Pacers beat Wizards in matchup of NBA's two worst teams

INDIANAPOLIS -- Pascal Siakam scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Pacers to a 119-86 win over the Wizards on Friday night in an NBA Cup East Group A game and a matchup between teams with two of the NBA's worst records.

The Pacers improved to 3-16 overall and finished 1-3 in Group A play, winning their first NBA Cup game since their semifinal win over the Bucks in Las Vegas in December of 2023. The Wizards fell to 2-16, 1-3 in Group A play. Both teams had already been eliminated for contention for the knockout rounds.

Bennedict Mathurin added 20 points and four assists for the Pacers. Veteran point guard T.J. McConnell had 14 points and eight assists. Center Jay Huff had 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks. Forward Jarace Walker and center Isaiah Jackson had 10 points each. Center Alex Sarr led the Wizards with 24 points.

Here are three observations.

Pascal Siakam too much for Wizards to cover

No one on the roster has seemed more frustrated with the Pacers' 2-16 start than Pascal Siakam, which stands to reason considering he's their best healthy player and he came to Indiana to escape a full rebuild in Toronto. He has been everything the Pacers have asked him to be, averaging 23.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game going into Friday's action, but most nights it just hasn't been enough.

On Friday night, however, he seemed particularly determined to make sure the Pacers didn't fall short against one of the other worst teams in the NBA. With Andrew Nembhard out, the Pacers were low on point guards, so when T.J. McConnell was on the floor, Siakam took it upon himself to bring the ball up the floor and often found it was in his best interest to just take it all the way to the paint and even the rim. The Wizards, who entered Friday with the second-worst defense in the NBA in terms of defensive rating, didn't have much of an answer for him when he tried to do that. In the second quarter, Siakam took the Pacers first five shots and made four of them, and that spurt helped start a 34-28 quarter when the Pacers took control.

Siakam scored 24 points on 11 of 20 shooting with nine of his 11 made field goals coming in the lane. He also grabbed 11 rebounds and posted a +32 plus-minus figure in 26 minutes and 27 seconds on the floor.

T.J. McConnell gets Pacers organized

With Nembhard out, the Pacers had stretches early on that were reminiscent of the early part of the season when they were devoid of point guards. When T.J. McConnell checked into the game, though, they became instantly more cohesive. That was especially true when Siakam was on the floor, but even when the All-Star was resting, McConnell managed to get everyone else in order and also come up with loose balls when players on both sides had a hard time controlling it.

The 33-year-old's return to his lofty standard of conditioning after he missed a month with a hamstring strain has been gradual, but over the last 10 days he's increasingly getting to his spots and finishing when he gets there. On Friday he scored 14 points on 7 of 9 shooting to score in double figures for his fifth straight game. He's 33 of 50 from the floor (66%) in that stretch. He also grabbed four rebounds and a steal and dished out eight assists against one turnover.

Garrison Mathews gets on the board

Garrison Mathews' first 10-day hardship contract expires on Sunday and heading into Friday's game, Mathews hadn't done the thing he was signed to do -- make shots. He played just 16 minutes in three appearances prior to Friday's game and was scoreless, missing on three 3-point attempts against the Cavaliers last week and not even taking a shot after that.

He finally ended his drought in the second quarter on Friday with a 3-pointer and then hit another in the third. He also drew a 3-shot foul and hit all three free throws to get to nine points. The Pacers may or may not be granted another hardship exception on Sunday but he has one more game to make his case.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers beat Wizards in matchup of NBA's two worst teams