The Indiana Pacers ended their eight-game slide on Wednesday night, defeating the Charlotte Hornets 127-118 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Bennedict Mathurin led the effort with 24 points and 12 rebounds, giving Indiana its first home win since the season’s opening week.
The Pacers improved to 2-13 after entering the night with the worst start in franchise history, while the Hornets dropped to 4-11.
Mathurin closed the second quarter with nine of Indiana’s final 11 points, pushing the lead to 70-54 at halftime and giving the short-handed group some much-needed separation.
Pascal Siakam added 22 points and seven assists, scoring efficiently from the mid-post and helping stabilize the offense in key stretches.
Jay Huff supplied 20 points off the bench on 7-of-13 shooting, spacing the floor and giving Indiana a productive burst in the second half.
The Pacers placed six players in double figures and shot 54 percent from the field, including 16 made threes on 38 attempts.
Kon Knueppel paced Charlotte with 28 points and five triples, continuing his strong rookie season with another high-volume performance.
Miles Bridges followed with 25 points in 35 minutes, providing most of the early scoring as the Hornets built a 33-point opening quarter.
LaMelo Ball recorded 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, but he went 5-of-21 from the field and 2-of-11 from deep as Charlotte struggled to match Indiana’s efficiency.
The Hornets shot 40 percent overall and 29 percent from three, missing several clean looks that could have trimmed the deficit late.
Indiana’s ball movement yielded 32 assists, with Andrew Nembhard contributing seven dimes while also scoring 16 points.
Ben Sheppard added 15 points and four rebounds, hitting a pair of threes that helped maintain the advantage in the third quarter.
Isaiah Jackson battled through early foul trouble and finished with two points, four rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes.
Charlotte’s bench tried to close the gap behind Drew Peterson, Moussa Diabate and Pat Connaughton, but Indiana responded each time with timely shooting or transition baskets.
The Hornets fell to 1-7 on the road, unable to slow down an Indiana team that repeatedly attacked the paint and capitalized on defensive miscues.
The Pacers will travel to Cleveland on Friday, where they look to build on their first win in nine games.
Charlotte returns home to host the Clippers on Saturday in the second stop of a three-game stretch.
