Jazz 97, Pacers 76
INDIANAPOLIS - Forward Derrick Favors scored 18 points to lead six players in double figures Saturday night, and the Utah Jazz dominated the second half en route to a 97-76 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Guard Rodney Hood added 17 for Utah, guard Trey Burke scored 15, forward Gordon Hayward had 11, and Alec Burks and Joe Ingles each added 10. The Jazz out rebounded Indiana 47-34 and outscored the Pacers 55-27 during the second half
Center Rudy Gobert added nine points and 17 rebounds for Utah.
Guard George Hill scored 17, and forward Paul George had 16 for Indiana, which fell to 0-3 and had been outscored by 51 total points in the second halves in losses to Toronto, Memphis and now Utah
Indiana was 2-16 last season when scoring less than 90 points, and the Pacers struggled to score and to defend Saturday.
Utah outscored the Pacers 28-12 in the third quarter and 27-15 in the final 12 minutes.
Hood scored seven quick points to begin the fourth quarter, extending the Jazz lead to 77-64, but Hill scored the game's next five, bringing Indiana to within 77-69 with 9:21 to play.
Favors and Trevor Booker responded with back to back baskets for Utah and an 81-69 advantage with 7:40 remaining.
A Hayward 3-pointer extended the Jazz lead to 87-69 with five minutes to play, prompting an Indiana timeout.
Utah opened the third quarter with a 14-2 run, turning a seven-point halftime deficit into a 56-51 lead as Indiana missed seven consecutive field goal attempts to begin the second half.
The Jazz continued to pound away the Pacer defense, finishing the period with a 70-61 lead, outscoring Indiana 28-12 in the quarter.
Through three quarters, Utah had outscored Indiana 42-20 in points in the paint.
The Pacers led 49-42 at halftime, taking advantage of nine Jazz turnovers during the first 24 minutes. Rookie Myles Turner led Indiana with 10 opening-half points, supported by nine from George, eight from Ellis and seven from Hill.
Hood had 12 first-half points for the Jazz, who shot only 40 percent (18 of 45) during the first two quarters, but without Hood's 6 of 8, the rest of roster was a collective 12 of 37 (32.4 percent).
The Pacers raced to a 5-0 lead to begin the game and trailed only once - 17-16 - in the opening half. Indiana led by as many as 10 in the second quarter.
NOTES: The Pacers honored team Hall of Famer Mel Daniels, who passed away Friday, with a pregame moment of silence. Daniels, 71, helped the Pacers win three American Basketball Association championships. ... Indiana altered its starting lineup, replacing PF Jordan Hill with SF C.J. Miles and moving Paul George to the power forward slot. ... Utah played without PG Dante Exum, who is out after having left ACL surgery. ... The Jazz were playing the third of back-to-back-to-back road games, coming off a 99-71 Friday night victory at Philadelphia, a game in which F/C Derrick Favors had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Utah. ... The Jazz led the Philadelphia game 50-33 at halftime and coasted to victory after a season-opening loss at Detroit on Wednesday. ... Indiana allowed a total of 131 second-half points in back-to-back losses at Toronto on Wednesday and at home to Memphis on Thursday. ... Indiana entered having beaten Utah four consecutive times.