Instant Rewind
The Indiana Pacers opened a four-game Western Conference road trip in style, blowing out the Jazz for the second time in a week to roll to a 121-88 victory on Monday night in Utah.
The Pacers defeated the Jazz 121-94 a week earlier at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and were even more dominant in Salt Lake City, never trailing on their way to a comfortable win.
Indiana shot 58.3 percent from the field, had 34 assists, and got a big boost from beleaguered sharpshooter Doug McDermott. After going scoreless and taking just one shot in a loss to San Antonio on Friday, McDermott bounced back Monday with a season-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting and pulled down six rebounds against the Jazz.
"They were headhunting me tonight," McDermott told FOX Sports Indiana's Jeremiah Johnson after the win. "I had to take advantage of that. We put in a couple more plays to get me moving and I thought that really worked."
The Pacers connected on eight of their first nine shots and forced five early turnovers as they raced out to a 20-12 lead.
Indiana finished the first quarter 14-for-19 from the field and led 33-25 after one.
The Blue & Gold got a nice boost from their bench on Monday, as Cory Joseph, Domantas Sabonis, McDermott, and Aaron Holiday combined for 27 points in the first half. They helped pushed the lead to as many as 10 points in the second quarter before the starters returned.
Myles Turner took over from there, knocking down mid-range jumpers on three straight possessions to give the Pacers a 14-point advantage and they took a 57-48 lead into the break.
The Blue & Gold blew the game open in the third quarter, reeling off a 16-1 run over a 4:30 stretch to extend the lead to 24 points.
A 14-0 run early in the fourth quarter pushed the margin to 31 and sent most of the remaining fans at Vivint Smart Home Arena to the exits. McDermott racked up 13 points in the final frame alone.
Turner added 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting to go along with four rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. Bojan Bogdanovic added 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Four other Pacers players scored in double figures — Tyreke Evans (14 points), Sabonis (13 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists), Joseph (13 points), and Holiday (12 points). That list omits point guard Darren Collison, who had just eight points but dished out a season-best 11 assists in just 26 minutes of action.
Derrick Favors led Utah with 13 points and eight rebounds in the loss. Rudy Gobert added six points.
Both teams were without their leading scorers on Monday, as Pacers All-Star guard Victor Oladipo missed his fourth straight game with a sore right knee and Jazz sophomore sensation Donovan Mitchell sat out his second consecutive game with a rib contusion.
The Pacers return to action on Tuesday night at 9:00 PM ET, when they head to Phoenix to face the Suns on the second night of a back-to-back.
Tickets
After a four-game road trip, the Pacers return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to host the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »