The frustrations of a young team was on full display tonight for the Indiana Pacers in an opening night loss to the Washington Wizards, but it’s probably still fair to say they met expectations with both Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin having impressive showcases.
Though Indiana never led tonight, they still somehow put themselves in position to steal a win from the visiting Wizards, closing an 18-point gap in the fourth quarter down to three, Haliburton missing a game tying three with 28 seconds remaining. That three-point deficit was the closest the game had been since the opening minute, Indiana struggling throughout the night to hold the deficit to within 10 points.