Insider: Pacers win ugly, but employ formula for success without Tyrese Haliburton

INDIANAPOLIS -- The first quarter of the first game of at least seven that Tyrese Haliburton will miss with his strained left hamstring put into sharp relief the challenge the Pacers will face without their All-Star point guard and just how different the brand of basketball they play could look without him.

For the first 12 minutes of Wednesday night's game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, they engaged in the rockiest of rock fights with one of the worst teams in the NBA. They traded missed shots and turnovers with a squad that can name exactly one NBA team -- the historically hapless Detroit Pistons -- that has fewer wins this season than they do.

In Wednesday's first quarter the Pacers and 6-31 Wizards combined to score as many points (44) as the Pacers had in the third quarter by themselves against the Celtics on Monday. The two teams combined to make 18 of 50 field goals (36.0%) and 2 of 16 3-pointers while committing a combined nine turnovers.

But the Pacers, who lead the NBA in scoring, offensive rating, field goal percentage and pace but rank 28th in points allowed, actually emerged from that quarter in which they seemed to be playing a totally different sport than they had all year with a 23-21 advantage.

The second, third and fourth quarters were each a little smoother, and in their 35-point third quarter they at least resembled their typically potent selves. Still, their 112-104 win over the Wizards was the lowest-scoring game they played all season. Their 112 points were the fewest points they've scored in a win this season. The 104 points Washington scored were the fewest by a Pacers opponent this season, matching the Bulls' total in Indiana's 120-104 win in Chicago on Dec. 28.

The victory was the Pacers' eighth in their last nine games, and it put them in a fourth-place tie in the Eastern Conference standings with the New York Knicks.

"These games are going to look different without Tyrese out there," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.

Not all of them will look this ugly, if for no other reason than that the Pacers won't be playing anyone on the upcoming six-game, 10-day, mostly western road trip who is as bad as the Wizards. On Friday they play an Atlanta Hawks team that is almost as explosive as the Pacers on offense but somehow even more permissive on defense. Sunday they play the defending NBA champion Nuggets in Denver. The rest of the road trip includes games at Utah, Sacramento, Portland and Phoenix; only the 10-26 Trailblazers are entirely out of postseason contention.

Also, the Pacers have proven earlier this season that they can score when Haliburton is not in the lineup. When he took ill with an upper respiratory infection on Dec. 2 in Miami, the Pacers stunned the Heat with a 144-129 win. They shot 65.9% from the floor and 50% from 3-point range, making an incredible 30 of 38 field goals (78.9%) and 11 of 14 3-pointers (78.6%) in the second half. They also scored 74 points on 57.8% shooting in the second half on Monday night after Haliburton's second-quarter injury to defeat the Celtics team that has the NBA's best record and its second-best defense in terms of efficiency.

But Haliburton's other two absences this season were a 155-104 decimation of a defeat in Boston on Nov. 1 and a 127-109 loss in Minnesota on Dec. 16, games that underscored the degree to which Haliburton is the engine that makes the Pacers go.

"We quite literally can't replace his production and what he does," backup point guard T.J. McConnell said.

Since they can't, they have to find a way to win by changing the equation. On Wednesday night, they displayed the formula they intend to follow, though they obviously are aware they need to execute it better to defeat better teams.

The Pacers already employ balanced scoring and ball movement, and both become even more critical with Haliburton out. They have eight players averaging double figure scoring this season with Haliburton the only player averaging over 18 points per game. On Wednesday night, they put seven players in double figures, but center Myles Turner led the group with 18 points to go with 12 rebounds.

"You gotta do it by committee," Turner said. "I think that's kinda how we got here. Obviously, Tyrese is being the superstar that he is, but we all got here by committee and we gotta continue the same thing on the road."

The Pacers don't have another point guard who can score the way Haliburton can. However, they have three ball-handlers who can facilitate for others, maintain the team's frenetic pace and standard for ball and player movement and also score to a lesser degree. McConnell, Andrew Nembhard and Bruce Brown all kept the ball popping Wednesday night, so the Pacers managed 31 assists on 41 field goals against 13 turnovers.

Nembhard had a rough shooting night as the starter, scoring two points on 1 of 8 shooting, but he dished out five assists. The backup McConnell, who began the season outside of the rotation, continued to prove himself indispensable with 14 points on 7 of 10 shooting, eight assists against zero turnovers as well as two steals. Bruce Brown, who signed a two-year, $45 million deal with the Pacers in the offseason to be a Swiss Army knife, scored 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting, dished out six assists against zero turnovers as a secondary ball-handler and grabbed nine defensive rebounds.

"I thought Drew did a solid job of this game," Carlisle said. "He's still getting his legs under him. I expect once we get into this trip for him to settle in and really get his rhythm. T.J. has been very consistent for the last month, actually more than that. He's been really great all year. And Bruce is healthy and you can tell. He's moving differently, he's got more bounce, he's got more energy, his vibe on the court is different now that he's not experiencing discomfort, and so it's a game-changer."

The Pacers also played dramatically better defense than they did on Dec. 15, when the Pacers were embarrassed by the Wizards in Washington, D.C., 137-123. In that game, they allowed the Wizards to shoot 56.5% from the field and 13 of 27 from 3 and score 68 points in the paint. On Wednesday, the Pacers held Washington to 43.2% shooting from the field, 7 of 31 shooting (22.6%) from 3-point range and 56 points in the paint.

"They didn't feel us at all, no physicality, no pressure on the ball, not fighting through screens,” McConnell said of the game in Washington. “That's why we lost like we did. Credit to the coaches, we made a concerted effort to fix that and we have to continue to do that."

The Pacers' once-abysmal defense is, in fact, improving. For the season, they still rank 28th in points allowed (123.8 per game) and opponent field goal percentage (.499) and 26th in defensive rating (119.6 points allowed per 100 possessions.) But in the last nine games since a lineup shift that moved forwards Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith into the starting lineup on Dec. 26, they're 18th in points allowed (117.7 per game), eighth in opponent field goal percentage (.467) and 14th in defensive rating (114.6).

Haliburton's absence in some ways makes the Pacers better defensively. He's second on the team in steals and third in defensive rebounds, and the more he scores and creates buckets on offense, the more the Pacers stay out of transition defense situations. That said, he can be overpowered as an on-ball defender, and Indiana's starting lineup on Wednesday included their top four defenders in Nembhard, Brown, Aaron Nesmith and Turner.

The Pacers' formula to beat teams who are not the Wizards going forward will likely require more scoring on behalf of their top three wings, who all had inefficient evenings on Wednesday.

Bennedict Mathurin followed back to back 20-plus point efforts against the Celtics with 16 points on 4 of 11 shooting. He missed his only 3-pointer, but got half of his points at the free throw line, making all eight of his foul shots. Nesmith, who entered the night averaging 11.8 points per game on 51.6% shooting and 45.8% 3-point shooting, scored 10 points on 3 of 9 shooting, including 2 of 5 from 3.

Buddy Hield did not score at all in almost 19 minutes of action. He missed all five of his field goals, including three 3-pointers, though he did dish out four assists and post a +12 plus-minus figure.

Still, as the Pacers try to keep pace with the Knicks, Heat, Magic and Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference's second tier and avoid the free-fall they experienced when Haliburton missed 10 games with an elbow sprain last year, it makes sense to adhere to the basics of Wednesday night's winning formula. If they share the ball and defend they have a chance to avoid disaster on the road trip.

"We gotta play a balanced game," Carlisle said. "We have to play with and for each other."

Indiana 112, Washington 104

WASHINGTON (104)

Avdija 4-10 6-7 15, Kuzma 4-15 3-3 11, Gafford 4-6 4-6 12, Jones 5-12 0-0 11, Poole 11-21 4-6 28, Kispert 6-11 0-0 15, Muscala 2-4 0-0 4, Coulibaly 1-5 3-4 5, Wright 1-4 1-4 3. Totals 38-88 21-30 104.

INDIANA (112)

Nesmith 3-9 2-2 10, Toppin 6-10 0-0 15, Turner 7-15 3-3 18, B.Brown 5-11 5-5 16, Nembhard 1-8 0-0 2, Jackson 4-4 4-6 12, Nwora 4-7 0-0 9, Mathurin 4-13 8-8 16, Hield 0-5 0-0 0, McConnell 7-10 0-0 14. Totals 41-92 22-24 112.

3-Point Goals—Washington 7-31 (Kispert 3-8, Poole 2-7, Avdija 1-3, Jones 1-5, Coulibaly 0-1, Wright 0-1, Muscala 0-2, Kuzma 0-4), Indiana 8-25 (Toppin 3-6, Nesmith 2-5, B.Brown 1-2, Nwora 1-2, Turner 1-5, Mathurin 0-1, Nembhard 0-1, Hield 0-3). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Washington 45 (Kuzma 10), Indiana 54 (Turner 13). Assists_Washington 24 (Poole 7), Indiana 31 (McConnell 8). Total Fouls_Washington 23, Indiana 22. A_15,721 (20,000)