NEW ORLEANS — Zion Williamson scored 29 points to lead the Pelicans to a 128-109 win over the Pacers on Saturday night at the Smoothie King Center.
The Pacers have lost four straight to fall to 6-22 and coach Rick Carlisle remains stuck at 999 wins after four tries for 1,000. The Pelicans won their fourth straight and improved to 7-22.
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Forward Saadiq Bey added 18 points for the Pelicans. Center Derik Queen had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Trey Murphy added 17 points and guard Jordan Poole had 16 points off the bench. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 22 points, forward Johnny Furphy 18 and guard T.J. McConnell added 16 points and eight assists.
Here are three observations.
Zion Williamson, Derik Queen too much for Pacers inside
The Pelicans entered Saturday’s game with the worst record in the Western Conference and the second-worst in the NBA, but Rick Carlisle was quick to point out that their three-game winning streak was a sign of a lot of talent, athleticism and size. Zion WIlliamson, the two-time All-Star and former No. 1 overall pick, has come off the bench since a recent return from injury and the combination of him and talented rookie center Derik Queen has been a lot for opponents to handle in the paint.
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It became very clear from the first quarter that the Pacers were another team that couldn’t handle either player in the paint. Williamson and Queen combined for 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting in the first period as part of New Orleans’ 44-point barrage. While the Pacers eventually slowed down the Pelicans other key pieces, they never developed an answer for Williamson or Queen.
Williamson looked every bit as overwhelming as he did in his All-Star seasons and even in his year at Duke, bouncing off bodies, getting to the rim at will and finishing skillfully when he got there. He finished with 29 points on 9 of 14 shooting and 11 of 13 free throws to go with seven rebounds. Queen wasn’t as prolific but was every bit as efficient. He scored 17 points on 8 of 8 shooting and added 10 rebounds and four assists and the Pelicans were +24 when he was on the floor. With those two leading the charge, the Pelicans outscored the Pacers 70-60 in the paint and controlled the game throughout.
Pacers frigid on jump shots, not good inside
The Pacers didn’t do a poor job of scoring in the paint themselves with 60 points on 30 of 46 shooting in the lane, but they still didn’t keep pace with the Pelicans and for all of their attempts they couldn’t make much happen from 3 either.
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The Pacers made just 8 of 42 3-pointers and finished a total of 40 of 94 from the floor (42.6%) to post a rough efficiency figure of 0.99 points per possession. Garrison Mathews hit on his only two 3-point attempts and Pascal Siakam was 2 of 7 from 3 as part of his 22-point night, but the rest of the team was 4 of 33 from 3 and no one else hit more than one.
Starters Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin had particularly rough nights whether they were shooting from inside or outside the arc. Nembhard scored seven points on 2 of 11 shooting and Mathurin had four on 2 of 9 shooting. They were a combined 1 of 9 from 3-point range and had horrendous plus-minus figures with Mathurin posting a -32 and Nembhard at -29. That came after they scored a combined 47 points in a close loss against the Knicks at home on Thursday.
T.J. McConnell the bright spot for the evening
Whenever the Pacers made any kind of charge to get back into the game, T.J. McConnell was usually on the floor.
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The veteran point guard helped get the Pacers back within five points in the lead in the second quarter before they eventually faded and he was there when the Pacers made it a little more competitive late in the third and early in the fourth. He missed two 3-pointers when left wide open, but was otherwise perfect, making 8 of 10 field goals for 16 points to go with eight assists. He also recorded two steals against two turnovers and was +6 in 17 minutes on the floor.
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs Pelicans: Zion Williamson scores 29 points, Pacers lose 4th straight
