Pacers blown out by Hornets after 24-2 first-quarter run in 129-108 loss

Forward Brandon Miller scored 22 points to lead the Hornets to a 129-108 win over the Pacers at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Friday night.

The Pacers fell to 18-59 after winning their last two games. For the moment, they have the second-worst record in the NBA. The Hornets improved to 42-36 with their third straight win and eighth win in their last 10 games. The Hornets are in eighth place in the East one back of the Magic for seventh.

Rookie guard Kon Kneuppel added 20 points for the Hornets. Forward Miles Bridges had 19 and All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball had 18 points, nine assists, six rebounds and two steals. Forward Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 30 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Guard Quenton Jackson had 16 points and five assists. Forward Kobe Brown had 12 points and nine rebounds, center Jay Huff had 12 points and forward Obi Toppin had 11 points. Rookie guard Kam Jones had seven points and 10 assists.

Here are three observations.

Pacers doomed by Hornets' first-quarter run

The Hornets' ability to string 3-pointers together makes them a team capable of overwhelming runs. They hit the Pacers with one in the first quarter that Indiana never quite recovered from.

The Pacers took a 4-0 lead out of the gate and took a 9-7 lead with a 3-pointer by guard Ben Sheppard with 9:21 to play in the first period. The Pacers didn't make another field goal until the 4:47 mark and the Hornets made a whole lot of them in that stretch.

Charlotte went on a 24-2 run over that 4 minute, 34 second period to take a 31-11 lead. The Pacers' only points came on two free throws by Sheppard. The Hornets, meanwhile, went 8 of 10 from the floor in that stretch alone. Five of the eight field goals and the other three were layups as the outside shooting led to space and a wide-open paint, plus the Pacers committed turnovers that turned into run outs.

The Pacers recovered somewhat at the end of the first quarter and went stride for stride with the Hornets for most of the second and third quarters but the first quarter created too big of a hole. The Hornets scored 38 first-quarter points on 12 of 26 shooting including 7 of 14 from 3-point range for 1.25 points per possession. The Pacers were 9 of 25 from the floor, 3 of 12 from 3 for 0.82 points per possession. The offense looked sharper the rest of the way but not nearly sharp enough. The Pacers entered their streak of nine straight games with at least 30 assists, falling short with 28.

"The first half was poor," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said in his post-game press conference broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network Indiana. "The second half was much better. They really hit us with a bunch of transition and 3s and they're a good team."

Hornets 3-point shooting keeps Pacers from coming back

Charlotte's 3-point shooting caused the first-quarter barrage and it was also key to making sure none of the Pacers' attempts at a comeback got any momentum.

The Hornets entered Friday's game leading the NBA with 16.3 3-pointers per game. They've gotten better as the season has gone on as they entered Friday averaging 18.4 3-pointers per game since the All-Star break as they carried a 15-7 post-break mark into the game. No one else is averaging as much as 16.0.

The Hornets managed to clear even that lofty figure with 24 3-pointers on 49 attempts. Rookie Kon Kneuppel -- who had already set the Hornets' record team record and the NBA rookie record for 3s in a regular season with a league-leading 261 coming into the game -- hit three more 3-pointers on Friday, but the Hornets got 3-point production from several other players from beyond the arc.

Kneuppel's fellow rookie from Duke, Sion James, hit four 3-pointers off the bench on eight attempts. All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball and swingman Brandon Miller combined for nine with Ball hitting five on 12 attempts and Miller hitting 4 of 8. Forward Miles Bridges hit three and guards Josh Green and Pat Connaughton hit two each off the bench. Guard Coby White only took two, but hit one of them during that game-changing first-half run. The Pacers were a healthy 15 of 36 from 3-point range but they were still scored by 27 points from beyond the arc.

"They're dynamic, highly-skilled," Carlisle said. "They have toughness. Their defense is improved. They're a team on the come for sure."

Pascal Siakam scores 30 but leaves with lower back bruise

All-Star forward Pascal Siakam has continued to show up for every game and carry the Pacers regardless of the state of their roster.

He did it again Friday with the Pacers missing forwards Aaron Nesmith and Jarace Walker and point guards Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell out with injuries on top of the three players (Tyrese Haliburton, Johnny Furphy and Ivica Zubac) who are out for the year. He started with four players who have never averaged double-figure scoring in a full NBA season.

However, Siakam still put forward a top-of-the line individual performance with 30 points on 13 of 24 shooting including 2 of 4 from 3-point range. The 3-pointers were the only field goals he made outside the paint and most of them came at or near the restricted area as the Hornets had no match for his spin move and his ability to get to the rim out of post-ups.

This was Siakam's 14th game with at least 30 points this season. He's scored at least 20 in 49 of his 62 games. However, Siakam did leave the game in the fourth quarter with a lower back bruise, which puts his availability in jeopardy for Sunday's game in Cleveland.

"He's a great player," Carlisle said. "He's a great competitor. He's demonstrated over 2 1/2 years that he's a great leader. He's the kind of leader that guys gravitate to because he's not a lot of talk. It's how he conducts himself, it's how he presents himself. It's his actions. He's a hard worker and about the right things. He's very encouraging. He's been encouraging all year through the difficult times and all the things we've gone through."

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: Indiana maintains lottery position with 129-108 loss