Backed by 28 points and 15 assists from star guard Tyrese Halliburton, the Indiana Pacers vanquished the Houston Rockets 115-102 on Tuesday night in Indianapolis.
Alperen Şengün did drop 25 points, nine rebounds and seven dimes in the outing, but guard Jalen Green only mustered 12 tallies and four boards in 33 minutes of action. Haliburton's brilliance, coupled with Indiana's 37-point second quarter, ultimately proved the difference.
Most notably, the loss bolstered the Rockets position as the No. 5 seed in a contested Western Conference playoff picture. As it stand on March 5, Houston would travel to Memphis for the first two games of a first round playoff series.
What makes matters even worse revolves around a potential second round series against the winner of the No. 1 vs. No. 8 seeds. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who boast 50 wins, are the clear-cut front runner to advance in that series. If it can manage to upset Memphis, Houston would head to Oklahoma City as a series underdog.
In other words, the No. 5 seed is a death sentence. The Thunder own a 3-1 mark against Houston in the season series, including wins of 15 and 19 points. Houston simply lacks the depth, shooting and experience to defeat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's crew.
That's why Tuesday's loss is so devastating for Rockets fans. Indiana is nowhere near a juggernaut, and Houston is in desperate need to return to the win column.
Ime Udoka's squad is currently 1.5 games back of the Grizzlies for the No. 4-seed in their conference with a pair of contests against New Orleans slated for March 6 and March 8 on the horizon. When strictly considering playoff position, those should be considered must-wins at this juncture the 2024-25 slate.
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This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 5:21 PM.