The Dominicans finished the day with 27 points ahead of Chuck Pearsons in 1986, in a 122-123 Pacers loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Chris Duarte scored 27 points with six long-range shots and in a closer game the Indiana Pacers couldn’t beat the Charlotte Hornets who were left with a 123-122 win thanks to 31 points from Lamelo Ball and a fierce defense in the final stage of the championship. Meeting.
The Dominicans made the best debut for a rising Pacers player in franchise history, surpassing Chuck Pearson’s 17-point lead in 1986.
The hometown of Puerto Plata was a fixture in coach Rick Carlisle’s quintet and did not miss the opportunity. Duarte was the team’s third-best scorer 9-15 from the field, including 6 three-pointers in 9 attempts.
First two points in Chris Duarte’s career 🇩🇴 in the NBApic.twitter.com/LyVghHeFW2
– ESPN.com.do🇩🇴 (ESPN_DO) October 20 2021
He also added 5 rebounds, 1 pass and 1 steal in 33 minutes of play on his debut. Duarte also surpassed Roger Brown’s 24 points scored in 1967 when the Pacers were still part of the American Professional League, before entering the NBA after 1976.
Chris Duarte was also the best debutant for a player from the Dominican Republic, surpassing Karl-Anthony Towns who scored 14 goals in his first NBA game in the 2015 season as he was named first in the draft. Also from Puerto Plata, Alhorford scored 9 points in his first league game against the Dallas Mavericks on November 2, 2007.
The Pacers couldn’t beat a superb performance from Lamelo Bull leading the Hornets with 31 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and a 24-0 third inning as the locals took the lead.
.Tweet embed Achieved franchise record for most points in a debutante debut with 19# Hahaha pic.twitter.com/y6ltZBGGMj
Indiana Pacers October 21, 2021
The best in attack for Indiana was Domantas Sabonis with 33 points adding 15 rebounds, and Malcolm Brugdon who was in doubt even before the match started with 28 points and 11 assists.