INDIANAPOLIS — Brandon Miller scored 33 points and rookie guard Kon Knueppel 28 and set the NBA all-time rookie record for 3-pointers in a season as the Hornets beat the Pacers 133-109 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday night.
The Pacers have lost five straight games since the All-Star break to fall to 15-45 and sit alone in last place in the Eastern Conference. The Sacramento Kings are the only team in the NBA with a worse record. The Hornets have won 13 of their last 16 games to improve to 29-31 and are 10th in the East, currently holding the final play-in position.
Miller made 11 of 19 field goals and 6 of 11 3-pointers. Knueppel made 10 of 17 field goals and 8 of 12 3s, giving him 209 3-pointers on the season, surpassing Keegan Murray’s previous record of 206. Point guard LaMelo Ball had 20 points and eight assists. Center Moussa Diabate had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Point guard Andrew Nembhard led the Pacers with 20 points and seven assists. Center Micah Potter had 19 points. Forward Jarace Walker had 16 points. Guard Quenton Jackson had 13 and guard Ben Sheppard had 11.
Here are three observations.
Second quarter the Pacers’ disaster period again
The Pacers exited Tuesday’s first quarter with a lead and saw it dissolve quickly when the 76ers went on a 17-0 run and eventually won the period 45-27 en route to a 135-114 win. Thursday’s game — much like so many others in the Pacers’ brutal season — followed a similar pattern.
The Pacers outscored the Hornets 18-10 in the last 5:47 of the first quarter to take a 34-31 advantage at the end of one. And by halftime the game was over for all intents and purposes.
Kam Jones hit a 3 to start the second period to give the Pacers a 37-31 advantage, but then Ball hit a 3 that started a 16-0 run to give Charlotte a 47-37 lead. The Pacers didn’t get their second field goal in the period until a Ben Sheppard layup at the 6:50 mark. Kobe Brown finished a layup with 3:06 to go and that was their last bucket of the period. They finished 3 of 19 from the floor and 1 of 10 from 3 in the second with nine straight misses from beyond the arc following the one Jones made and they finished with just 12 points in the period — a miserable 0.51 per possession. The Hornets, meanwhile, were 13 of 23 from the floor and 6 of 12 from 3 for 1.49 per possession, winning the period 36-12 to take a 67-46 lead at the break to effectively put the game away.
Obi Toppin very limited in return
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle told reporters in his pregame press conference that Obi Toppin would be on a minutes restriction not only Thursday night but for the rest of the season. Considering the circumstances, it wasn’t surprising that Toppin played even less than Pacers players on minutes restrictions usually do.
Toppin started the game but was taken out less than five minutes after tip-off. He returned in the second quarter but had 8:29 of action in the first half and didn’t play in the second half. Guard Quenton Jackson entered the lineup in his place to start the third quarter.
Still, Toppin had some decent moments. He grabbed a defensive rebound to end the Hornets first possession, then scored on a driving layup to give the Pacers their first points. He recorded a steal and also made a particularly slick bounce pass for an assist. He finished with just three points and two assists, but it was something worth mentioning after 56 missed games. Toppin had been out since the season’s third game on Oct. 26 at Minnesota, after which he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right foot.
T.J. McConnell passes Freddie Lewis on assist board
T.J. McConnell passed Tyrese Haliburton on the Pacers’ all-time assists lists earlier this season knowing that distinction is obviously fleeting. Haliburton is out for the year with an Achilles tendon tear, and since he averages close to 10 assists per game while McConnell averages close to five, Haliburton’s probably going to pass him again at some point next season and never allow McConnell to get ahead of him again.
But McConnell took a step up the ladder on Thursday that’s more permanent. He entered Thursday’s game with 2,277 assists with the Pacers and recorded seven on Thursday to pass Freddie Lewis, who played with the Pacers in the 1960s and 70s and finished with 2,279 assists in a Pacers uniform. Don Buse with 2,737 is up next at fifth. McConnell now has 2,284 and Haliburton sits in eighth at 2,259.
McConnell finished with nine points on 4 of 9 shooting and had just one turnover against those seven assists.
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs Hornets: Kon Knueppel sets rookie 3-point record in rout
