Warriors 103, Pacers 92
OAKLAND -- Jarrett Jack suffered a point guard's ultimate humiliation Saturday night.
Two minutes later, the veteran assured the night would be remembered for something entirely more gratifying, burying a 60-footer to beat the third-quarter horn and propel the Golden State Warriors to a 103-92 victory over the Indiana Pacers at Oracle Arena.
With the Warriors struggling to keep the Pacers at arm's length late in the third period, Jack got pick-pocketed by counterpart D.J. Augustin at center court, a play the diminutive Indiana point guard culminated in an uncontested layup.
Jack immediately countered with jumper over Augustin, then added two more hoops on successive possessions before his highlight-reel fling from well beyond half court to open a double-digit lead, 82-72, entering the final period.
The Golden State backup added a driving hoop and another 3-pointer early in the fourth period to help hold the Pacers at bay, then helped put the game away by assisting a Stephen Curry 3-pointer that provided a 98-86 cushion with just 2:59 to go.
Jack, making all but one of his nine shots, had 18 points off the Golden State bench and was joined in double figures by fellow reserve Carl Landry, who had 16. Klay Thompson paced the Warriors with 22, with Curry adding 20 to complement 11 assists.
David West had 23 points for the Pacers, who were shooting for a three-game Western sweep after having dispatched of the Lakers and Kings on other California stops.
Jack's first hoop of the final period came after Pacers reserve Ian Mahinmi converted a driving left-hander and a pair of free throws to get them within six, 82-76.
But Indiana got no closer than seven after Jack's basket at the 10:30 mark, failing to get closer than 95-86 despite forcing five consecutive Warriors misses. Two turnovers and two missed jumpers doomed Indiana at that point, with the hammer coming down on Curry's 3-pointer that ended a 2 1/2-minute drought.
The Golden State offense got the better of the vaunted Indiana defense in the first half, especially in a 10-2 closing run that enabled the Warriors to walk off at halftime with a 51-44 lead.
Curry had a three-point play on a jumper and a layup, Thompson buried a 3-pointer and David Lee added a pair of free throws over the final 2:23 of the half for the Warriors, who connected on 51.4 percent of their shots in the first 24 minutes to overcome 11 turnovers.
For a while, it appeared the story of the night would be the Indiana offense. Lance Stephenson had a pair of 3-pointers and George Hill added a third, all in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the game, as the Pacers ran off to a 16-11 advantage.
But then the Warriors got into the flow of the game. They held the Pacers to seven points over a 10-minute stretch bridging the first and second periods, and then with the half-closing flurry that erased an Indiana lead.
Thompson, hitting half his 12 shots including a couple of 3's, led all scorers in the half with 16. Curry added 10 on 4-for-5 shooting.
NOTES: Saturday was the 15th anniversary of the Latrell Sprewell-P.J. Carlesimo choking incident at the Warriors' practice facility in downtown Oakland. Sprewell initially was suspended 10 games by the Warriors, before the NBA stepped in and made it a rest-of-the-season (68 games) punishment. Carlesimo, now an assistant coach with the Nets, was in Oakland with his new team last week. ... Thompson played in his 82nd consecutive game Saturday. After appearing in all 66 games in last year's strike-shortened season, Thompson has started all 14 of Golden State's contests this year, giving him the equivalent of one full season of games. .... Asked before the game if he had to refocus his team at the end of its three-game Western swing, following hard-fought wins over the Lakers and Kings, Pacers coach Frank Vogel assured, "My message to my team is something special is happening with our team. Quite frankly, it's something I've never been around." Vogel was referring to the Indiana defense, which entered Saturday's game ranked first in the league in opponent's field-goal percentage (40.4) and second in points allowed (91.3) and opponent's 3-point field-goal percentage (31.5) ... One game into an NBA Developmental League stint, the Warriors recalled Kent Bazemore from the Santa Cruz Warriors on Saturday. Bazemore had 27 points, nine rebounds and five steals in the club's season-opening win Friday at Reno.
