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Pacers hold off Pelicans 123-120 as Siakam scores 30

New Orleans led by eight with 8:34 left. Pascal Siakam scored four baskets in the last four minutes, Tyrese Haliburton's three-point play put Indiana ahead for good, and the Pelicans missed two threes to tie at the end.

By Marcus OyelaranDesk name · October 21, 2026 · 3 min read

Tyrese Haliburton drove into the lane with 1:23 left, floated in an 11-footer, was fouled by Zion Williamson and made the free throw. That made it 121-118, and the Indiana Pacers held on to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-120 on Wednesday at the Smoothie King Center in the opener for both teams.

There were 13 lead changes and 10 ties. Five of the ties came in the last 6:07.

Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 30 points on 13-of-23 shooting and eight rebounds. Haliburton had 23 points and 12 assists, Obi Toppin scored 20 off the bench with four threes, and Ivica Zubac had 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Dejounte Murray scored 23 for New Orleans and Williamson 22.

The halves

Indiana scored 10 straight midway through the first quarter and led 38-31 after it. New Orleans answered with 12 straight to open the second and won the quarter 35-18. The Pelicans led 66-56 at halftime, their biggest lead, and 92-86 after three.

How Indiana got back

A three by Herbert Jones and a floater by Derik Queen helped New Orleans to a 101-93 lead with 8:34 left. Haliburton then scored five straight on two free throws and a three-point play, and Zubac's alley-oop dunk from Siakam made it 101-100.

Indiana took the lead with eight straight points. Siakam scored on a layup, Quenton Jackson tied it on a running layup at 104, and Andrew Nembhard drove for a layup and made two free throws for 108-104 with 5:06 left.

The finish

The next three minutes were traded baskets. Siakam scored from eight feet, 14 feet, 10 feet and on a layup between 4:00 and 2:32, and New Orleans answered three of the four, the last a three-point play by Williamson that tied it at 116 with 2:16 left. Haliburton's floater made it 118-116, and Yves Missi tied it again with a dunk at 1:40.

After Haliburton's three-point play, Missi dunked again to cut it to 121-120 with 1:11 left. Murray blocked Zubac at the rim, but Jackson got the rebound and was fouled, and he made both free throws with 45.7 seconds left. Williamson missed a driving layup. Nembhard traveled with 14.2 seconds left, giving New Orleans the ball down three. Jeremiah Fears missed a 27-foot three, Williamson got the rebound and missed from 26 feet, Zubac missed two free throws with 1.4 seconds left, and Trey Murphy III's heave at the buzzer was off.

What it means

Indiana won the game in the paint and in transition, 64-48 in points in the paint and 27-10 on the fast break. It needed both: New Orleans made 34 of 37 free throws to Indiana's 20 of 29. The Pelicans also out-rebounded Indiana 50-42 and had 15 offensive rebounds. Missi had 13 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. Siakam, Haliburton and Nembhard combined for 71 points and 22 assists.

Scoring

Scoring: Indiana 123-120 New Orleans (Wednesday)

Indiana: Pascal Siakam 30, Tyrese Haliburton 23, Obi Toppin 20, Andrew Nembhard 18, Ivica Zubac 16, Quenton Jackson 6, Kelly Oubre Jr. 4, Jarace Walker 3, Ben Sheppard 3, Larry Nance Jr. 0.

New Orleans: Dejounte Murray 23, Zion Williamson 22, Yves Missi 13, Saddiq Bey 13, Trey Murphy III 11, Bennedict Mathurin 11, Derik Queen 10, Jeremiah Fears 8, Herbert Jones 5, Jordan Poole 4.

By quarter: Indiana 38, 18, 30, 37. New Orleans 31, 35, 26, 28.