The energy and effort was on display early for the Indiana Pacers, jumping all over the Minnesota Timberwolves from tipoff. The Pacers pushed themselves into a 16-point lead late in the first, getting big contributions from both Bojan Bogdanovic and Victor Oladipo in the quarter.
Minnesota looked overwhelmed early, but settled themselves with their bench in the second quarter, closing the gap at 42-42 and eventually taking the lead at 56-55. The Pacers weathered the comeback well, tying the game up at halftime, but an avalanche of Karl-Anthony Towns to start the third helped to eventually push Minnesota to a 79-74 lead, one that could’ve been much worse if not for eight responding points from Oladipo in the third.