Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle understands the struggles of the Charlotte Hornets, but that won’t stop him from taking advantage of their situation when they face off in Indianapolis on Sunday.
The Pacers snapped a four-game losing streak by defeating the Chicago Bulls 132-123 on Friday, following two road losses to the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets. Chicago had played the night before, which helped Indiana secure the win.
Now, the Pacers will meet the Hornets, who are coming off an 116-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. This was their eighth straight loss.
Carlisle acknowledges the challenge of playing against teams on back-to-back games. “Brooklyn caught us on a horrific back-to-back, and we caught these guys (Bulls) on a tough one,” Carlisle said. “And Sunday we’re going to catch Charlotte on a back-to-back. We’ve got to take advantage of these opportunities.”
Indiana used their day off to improve certain areas, like offensive spacing and movement. “We had the longest shootaround I’ve had since I’ve been here because we had a lot of things we wanted to clean up,” Carlisle said.
“Our spacing was better — it opened up more opportunities for us to attack the paint. Guys did a great job of focusing in the morning, and that really carried over into the game.”
Philadelphia 76ers and Charlotte Hornets
Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 23 points, including five 3-pointers, and added eight assists. Pascal Siakam contributed 21 points. The Pacers performed well in various areas, shooting 60% from three-point range, outrebounding Chicago 46-38, and dominating the points in the paint 56-42.
Obi Toppin, who had 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench, said, “I know we’re past last year, but at the end of the day, we were one of the fastest teams, if not the fastest team, in the league. We score most of our points in transition. We get those easy buckets, then when we get into the halfcourt, everybody has their rhythm.”
The Hornets defeated the Pacers 103-83 in their first meeting this season on Nov. 8, holding Indiana to its lowest score since December 2022.
Charlotte has struggled recently, losing several games due to an injury crisis. Despite trailing the Cavaliers 40-18 after the first quarter, the Hornets fought back, outscoring Cleveland 84-76 in the remaining three quarters, despite missing seven players, including LaMelo Ball (left calf).
Brandon Miller, who scored 25 points, was the only player from Charlotte’s top six scorers to play in the game. Hornets coach Charles Lee praised his team’s effort, saying, “Super proud of the group. Obviously no one in this organization or that locker room wants to lose a game in general and not lose another one on this streak we’re on.
But I would say the competitive spirit of this group was on display tonight. I’m so encouraged by so much that I’m seeing from the group. The strength we are gaining, the competitiveness that continues to go to another level … there’s a ton of resilience and fight.”