Pacers Coach Dishes Honest Take on Bench After Quenton Jackson Scores 24

Quenton Jackson scored 24 points off the bench Friday night at Kaseya Center, making 9 of 13 shots in 23:51. The Indiana Pacers lost to the Miami Heat 145-125 in their NBA Cup opener.

Indiana's reserves outscored Miami's 58-35. Jackson, Jarace Walker, and Kobe Brown combined for 47 of those points.

Jackson went 2-of-4 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 at the free-throw line. He had four rebounds, two steals, and one assist, and 15 of his points came after halftime.

Both steals came in the first quarter. He scored six points in his first 3:33 on the floor, including a fast-break layup after picking off a Dru Smith pass. In the fourth quarter, Jackson scored on fast-break layups at 2:27 and 1:54 and hit a 29-foot 3-pointer with 1:22 left.

Basketball-Reference lists 24 points as his career high. Jackson first reached it in November 2024 against the Houston Rockets, going 10-of-12 in his first career start, and scored 24 again in February against the Utah Jazz. The Pacers converted him from a two-way deal to a standard contract that same month.

Klay Thompson's step-back 3-pointer with 2:26 left in the third quarter put Miami ahead 98-75. Walker, Jackson, Brown, Braden Smith, and Jay Huff were on the floor for Indiana from there to the end of the period, and the Pacers outscored the Heat 13-5.

Walker made two 3-pointers in that stretch. Jackson scored four points, Brown had a driving layup, and Smith made a free throw with 2.6 seconds left to make it 103-88.

Point differential can break ties in Group B, and Indiana's coaches walked the players through the Cup rules on Thursday.

"We went to the finals of this thing the first year, and there was nothing easy about that," Pacers lead assistant Lloyd Pierce said. "And so if you're going to have an opportunity, everything matters. Every possession matters. Every game matters. We're going to have another one in a couple weeks, or I don't know if we have one next Friday. It matters. It's important. We felt how important it was that first year. So by no means are we out of it."

"And so we had to figure out a way to just cut into it," Pierce continued. "And I thought our guys at the beginning of the fourth quarter, that second group, they came in. They did a hell of a job of cutting that lead from I think it was 22 to 15. And then it ballooned back to 20. And so we're just trying to chip away at it."

Miami pushed the lead back to 25 at 118-93 with 9:24 left in the game. The Pacers outscored the Heat 32-27 after that.

Walker finished with 14 points, six rebounds, and four assists in 27:37. He shot 5-of-11, went 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and was plus-5.

Brown had nine points, six rebounds, and four assists in 20:20 and went 3-of-4 at the free-throw line. Jalen Slawson added four points, four rebounds, and one steal.

Larry Nance Jr. scored six points, all on 3-pointers in the first quarter, and had four steals before halftime. Smith had one point and one assist in 11:41.

Indiana's starters were each minus-19 or worse. Every reserve except Jackson and Nance finished with a positive plus-minus.

Pelle Larsson scored 18 of Miami's 35 bench points.

Indiana hosts the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET, then plays the Atlanta Hawks at home Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET.