Game ID: 22300409
Indiana Pacers @ Houston Rockets
Tuesday, December 26, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 33 34 23 27 117IND 33 31 37 22 123
HOU vs IND ScoutingHOU vs IND Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
HOU availability going into 12/18 · back-to-backOUT Thompson missed 3 since 12/13, out tonight
OUT Whitmore missed 6 since 12/06, out tonight
BACK Landale back 12/13 after 3, 9 min since (69% of 14)
HOU availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restOUT Thompson missed 4 since 12/13, returns tonight: 8 min (38% of 22)
OUT Whitmore missed 7 since 12/06, out tonight
BACK Landale back 12/13 after 3, 8 min since (56% of 14)
NEW Eason 22 to 28 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 12/22 · 1 day's restOUT Whitmore missed 8 since 12/06, returns tonight: 14 min (76% of 19)
BACK Thompson back 12/20 after 4, 8 min since (38% of 22)
BACK Landale back 12/13 after 3, 8 min since (56% of 14)
NEW Eason 22 to 28 min over the last 4
HOU availability going into 12/23 · back-to-backOUT Eason missed 2 since 12/20, returns tonight: 20 min (94% of 22)
BACK Thompson back 12/20 after 4, 15 min since (67% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 12/22 after 8, 14 min since (76% of 19)
HOU availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' restBACK Thompson back 12/20 after 4, 14 min since (60% of 22)
BACK Eason back 12/23 after 2, 20 min since (94% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 12/22 after 8, 14 min since (76% of 19)
HOU availability going into 12/27 · back-to-backOUT Whitmore missed 2 since 12/23, returns tonight: 18 min (95% of 19)
OUT Landale missed 2 since 12/23, returns tonight: 12 min (88% of 14)
BACK Thompson back 12/20 after 4, 13 min since (59% of 22)
BACK Eason back 12/23 after 2, 23 min since (106% of 22)
HOU availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restBACK Thompson back 12/20 after 4, 14 min since (62% of 22)
BACK Eason back 12/23 after 2, 24 min since (110% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 12/22 after 8, 16 min since (86% of 19)
BACK Landale back 12/27 after 2, 12 min since (88% of 14)
HOU availability going into 1/01 · 2 days' restOUT Brooks missed 2 since 12/27, out tonight
BACK Eason back 12/23 after 2, 25 min since (114% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 12/22 after 8, 16 min since (86% of 19)
BACK Landale back 12/27 after 2, 10 min since (72% of 14)
HOU availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Brooks missed 3 since 12/27, out tonight
BACK Eason back 12/23 after 2, 25 min since (113% of 22)
BACK Whitmore back 12/27 after 2, 13 min since (68% of 19)
BACK Landale back 12/27 after 2, 9 min since (65% of 14)
NEW Tate 16 to 22 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 12/18 · 1 day's restOUT Nembhard missed 4 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Smith missed 8 since 11/30, out tonight
BACK Sheppard back 12/13 after 3, 10 min since (68% of 16)
BACK Nwora back 12/13 after 7, 7 min since (67% of 10)
IND availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restOUT Nembhard missed 5 since 12/11, out tonight
OUT Smith missed 9 since 11/30, returns tonight: 8 min (50% of 16)
BACK Sheppard back 12/13 after 3, 10 min since (68% of 16)
BACK Nwora back 12/13 after 7, 9 min since (91% of 10)
NEW Jackson 13 to 19 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 12/21 · back-to-backOUT Nembhard missed 6 since 12/11, returns tonight: 16 min (61% of 26)
OUT Sheppard missed 2 since 12/18, out tonight
BACK Smith back 12/20 after 9, 8 min since (50% of 16)
BACK Nwora back 12/13 after 7, 9 min since (90% of 10)
NEW Jackson 13 to 18 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restOUT Sheppard missed 3 since 12/18, out tonight
BACK Nembhard back 12/21 after 6, 16 min since (61% of 26)
BACK Smith back 12/20 after 9, 8 min since (50% of 16)
NEW Jackson 13 to 18 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' restOUT Sheppard missed 4 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Nwora missed 2 since 12/21, out tonight
BACK Nembhard back 12/21 after 6, 26 min since (99% of 26)
BACK Smith back 12/20 after 9, 11 min since (71% of 16)
IND availability going into 12/28 · 1 day's restOUT Bru. Brown missed 2 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT Sheppard missed 5 since 12/18, out tonight
OUT Nwora missed 3 since 12/21, out tonight
BACK Nembhard back 12/21 after 6, 29 min since (109% of 26)
BACK Smith back 12/20 after 9, 15 min since (95% of 16)
NEW Hield 26 to 32 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 12/30 · 1 day's restOUT Bru. Brown missed 3 since 12/23, out tonight
OUT McConnell missed 2 since 12/26, returns tonight: 12 min (66% of 19)
OUT Sheppard missed 6 since 12/18, returns tonight: 1 min (7% of 16)
OUT Nwora missed 4 since 12/21, returns tonight: 1 min (11% of 10)
BACK Nembhard back 12/21 after 6, 28 min since (104% of 26)
BACK Smith back 12/20 after 9, 18 min since (110% of 16)
NEW Hield 26 to 33 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 1/01 · 1 day's restOUT Bru. Brown missed 4 since 12/23, out tonight
BACK Nembhard back 12/21 after 6, 29 min since (108% of 26)
BACK McConnell back 12/30 after 2, 12 min since (66% of 19)
BACK Sheppard back 12/30 after 6, 1 min since (7% of 16)
BACK Nwora back 12/30 after 4, 1 min since (11% of 10)
NEW Hield 26 to 31 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Bru. Brown missed 5 since 12/23, returns tonight: 28 min (96% of 30)
BACK McConnell back 12/30 after 2, 17 min since (91% of 19)
BACK Sheppard back 12/30 after 6, 1 min since (7% of 16)
BACK Nwora back 12/30 after 4, 1 min since (11% of 10)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 119, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 26 free throws a game; Sengun at 23 and Smith Jr. at 20 a game. 2 days' rest. Indiana comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 125, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 18 free throws a game; Haliburton at 18 and Turner at 17 a game. Without Sheppard (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the line, where Houston takes 26 free throws a game to Indiana's 18. Call it Houston 122, Indiana 117.
12/18 @ CLE 130-135 — HOU notes
HOU lost 130-135 in 1 overtime. HOU shot 46% (47 of 102) to CLE's 48%, 12 of 33 from three, and got to the line 27 times to CLE's 34. VanVleet led with 27 (9 of 19, 4 of 8 from three); Sengun added 24, Brooks 16. Q1 was theirs, 34-33, but the other 4 periods went 102-96 against them. Smith Jr.'s -17 in 23 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/20 vs ATL 127-134 — HOU notes
HOU lost 127-134. HOU shot 49% (44 of 89) to ATL's 52%, 16 of 34 from three. Smith Jr. led with 34 (8 of 14, 4 of 7 from three, 14 of 14 at the line); VanVleet added 32, Brooks 19. Q3 was theirs, 35-21, turning a 12-point deficit into a 2-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 113-92 against them.
12/22 vs DAL 122-96 — HOU notes
HOU won 122-96. HOU shot 48% (46 of 95) to DAL's 35%, 11 of 38 from three. HOU turned it over 16 times to DAL's 11, and DAL turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 63-47 for them. Sengun led with 22 (8 of 12); Smith Jr. added 21, Ja. Green 17. The hinge was Q3, 33-21: a lead of 17 became 29, and the lead reached 38. Smith Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +37.
12/23 @ NOP 106-104 — HOU notes
HOU won 106-104. HOU shot 43% (35 of 82) to NOP's 46%, 9 of 29 from three, and went to the line 35 times to NOP's 29 — 27 points from the stripe to their 20. HOU turned it over 11 times to NOP's 16. Sengun led with 37 (11 of 21, 14 of 17 at the line); Smith Jr. added 26, VanVleet 10. The hinge was Q4, 27-20: HOU came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 2. HOU trailed 47-51 at the half and won the second half 59-53. Brooks was the night's best plus/minus at +6.
12/26 vs IND 117-123 — HOU notes
HOU lost 117-123. HOU took 15 more shots (97 to 82), fed by 15 offensive rebounds, but shot 48% to IND's 52%, 5 of 24 from three. HOU turned it over 10 times to IND's 20. Sengun led with 30 (11 of 20, 8 of 9 at the line); VanVleet added 18, Eason 16. Q4 was theirs, 27-22, the deficit cut from 11 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 101-90 against them. They led by as many as 10. Ja. Green's -19 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/27 vs PHX — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 118, shooting 47 percent and 34 from three, 26 free throws a game; Sengun at 25 and VanVleet at 19 a game. Without Whitmore (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Phoenix comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 121, shooting 46 percent and 28 from three, 25 free throws a game; Durant at 28 and Booker at 25 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Beal (4 straight), Nurkić (2 straight), Bates-Diop (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 34 percent from three to Phoenix's 28. Call it Houston 117, Phoenix 113, Phoenix keeping it close.
12/29 vs PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 117, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 25 free throws a game; Sengun at 25 and Smith Jr. at 20 a game. One day's rest. Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 109, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Embiid at 41 and Maxey at 26 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Embiid (2 straight), Batum (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Philadelphia wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Philadelphia allowing 109 a night to Houston's 117 and the glass, where Houston has been minus-1 a night and Philadelphia minus-5. Call it Philadelphia 115, Houston 113, Houston keeping it close.
1/01 vs DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 117, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 25 free throws a game; Sengun at 28 and Ja. Green at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Brooks (2 straight). 2 days' rest. Detroit comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 124, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 28 free throws a game; Cunningham at 30 and Ivey at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Stewart (2 straight), Sasser (2 straight), Bagley III (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Houston allowing 117 a night to Detroit's 124. Call it Houston 120, Detroit 112.
1/03 vs BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 120, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Sengun at 29 and Ja. Green at 18 a game. Without Brooks (3 straight). One day's rest. Brooklyn comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 120, shooting 42 percent and 28 from three, 28 free throws a game; Cam. Johnson at 18 and Bridges at 16 a game. That is 4 straight losses. Without Simmons (27 straight), Walker IV (16 straight), Clowney (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 38 percent from three to Brooklyn's 28. Call it Houston 119, Brooklyn 111.
12/18 vs LAC 127-151 — IND notes
IND lost 127-151. IND shot 52% (49 of 95) to LAC's 57%, 12 of 33 from three. The glass went 34-46 against them. Mathurin led with 34 (12 of 20, 3 of 7 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Jackson added 15, Toppin 14. Q1 was theirs, 38-37, but the other 3 periods went 114-89 against them. Haliburton's -37 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/20 vs CHA 144-113 — IND notes
IND won 144-113. IND shot 61% (49 of 80) to CHA's 47%, 18 of 39 from three, and went to the line 30 times to CHA's 19 — 28 points from the stripe to their 15. Hield led with 25 (8 of 13, 4 of 8 from three); Haliburton added 19, Nesmith 19. The hinge was Q3, 36-26: a lead of 11 became 21, and the lead reached 33. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +34.
12/21 @ MEM 103-116 — IND notes
IND lost 103-116. IND shot 42% (38 of 90) to MEM's 51%, 18 of 52 from three, and got to the line just 11 times against 21 fouls committed. Toppin led with 22 (8 of 14, 5 of 9 from three); Haliburton added 17, Turner 15. Q2 was theirs, 34-23, the deficit cut from 13 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 93-69 against them. Nesmith's -23 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/23 vs ORL 110-117 — IND notes
IND lost 110-117. IND took 9 more shots (82 to 73), but shot 52% to ORL's 53%, 15 of 34 from three, and got to the line 13 times to ORL's 41. Haliburton led with 29 (12 of 22, 3 of 5 from three); Turner added 24, Hield 20. Q3 was theirs, 33-20, the deficit cut from 14 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 97-77 against them. Mathurin's -24 in 16 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/26 @ HOU 123-117 — IND notes
IND won 123-117. IND shot 52% (43 of 82) to HOU's 48%, 19 of 43 from three. IND turned it over 20 times to HOU's 10, and HOU turned those into 15 steals. Haliburton led with 33 (13 of 21, 7 of 13 from three); Turner added 18, Smith 12. The hinge was Q3, 37-23: IND came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 11. IND trailed 64-67 at the half and won the second half 59-50. Nesmith was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
12/28 @ CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 106, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 17 free throws a game; DeRozan at 22 and White at 20 a game. Without LaVine (13 straight), Craig (5 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 123, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 19 free throws a game; Haliburton at 21 and Turner at 19 a game. Without Bru. Brown (2 straight), Sheppard (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the defense, Chicago allowing 106 a night to Indiana's 123 and the arc, Indiana at 41 percent from three to Chicago's 34. Call it Chicago 119, Indiana 115, Indiana keeping it close.
12/30 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 113, shooting 52 percent and 42 from three, 19 free throws a game; Haliburton at 24 and Turner at 20 a game. Without Bru. Brown (3 straight), McConnell (2 straight), Sheppard (6 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 120, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Randle at 28 and Brunson at 27 a game. Without Robinson (10 straight), McBride (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the arc, Indiana at 42 percent from three to New York's 33 and the line, where New York takes 26 free throws a game to Indiana's 19. Call it Indiana 122, New York 116.
1/01 @ MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 33 and Lillard at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Crowder (23 straight). 2 days' rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 44 from three, 18 free throws a game; Haliburton at 24 and Turner at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Bru. Brown (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, and the game turns on the line, where Milwaukee takes 27 free throws a game to Indiana's 18 and the glass, where Milwaukee has been plus-4 a night and Indiana minus-3. Call it Milwaukee 124, Indiana 120, Indiana keeping it close.
1/03 vs MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 115, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 23 free throws a game; Haliburton at 26 and Turner at 21 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Bru. Brown (5 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 119, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 31 and Lillard at 21 a game. Without Crowder (24 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Indiana 123, Milwaukee 121, Milwaukee keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
DB D. Brooks
FV F. VanVleet
JG J. Green
JS J. Smith Jr.
JT J. Tate
JG Ja. Green
TE T. Eason
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BH B. Hield
BM B. Mathurin
IJ I. Jackson
JS J. Smith
MT M. Turner
OT O. Toppin
TH T. Haliburton
HOU/IND the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Haliburton’s late 3 leads Pacers to 123-117 win over Rockets
HOUSTON -- — Tyrese Haliburton had 33 points and 10 assists and hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with a minute left to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 123-117 win over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.
Indiana snapped a three-game losing streak, winning on the road for the first time since Dec. 7.
“When you get .500, you feel a little more pressure because nobody wants to be under .500,” Haliburton said. “We felt like this game was kind of a must win for us. That’s a really good team, a really feisty team, and we just figured out a way to pull it out today.”
Haliburton went 13 of 21 from the field, including 7 of 13 from 3.
“What a great game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “Just super competitive, tons of actions, a bunch of lead changes -- high-level players out there. I’m real proud of our guys.”
There were 15 lead changes and six ties in the game.
Alperen Sengun led Houston with 30 points and 16 rebounds. Sengun was coming off a career-high 37 points in Houston’s 106-104 win over New Orleans on Saturday. He added five assists and four steals on Tuesday.
“We knew they’re like the best offensive team in the league,” Sengun said. “We tried to solve it in the gameplan, but they’re still a good team. They made their clutch shots so they win.”
Fred VanVleet hit a running layup with 1:50 remaining to give Houston a 117-115 lead, their first since early in the third quarter. VanVleet finished with 18 points and nine assists.
Early in the third quarter, Haliburton made three 3-pointers in a two-minute span, capping off a 12-2 run that gave Indiana an 81-74 lead. The Pacers outscored the Rockets 37-23 in the third quarter and entered the fourth quarter with a 101-90 lead.
“It was shocking at the point, the way we played in the third quarter and the amount of 3s that they hit that we were still in the game at that point,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said.
Rockets forward Dillon Brooks left the game midway through the third quarter and was later ruled out with a right abdominal oblique strain.
Houston outscored Indiana 74-44 in the paint, while the Pacers did more damage from the 3-point line, where they made 19 of 43.
The Rockets led 67-64 at the half.
Rockets forward Tari Eason tied the game at 33 on the last play of the first quarter by stealing the ball from Andrew Nembhard and finishing with a thunderous breakaway dunk. Eason had 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Houston.
The Pacers were without Reggie Bullock Jr . (illness) and Bruce Brown (right knee bone bruise). Obi Toppin -- who entered Tuesday having started 27 of 28 games this season -- played 14 minutes off the bench, scoring seven points.