Pascal Siakam scores 28 points as Pacers attack the paint to handle Nets

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers outmuscled the Nets on a bad shooting night to win the first of three late-season meetings between the two Eastern Conference teams 121-100 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday night.

The Pacers improved to 38-30, holding on to sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The 11th-place Nets fell to 26-41.

Here are four observations.

The Pacers couldn't hit 3s so they scored 82 in the paint

In the post-Buddy Hield era, the Pacers have struggled to make 3-pointers with any level of consistency. That's in large part because their best remaining shooter -- All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton -- is struggling, but he's not the only one. It's gotten even worse since star sixth man Bennedict Mathurin suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Heading into Saturday's game, the Pacers were shooting 35.0% from 3-point range since the All-Star break, including 32.3% in their previous three games since Mathurin's injury.

It was particularly rough on Saturday night as the Pacers missed their first seven 3-pointers before they finally made one, started 1 of 10 from 3-point range and went 3 of 16 from beyond the arc in the first half.

However, the Pacers recognized early that they weren't on from deep and they had planned on attacking the paint anyway, so they immediately focused their offense on getting the ball to the rim through drives and post-ups. They outscored the Nets 40-26 in the paint in the first half, making 20 of 32 field goals attempts in the paint. They also attacked the glass and got 16 second-chance points to the Nets' five.

"We put an emphasis on that pre-game, to get to the paint," Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith said. "We looked at our previous games and we haven't been shooting the ball so well, but we're one of the top paint teams in the league, so we just had to make sure that we continue to be us."

Once they figured out that their advantage was in the paint, the Pacers took enough 3s to keep Brooklyn honest but kept attacking. They were 3 of 14 from the 3-point arc in the second half to finish 6 of 30 for the game, but attacked the paint even more, finishing with 82 points in the paint for the game on 41 of 63 shooting in the lane.

The Pacers relied heavily on 3-pointers early in the season, but they've always been good at getting the ball to the rim. They lead the NBA in points in the paint per game with 57.6 and they previously scored 84 in the paint in a January win over the Suns, but they've rarely forced it in there the way they did on Saturday. Meanwhile, they held the Nets to just 42 points in the paint.

"I think early in the year, we just relied so much on the 3 that if we didn't shoot well, we'd lose those games," Haliburton said. "I think we've done a good job. We've been struggling since All-Star really and we've done a good job locking in defensively to be able to win the games when we're not making shots. We shot the ball, I shot the ball awful, and we were able to win the game by a wide margin because we were able to defend and get the ball to the rim."

The Pacers won the rebounding battle 50-45 and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to the Nets' 12, which isn't a huge margin, but they outscored the Nets on second-chance points 30-12. They had 13 steals which turned into 30 points off turnovers and they scored 21 points on fast breaks to the Nets 12. So many of their points in the paint were layups or dunks as just four of their 41 paint field goals came outside the restricted area.

Rookie guard Ben Sheppard scored 11 points and got them mostly on run-outs when he just got an open lane on the outside and went to the rim. Backup point guard T.J. McConnell scored 13 points by attacking the paint as usual. Center Myles Turner had 11, backup Jalen Smith had nine and forward Obi Toppin mostly had six attacking that way.

Pascal Siakam helped carry the Pacers

All-Star forward Pascal Siakam was, of course, particularly effective at getting to the rim, and with Haliburton struggling, the Pacers focused the offense on getting Siakam the ball somewhere in the paint. With slick post moves, good touch and the ability to score over opponents, Siakam was the Pacers' most reliable offensive weapon.

The two-time All-NBA pick scored 28 points on 11 of 22 shooting. He missed on his only 3-point attempt, but was a tough cover in the mid-range and around the rim. He also grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out four assists and grabbed three steals. In 27 games with the Pacers, Siakam hasn't been held under 12 points.

"Pascal was great tonight," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "He was great on offense. He needed to slow down a little on offense in halftime going into the second half. And defensively, he had his best game. Wasn't even close. The play when he blitzed the pick-and-roll on the sideline and made the loose-ball play turned the game. Proud of him. This is what the top players have to do. These guys have to set the tone, get your hands dirty, loose-ball plays that don't show up on the stat sheets."

Siakam said he feels like the Pacers are still learning what he's capable of and how reliable he can be when they throw him the ball as it is in their DNA to move fast and keep the ball moving until it finds an open shooter.

"I feel like I can always get to that painted area whenever I want to," Siakam said. "Just, I think all the guys, just the effort of looking there and trying to make make sure we make those plays, the mismatches and all that. I think we have to just continue to get better at that. Sometimes we play so fast that we get the open shot that we get in the offense, but sometimes it's just putting an emphasis on wanting to get to the paint. That's what I'm here for."

Aaron Nesmith was a force on both ends

Pacers stalwart glue guy Aaron Nesmith also adjusted quickly to the idea that the Pacers were going to have to win Saturday night's game in the paint. He was 1-of-2 on 3-pointers but made a point to attack the paint off the dribble and also crash the glass for easy buckets around the rim.

Nesmith was 5 of 8 from the floor and four of his buckets were within the restricted area. He also grabbed four rebound and dished out three assists.

And on the defensive end he was physical as usual and was a key piece in holding down Nets star Mikal Bridges. Bridges managed just seven points on 1 of 8 shooting. Nesmith headed up an overall strong defensive second half for the Pacers as they held Brooklyn to 43 points on 14 of 37 shooting.

"He wasn't allowing himself to be screened he was so physical," Carlisle said. "Offensively, he ran, he made key 3s, he found openings, got a couple of And-1s. Lot of big plays. And look, him and (Andrew Nembhard) and Shep and T.J. McConnell are the four guys who are going to give you run-through-the-wall defensive consistency. We need everybody to move in the direction of what those guys do."

Tyrese Haliburton grinds through shooting slump

Since his 10 of 13 3-point shooting performance in the All-Star game, Tyrese Haliburton's aim from beyond the arc has been off and the misses seem to be preying on his psyche. He entered Saturday's game having made just 18 of his 76 3-pointers (23.7%) and Saturday night's performance made it even worse.

Haliburton missed his first eight 3-point attempts before he finally got one to fall, leaving his arms up in joy after he got it. His first two were just a little short but he never seemed to recalibrate and each shot seemed to be more of a struggle after that.

That said, Haliburton continues to grind his way through it and score without 3s. He still finished with 14 points on 6 of 18 shooting, making 5 of 9 shots inside the arc. Since his scoreless game against the Pelicans on March 1, he's scored in double figures in seven straight games. He's averaging 17.6 points and 10.0 assists per game in that stretch even though he's 10 of 50 from 3-point range (20%) in that stretch.

PACERS 121, NETS 100

BROOKLYN (100): Bridges 1-8 4-4 7, Finney-Smith 5-5 0-0 12, Claxton 4-6 1-3 9, Schroder 4-13 3-4 13, Thomas 7-16 6-6 22, Bates-Diop 0-0 0-0 0, C.Johnson 4-11 3-4 14, Watford 3-6 6-7 12, Wilson 1-2 0-0 2, Clowney 0-1 0-0 0, Sharpe 1-1 1-3 3, Smith Jr. 2-4 0-0 4, Walker IV 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 33-77 24-31 100.

INDIANA (121): Nesmith 5-8 5-5 16, Siakam 11-22 6-6 28, Turner 5-10 1-1 11, Haliburton 6-18 1-1 14, Nembhard 3-5 0-1 7, I.Jackson 2-2 0-0 4, Toppin 3-5 0-0 6, Walker 0-5 0-0 0, Smith 4-8 0-0 9, Brown 1-1 0-0 2, McConnell 6-14 0-0 13, Q.Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Sheppard 4-7 2-2 11. Totals 50-105 15-16 121.

3-Point Goals—Brooklyn 10-25 (C.Johnson 3-7, Finney-Smith 2-2, Schroder 2-4, Thomas 2-6, Bridges 1-4, Clowney 0-1, Smith Jr. 0-1), Indiana 6-30 (McConnell 1-1, Nesmith 1-2, Nembhard 1-3, Smith 1-3, Sheppard 1-4, Haliburton 1-9, Siakam 0-1, Toppin 0-2, Turner 0-2, Walker 0-3). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Brooklyn 45 (Claxton 10), Indiana 50 (Siakam 11). Assists_Brooklyn 18 (Schroder 5), Indiana 21 (Haliburton, Siakam 4). Total Fouls_Brooklyn 18, Indiana 23. A_17,009 (20,000)

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pascal Siakam scores 28 points to help Pacers handle Nets