The second Rick Carlisle era is officially underway, and the early results are promising. The Pacers dominated the first half on Wednesday night in Charlotte, racing out to a 75-59 halftime lead in Carlisle's first regular season game manning the sidelines for Indiana since 2007.
The Pacers made a strong opening statement on both ends of the floor. All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis scored a pair of early buckets, Myles Turner blocked two shots in as many minutes to tip off his Defensive Player of the Year campaign, and rookie Chris Duarte knocked down the first shot of his career as the Blue & Gold jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead.