INDIANAPOLIS -- Swingman Deni Avdija scored 32 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out five assists to lead the Trail Blazers to a 127-119 win over the Pacers, holding off a ferocious fourth-quarter rally at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.
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The Pacers have lost a franchise record 15 straight games to fall to 15-55 and have the worst record in the NBA. The Blazers improved to 34-36 and are ninth in the Western Conference.
Blazers center Donovan Clingan posted 28 points and 13 rebounds. Forward Toumani Camara had 17 points and point guard Jrue Holiday had 15 points and eight assists. Center Ivica Zubac posted 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the Pacers. Two-way contract forward Jalen Slawson scored a career-high 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists. Forward Aaron Nesmith had 15 points and guard Quenton Jackson had 13. Point guard T.J. McConnell recorded 10 assists.
Here are three observations.
Pacers doomed by first-half defense, rebounding
Just as they did Tuesday night against the Knicks, the Pacers shot the ball fairly well and ran reasonably efficient offense, especially in the first half. This time they eventually strung together some defensive stops, but not until they were in too big of a hole to dig out of.
After giving up 72 points in Tuesday's first half against the Knicks, the Pacers surrendered 79 in the first half on Wednesday and had to fight on the last possession of the half to keep it under 80. At the break, the Trail Blazers had made 28 of 50 field goals, including 9 of 20 3-pointers, and had 13 offensive rebounds that led to 24 second-chance points putting Portland at a gaudy 1.61 points per possession at the break. The Pacers had 62 points themselves on 24 of 47 shooting but were just 4 of 12 from 3-point range and had just seven second-chance points. Their 1.23 points per possession was a more than healthy efficiency figure, but the defense put them in a massive hole.
The Pacers responded with an exceptional defensive second half, especially from their deep bench. Their fourth-quarter lineup of rookie guard Kam Jones, two-way contract guard Taelon Peter, two-way contract forward Jalen Slawson, newly acquired forward Kobe Brown and forward Jarace Walker created a fierce rally that got the Pacers all the way back to within three points, but a Jrue Holiday 3-pointer with 1:00 left put the Blazers up six and helped them put the game away.
The Blazers scored just 48 second-half points on 33.3% shooting, including 7 of 26 3-point shooting. However, their 34 second-chance points were too much for the Pacers to overcome.
Ivica Zubac sets new Pacers scoring high
After missing the first month of his tenure with the Pacers due to a left ankle sprain, center Ivica Zubac played in all five of the Pacers' games in the last seven days and he had his most prolific night at the end of that stretch.
It wasn't Zubac's most efficient night as a Pacer, but he scored 18 points on 7 of 18 shooting for his highest scoring total in an Indiana uniform. He also grabbed eight rebounds including six on the offensive end and he recorded three assists and a block.
Zubac had to leave the game in the fourth quarter after taking a blow to the head and was listed as questionable with a head contusion after that. He took a shot to the head from Donovan Clingan and was asking for a foul call he did not get. He did not return.
Jalen Slawson helps lead the comeback
Two-way contract forward Jalen Slawson has never had the NBA opportunity he has now, so he's making the most of it. He'd played just 12 career NBA games before the Pacers promoted him from the Noblesville Boom into a two-way deal. He'd never scored in double figures in an NBA game before this season and he's now done it twice in five games with the Pacers.
Slawson got to 10 points by halftime on 3 of 5 shooting before the break in 17 minutes of actions and also recorded two remarkable blocks before the break.
And in the fourth quarter, Slawson helped lead the charge back. He scored seven points on 3 of 4 shooting in the period, grabbed four rebounds, dished out four assists and also had a critical block that set up a Taelon Peter 3-pointer. He was +11 in his fourth-quarter minutes. He finished with a career-high 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
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 Blazers: Indiana drops franchise-record 15th straight game