Hornets at Pacers
The Indiana Pacers will try to rebound from an offensive collapse when they host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. In search of consecutive victories for the first time in well over a month, the Pacers lost a 10-point halftime lead in New York on Tuesday, scoring 29 second-half points in an 87-81 loss.
The Pacers shot 36.8 percent from the field in their worst offensive output of the season, falling to 5-15 on the road against the Eastern Conference. The Hornets might offer up an opportunity for Indiana to have a quick turnaround, as they have given up an average of 120 points in dropping two straight contests. "This is on me now," coach Steve Clifford told reporters after Monday's 115-109 loss to Chicago. "We play with no discipline defensively. We don't. That has been our calling card here for three years. We've had smart, hard to play against, don't beat ourselves and we're anything but that right now. It's mistake after mistake, stuff that we go over in the morning, just not getting done." That certainly wasn't the case when Charlotte hosted Indiana earlier this month and walked away with a 100-88 win.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte), FSN Indiana
ABOUT THE HORNETS (29-38): Shooting guard Nicolas Batum sat out Monday's loss due to a migraine headache and is expected to remain on the sidelines for this one, opening up another opportunity for Jeremy Lamb. The fifth-year pro took Batum's place in the starting lineup versus Chicago and responded with a career-high 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Lamb had 14 points off the bench in the previous game against the Pacers and is averaging that same amount while shooting 55.9 percent over his last six games.
ABOUT THE PACERS (34-33): Among those who struggled on the offensive end against the Knicks was point guard Jeff Teague, who had nine points while shooting 4-for-15 - including 1-for-6 from long range - and committed seven of the team's 16 turnovers. Swingman C.J. Miles added six points and has been held to single digits in three straight games, one shy of matching his longest such streak this season. Paul George, who scored 36 points at Charlotte on March 6, had 22 points and 10 rebounds Monday for his third straight double-double.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Pacers attempted a franchise-low three free throws in the loss at Charlotte earlier this month.
2. Hornets PF Marvin Williams has produced a career-high 18 rebounds twice in his last three games and has four straight double-doubles.
3. Pacers C Myles Turner is 2-for-20 from 3-point range over a span of 17 games.