Pacers lose another: 'It's hard going through this'

HOUSTON – In the closing seconds of the third quarter Monday evening, David West walked off the court and toward a back hallway inside the Toyota Center. He wasn't trying to escape – though after witnessing the defensive effort by his Indiana Pacers teammates, who would blame him?

Instead, West later revealed how he simply wanted to stay "up." He meant that literally, standing upright for those knees that needed to be iced later, but West could have intended this same description for his current mood – needing to stay up after watching James Harden and the Houston Rockets dump all over the Pacers' defensive identity.

The Rockets led throughout their 110-98 victory as the Pacers dropped their fifth straight game and once again allowed a scorer to pile up his statistics.

Harden scored 45 points on 18 shots, made seven 3-pointers and connected on 14 of his 15 free-throw attempts. The Pacers (15-28) attempted only 18 foul shots and settled for perimeter looks (6-of-27 from beyond the arc).

As far as losses go, at least the Pacers didn't make the wrong kind of history like they did against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night in scoring the fewest points in an overtime game of the shot-clock era (71). So there's that.

Still, the defensive effort did not stand the test (the Rockets shot 51.4 percent through the game) and the offensive execution did not improve from Charlotte (19 turnovers leading to a carnival of dunks, layups and transition joviality for the Rockets).

"We're still turning the ball over too much," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "This is a different story than the other night (in Charlotte). I just think it took us a little too long to figure out their length on the perimeter and their gambling style of defense."

Within the final 2:31 of the game, the Pacers sliced the lead to 103-95; their closest deficit since the 7-minute mark of the third quarter. However, right on cue, Harden drilled a long jumper to extend the lead to double figures. Then after C.J. Miles threw a bad pass, Harden stepped back for the dagger 3 with 56.4 seconds remaining in the game.

Harden joins the ever-growing list of Players the Pacers Could Not Stop right next to Mo Williams (52 points), Klay Thompson (40) and Brandon Jennings (37).

"I thought we kept (Dwight) Howard in check; he didn't have one of those monster games," West said, and then pointed at a box score sheet held by a reporter, referencing Harden's 45-point night. "You make it difficult when you give up that."

Though the Rockets were humbled in their last game against the Golden State Warriors, losing 131-106, they still rank as one of the top teams in the Western Conference and therefore posed a tremendous threat to the struggling Pacers. So by the opening 3 minutes of the game, when Vogel had to burn his first timeout, the danger became very real as the Rockets jumped to an 11-2 lead.

Through the second quarter, the Rockets maintained a 10-point cushion before Miles (team-high 23 points) and Donald Sloan (17) saved the Pacers from an early blowout. After falling down 41-31, Miles scored five straight points and at this point, the Pacers defense should be credited for turning over the Rockets on consecutive possessions. Then, Sloan extended past the arc on the left side and made a 3-pointer in spite of a Patrick Beverley foul. Sloan's four-point play pulled the Pacers to within 41-40 with 4:37 to go until halftime.

However, the close score would be a mirage as the Rockets closed the quarter by outscoring the Pacers 14-4. Though the Pacers improved offensively, hitting 8-of-16 shots through the second quarter, they couldn't slow the Rockets, who reached a 52.8 percentage and led 55-45 at the break. Then, in the third quarter, Houston outscored the Pacers 33-23.

By the time West walked away from some alone time, the Rockets had blitzed Indiana with five made 3-pointers in the third period, including three straight by Harden.

"You're not going to stop a guy like James Harden," said Solomon Hill, who like several other Pacers spent time tracking the NBA's leading scorer. "The thing is with him, if he gets going from 3, it's going to be a difficult night because if you press up on him, he's going to find somebody or he's going to get to the free throw line."

Overall, Monday night marked the Pacers' third extended losing streak of the season that has kept West wandering during the games and restless after them.

"I'm a competitor and obviously it doesn't sit well. I don't sleep after these games," West said. "It just doesn't sit well, knowing where we've been. It's hard going through this."

Even so, West, who scored eight points within a starting unit that could only match Harden's 45 in production, expressed this distressed state of mind in a calm tone. Though West may pace the floor, he said he's not walking away from the trials of the season.

"I'm going to try to stay in there with the guys and try to remain positive," West said. "Try to continue to go out and compete."

Follow Star reporter Candace Buckner on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.



Pacers at Hawks, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, FSI