Pacers end 13-game losing streak, get coach Rick Carlisle 1,000th win

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Pascal Siakam posted 30 points and 14 rebounds and scored the go-ahead bucket with 12 seconds to go to give the Pacers a 114-112 win over the Hornets on Thursday night at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.

The win ends the Pacers' franchise-record 13 game losing streak and finally gives coach Rick Carlisle his 1,000th career victory, making him the 11th coach in NBA history to reach the milestone. The Pacers still have the NBA's worst record at 7-31. The Hornets fell to 13-25.

Pacers veteran point guard T.J. McConnell posted 23 points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals, including a steal that immediately followed Siakam's bucket that helped seal the game. Forward Aaron Nesmith scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds. Center Jay Huff scored 10 points, all of them in the second half. Point guard LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 33 points and eight assists. Forward Miles Bridges scored 19 points and rookie guard Kon Kneuppel had 18 points and eight rebounds.

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Pacers veterans Pascal Siakam, T.J. McConnell step up in biggest moments

Pascal Siakam and T.J. McConnell are the only two players on the Pacers' roster over the age of 30 and the two veterans have almost inarguably remained Indiana's most consistent players amidst one of the most brutal seasons in franchise history. Despite the Pacers being in the cellar, Siakam is making a case to be named to his fourth All-Star game and, at 33, McConnell is having one of his most productive per-minute offensive seasons of his career.

It's arguable that no one on the roster has taken the defeats in the losing streak harder than Siakam and McConnell, so it was fitting that they were the ones who stepped up with the game on the line to put it away.

Siakam scored 15 of his 30 points in the first quarter on 6 of 8 shooting and the Hornets wisely shifted their defensive focus onto him for the rest of the game. He scored just three points in the second quarter and four in the third, but he was 3 of 5 from the floor for eight points in the fourth quarter and all of those shots were huge. He hit a 3-pointer with 9:59 to go that gave the Pacers the lead back after he fell behind. With 3:36 to go with the game tied at 106, Siakam went to the paint and scored and drew a foul to put the Pacers up 109-106. Then he got the ball at the top of the key and slashed through the lane for the layup that put the Pacers up 113-112.

The Pacers had to rely on McConnell even more than usual with Andrew Nembhard out. McConnell didn't start the game as the Pacers elected to go with a little more length at the point in Quenton Jackson, but McConnell was effective on offense all game and helped put the game away with his defense. His mid-range game was exceptional as he made 10 of 17 field goals, including 1 of 3 3-pointers, for 23 points, a season-high. Nine of the 10 came between 5 and 13 feet of the bucket as he never got a clean look at the rim. He dished out eight assists against four turnovers and recorded four rebounds and four steals.

The fourth came immediately after Siakam's bucket as McConnell immediately turned around on defense to get his hands on the inbounds pass. The Pacers actually call such steals "McConnells" as he's recorded so many in his career, and this one clinched a win.

Ben Sheppard, Aaron Nesmith step up on LaMelo Ball

The Pacers had no answers for Hornets star point guard LaMelo Ball in the first half, but in the second they got just enough out of their defenders to make him uncomfortable in big moments.

In the first half, Ball scored 22 points on 8 of 12 shooting including 4 of 6 from 3-point range with some remarkable deep 3s and acrobatic drives mixed in. He scored buckets at the buzzer of each of the first two quarters with a 3-pointer off a loose ball at the end of the first and a driving layup at halftime.

He was still productive in the second half but not nearly as efficient as Pacers wings Ben Sheppard and Aaron Nesmith did what they could to slow Ball down. He hit three 3-poitners and scored 11 points but was 4 of 12 from the floor and 3 of 9 from 3-point range.

Nesmith also scored 16 points and hit three 3-pointers. Sheppard scored just seven, but he had a massive offensive rebound that set up Siakam's game-winner and then he hit a free throw to set the final margin.

Jay Huff scores 10 in second half

Pacers center Jay Huff has struggled to get shots to fall for most of this season and he was quiet in the first half, not even taking a shot. In the second, however, he scored 10 points on 4 of 4 shooting including two critical fourth-quarter 3-pointers to help keep the Pacers close.

Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Rick Carlisle gets 1,000th win, Pacers end 13-game losing streak

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