Pacers have trouble closing the gap and lose to Timberwolves in the Summer League

LAS VEGAS – The Indiana Pacers played their second Summer League game of 2024 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon. Indiana was hoping to make a comeback after an overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.

Rookie wing Johnny Furphy opened the scoring for the Pacers with a nice shot from the left corner and Quenton Jackson followed with a three-pointer. The two having better nights, should that continue, would go a long way in helping the Blue and Gold build on their result in Game 1.

Indiana struggled with defense early in the game. They allowed too many attacks and fell behind in the following period. They got back into the game a few minutes later, but were down 10-8 after three minutes.

Pacers forward Jarace Walker found his range and helped the Blue and Gold regain the lead on the scoreboard. Walker scored nine of Indiana’s first 17 points, defending lottery pick Rob Dillingham.

The score remained close, with the Pacers trailing by just two points with two minutes left in the opening period, but their reserves, including Enrique Freeman and Tristen Newton, kept up.

The bench continued to press and Indiana led 28-26 after 10 minutes of play. Furphy and Walker had combined for 16 points up to that point.

Minnesota found some momentum early in the second period. They stormed out to a quick 11-2 run to create distance and were able to do a lot of damage in transition. The Pacers played sloppy after a mature start.

The Wolves were up 15-2 in the second quarter before Kendall Brown and Ben Sheppard scored some points, but the Blue and Gold had a lot of work to do to keep up. They had to string together some stops and gain advantages on offense.

Indiana fought back and kept the score under seven for a few minutes as some of their starters returned. They made stops and used them to run, which led to some successful plays by Oscar Tshiebwe. The score was eight with two minutes left in the half.

At halftime, the Wolves led 51-44. Furphy was the Pacers’ best player with 13 points and four rebounds.

The teams continued shooting baskets as the second half began. The Pacers’ deficit remained similar throughout the first few minutes of the third quarter as they rotated players in and out. Freeman made some nice plays to prevent the Blue and Gold from falling further behind.

Not long after that stretch, Freeman scored six points in a row, including a four-point play. He played excellent basketball and Walker hit a three-pointer after that sequence to give the Pacers the lead. They quickly gave it away, but the Pacers were back in the fight.

A couple of threes from Dakota Mathias and more energy from Freeman put Indiana ahead 71-70 with about a minute left in the third quarter. But they couldn’t finish the period, and the Wolves led 78-71 heading into the fourth quarter. Furphy’s 16 was still the team’s best.

Turnovers and fouls killed the Pacers in the final minutes of the third quarter, but those are fixable mistakes. They weren’t out of the game yet, but they had to clean up some sloppy mistakes in the final quarter.

After trailing by as many as 10 points, the Pacers rallied. Quenton Jackson helped Indiana cut the lead to three with just over six minutes left with a couple of baskets and a nice pass. It was an important phase for the Blue and Gold.

The deficit was almost three points for a few minutes, as neither team was able to score a point. With four minutes to go, the score was 88:85. But Walker changed that with a three-pointer that tied the game shortly afterwards. The final phase would decide the result.

The gap was 91-90 and just one point with two minutes left, but the Pacers tied it again with 90 seconds left on a three-pointer from Sheppard. Although they rarely led, they were in the thick of the game with just a few seconds left.

However, Daishen Nix hit a great three-pointer to give the Wolves a late lead, and the Pacers were in trouble, trailing by five points with 31.8 seconds left when Newton went to the free throw line.

He only hit one of the two and Minnesota won 104-94. They finished the game well to decide it – Indiana had trouble finishing it for many quarters.

Furphy had 18 points and six rebounds. Walker and Mathias each contributed 15 points. Newton had seven assists. The Pacers are 0-2 in summer league play on Tuesday.