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Upset Special: How Pacers’ rookies sparked road win over Warriors

Cody Taylor
·4 min read
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On Thursday, the short-handed Indiana Pacers pulled off an upset win on the road over the Golden State Warriors thanks in large part to the efforts of several first-year players.

Down several starters, including Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, Malcolm Brogdon and Caris LeVert, the Pacers were forced to rely on other players in the contest. Chris Duarte stepped up to lead the way after tying a career-high with 27 points in the 121-117 overtime win.

To force overtime, the Pacers needed the clutch shooting of Justin Holiday. With 9.4 seconds in regulation, and the Pacers down by three points, Holiday lost Stephen Curry for the open look. He drilled the shot with six seconds remaining.

From there, the Warriors missed a layup and the game went to OT.

Indiana entered the contest as 16.5-point underdogs without four of their starters available. The win marked the third-largest upset of the Warriors under head coach Steve Kerr as the team has now lost six out of their last nine contests.

Here is a more in-depth look at how the Pacers’ rookies played a key role in the upset win.

Chris Duarte Ties a Career-High

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As aforementioned, Duarte led the way by tying a career-high with 27 points. He also added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals on 10-of-16 shooting from the field in the victory.

Duarte scored nine points alone in the third quarter as the Pacers erased a eight-point halftime deficit to get back into the contest to begin the fourth period. He then scored five points in the fourth quarter and four points in overtime to put the Warriors away.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle wasn’t surprised with his performance.

I was impressed but I can’t say I was surprised. All of these guys have shown the wherewithal to step up in these situations. Chris Duarte had two of his best games against the Clippers and Lakers, and then he had another really strong one tonight.

Said Duarte on the win:

I think we did a great job defensively, moving the ball, playing together, playing for each other and believing in each other; that was the big part of the game. Just coming out with the win is really, really good.

Keifer Sykes' Clutch Plays

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Sykes scored all 10 of his points in the second half, capped off by two clutch shots in the final two minutes of the overtime period.

With the score tied up at 115 points apiece, Sykes drilled a 3-pointer to put the Pacers up by three. He followed that up on the next possession with a driving layup that ultimately sealed the victory.

Carlisle was once again impressed by Sykes.

He didn’t have a very good first half, didn’t go particularly well at the beginning of the game. Halftime, we talked about doing something different but everybody agreed we needed his minutes. Here is a guy who has proven he can bounce back from a tough start, boy did he ever.

Isaiah Jackson staying ready

D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

Jackson had just 12 appearances this season prior to Thursday but responded with his best game yet, recording a career-high 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

In fact, Jackson had only totaled 22 points all season long prior to Thursday. However, he stayed ready and responded when the Pacers needed him the most. He scored nine points alone in the fourth quarter.

Said Carlisle:

Isaiah Jackson has kept himself ready. Yesterday, in L.A., he went over early to the Crypto Center and did a half-hour of work before shootaround just keeping himself tuned-up just in case. … (He) contributed in a lot of ways, not just the scoring column.

The Pacers are 2-1 on their current five-game West Coast road trip after beating the Lakers on Wednesday. Jackson said the win can help the team close out the road trip strong.

“It was a good, team win for us,” Jackson said. “A good confidence booster for the rest of the West Coast trip we got. It was a good win. It can’t get no better than that, beating the Warriors at home in front of a packed crowd.”

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