailed by 13 points in the final quarter, the Pacers stubbornly chased the difference by 5 points, and the Trail Blazers opened the gap again, and finally the Pacers were upset 115-118 by the Trail Blazers, the second-to-last Trail Blazers in the West. Siakam scored 21 points in his debut, Haliburton returned with 21 points and 17 assists, and Turner had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks, all of which were double-doubles in the team's starters. Grant's 37 points and Brogdon's 30 points led the five to a double-double victory.
In the first meeting of the season, the Pacers lost 110-114 at home to the Trail Blazers, in which Haliburton's 33 points and 9 assists led four players to score double-doubles, but the other three all scored only 11 points. On the other hand, Grant scored 34 points, leading the Trail Blazers to score 20+ points to win.
The two sides met for the second time of the season, Siakam ushered in the debut of the Pacers, Haliburton returned from injury for five games, the West Hay combination ushered in a combined debut, and the Pacers still lacked Nembhard and Jackson. Ayton, the core of the Trail Blazers' interior line, has returned from a 12-game absence, and is still missing Simmons, Sharpe, Brown and Williams. The Pacers opened the game with a 14-7 lead, but were soon overtaken by the Trail Blazers, and the Pacers trailed the Trail Blazers by three points at 31-34 at the end of the first quarter.
The Trail Blazers continued to fire in the second quarter, they scored 30+ points in a single quarter in two consecutive quarters, the Pacers lost another eight points at 22-30 in the second quarter, and the Pacers trailed the Trail Blazers 53-64 at the end of the first half. In the first two quarters, the Pacers scored three double-doubles, Haliburton scored only 4 points and 6 assists on 1-of-3 shooting, Siakam scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, Turner had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks on 3 three-pointers, and Hield had 12 points and 4 assists on 4-of-3 shooting. Grant scored 20 points and Brogdon had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, leading the Trail Blazers to score in double figures.
The Pacers won by 4 points 28-24 in a single quarter, and the Pacers chased 81-88 behind the Trail Blazers at the end of the third quarter. In the first three quarters, the Pacers were 15-of-36 from three-point range, the Trail Blazers were 3-of-10 from three-point range, and the Pacers scored 12 three-pointers from the outside to score as many as 36 points, but lost by 36 points on an 18-54 inside. Haliburton had 11 points and 12 assists and Siakam had 16 points, Turner had 18 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks and Hield had 18 points. Grant had 30 points and Brogdon had 22 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Ayton and Henderson both had 10 points.
At the beginning of the final quarter, the Trail Blazers had announced that Henderson was injured and retired early, and Haliburton led the team to 91-95 with only four points behind. The Trail Blazers extended their 13-point lead on a 9-0 run, and Turner hit a three-pointer and the Trail Blazers immediately called a timeout. Turner and Siakam scored back-to-back points, and Turner hit a three-pointer to chase 101-106 and only five points away from stopping the Trail Blazers. The Trail Blazers hit a small surge to extend their 11-point advantage again, with Haliburton hitting a three-pointer and Nesmith hitting both free throws to cut the deficit to just six points. Haliburton's key return violation and Hield's 24-second violation, Turner's three-point shot, the Trail Blazers scored free throws, Nesmith and Walker clashed and ate a T each, the Pacers failed to complete the counterattack, and finally the Pacers were killed by the Trail Blazers' season.
(Text/Drunken Sleeping)