Zubac's 15 Boards and Toppin's Bench 20 Carried the Pacers Past the Pelicans

Zubac's 15 Boards and Toppin's Bench 20 Carried the Pacers Past the Pelicans

Indiana outscored New Orleans 37-28 in the fourth to win its opener 123-120. Ivica Zubac and Obi Toppin, not the headliners, did the heavy lifting.

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The box score says Pascal Siakam scored 30 and Tyrese Haliburton handed out 12 assists. The game says the Indiana Pacers opened their season with a 123-120 win in New Orleans on Tuesday because of two players who were not in the headline: Ivica Zubac and Obi Toppin.

Zubac, the center Indiana brought in to anchor the paint, finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds (11 of them on the defensive glass) and two blocks in 34 minutes, per ESPN's box score. Toppin came off the bench for 20 points in 25 minutes, hitting 4 of 9 threes on a night the starters went cold from outside. The Pacers as a team shot 9 of 30 from three, so Toppin's four made nearly half of them.

The Fourth Quarter Belonged to Indiana

The New Orleans Pelicans led 92-86 after three quarters. Indiana won the fourth 37-28. Haliburton's driving floater with 1:23 left put the Pacers up 120-118, and he added a free throw on the same trip. Yves Missi answered with a dunk to make it 121-120, but New Orleans never scored again. Andrew Nembhard, who had 18 points and nine assists, was called for traveling with 14 seconds left, yet the Pelicans could not turn the extra possession into a tying three.

Indiana scored 64 points in the paint and 27 on the fast break, and it assisted on 29 of its 47 baskets. New Orleans owned the glass, 49 rebounds to 43 with 14 on the offensive end, and that is the number that kept the game close.

Zion and Missi Did Their Part

Zion Williamson had 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting with three steals in his opener. Dejounte Murray added 23 points and seven assists. Missi, the second-year center, was the Pelicans' best player on the night: 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, 14 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Rookie Derik Queen chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.

Siakam's line was 30 points on 13-of-23 shooting with eight rebounds, and Haliburton finished with 23 points, 12 assists and a perfect 5-of-5 at the line.

Indiana (1-0) hosts Dallas on Friday night. New Orleans (0-1) visits Utah on Friday. Stats from the ESPN box score.