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Bojan Bogdanovic hit his first six shots,
including a pair of 3-pointers, en route to a team-high 19
points and Victor Oladipo added 16 as the Pacers blew out a
Grizzlies team they had struggled to sweep in the two-game
season series last year.
Despite missing nine of his 11 shots, Marc Gasol led Memphis
with 13 points.
The Grizzlies, who lost four- and three-point decisions to the
Pacers last season, found themselves in an 8-8 tie in the sixth
minute of the game before being held without a field goal for
the next 3:31, during which Indiana built a 17-9 advantage and
never looked back.
The contest became a blowout early in the second period when
Bogdanovic nailed one of his 3-pointers in a 13-0 Pacers burst
that produced a 41-18 lead with 6:46 left in the half.
Indiana led 56-39 at halftime and kept Memphis at arm's length
throughout the final 24 minutes.
Domantas Sabonis had 14 points and completed a double-double
with a game-high 15 rebounds off the bench for the Pacers, who
shot 56.6 percent from the field.
Tyreke Evans (14), Doug McDermott (12), Cory Joseph (11) and
Thaddeus Young (10) also scored in double figures for Indiana,
which won 48 games last season.
Mike Conley, who missed the final 69 games last season with an
Achilles injury, returned to score 11 points on 3-for-11
shooting for the Grizzlies. He had just three assists in 29
minutes.
Garrett Temple had 12 points and rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. 10 for
Memphis, which shot just 29.8 percent from the field.
The Grizzlies ended last season losing 29 of their final 33
games.
--Field Level Media
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