Siakam, Pacers bounce back, fend off Pelicans at home

Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Haliburton, and Myles Turner logged double-double outings as the Indiana Pacers beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 123-114, on Thursday, Philippine time.

Spicy P leads the way with another double-double and the #Pacers pick up the home win! pic.twitter.com/NoIg14NWNj

— Bally Sports Indiana (@BallySportsIN) February 29, 2024

Siakam led the charge with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Tyrese Haliburton had 17 markers and 13 dimes. Turner added 14 and 10.

Obi Toppin came off the bench and chipped in 16 points in 23 minutes, including the highlight when he converted Haliburton’s off-the-glass pass into a thunderous jam to end the first period.

"SHOWTIME." 🤩

Tyrese Haliburton went off the backboard to Obi Toppin for the slam 🤯 pic.twitter.com/fbIheV2aR7

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) February 29, 2024

Benedict Mathurin also scored in double figures with 16 points with Ben Sheppard adding 11.

The Pacers raced to a red-hot 40-24 lead after the first period and led by as much as 20 points in the second quarter after T.J. McConnell jumper, 44-24.

New Orleans played catch-up the rest of the way until the final period, when they closed the gap behind a Brandon Ingram triple followed by a CJ McCollum to make it a three-point game, 109-112.

INGRAM THREE pic.twitter.com/OlxtBUPoEF

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 29, 2024

But the Pacers kept the Pelicans at bay, taking a double-digit lead once more in the final 77 seconds thanks to a Siakam breakaway slam.

Siakam throws down the emphatic dunk to put the stamp on the Pacers W 😤 pic.twitter.com/OxbqROKoRp

— NBA (@NBA) February 29, 2024

Brandon Ingram led the way for the Pelicans with 30 points as McCollum and Zion Williamson added 23 apiece.

Indiana improved to a 34-26 win-loss record, good for the seventh spot in East while the Pelicans dropped to 35-25 slate and still in sixth place in the West.