INDIANAPOLIS -- During the second half of last season, the Utah Jazz were one of the NBA's best defensive teams.

In the second half of Saturday night's 97-76 victory against struggling Indiana, Utah's defense was smothering, forcing 15 turnovers and limiting the winless Pacers to 27 points on 12 of 34 field goal shooting.

Forward Derrick Favors scored 18 points to lead six players in double figures, and Utah dominated the final 24 minutes in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Guard Rodney Hood added 17 for Utah, guard Trey Burke scored 15, forward Gordon Hayward had 11, and Alec Burks and Joe Ingles each added 10. The Jazz out rebounded Indiana 47-34 and outscored the Pacers 55-27 during the second half

Center Rudy Gobert added nine points and 17 rebounds for Utah.

"We kept competing and played great defense throughout," Gobert said. "It's hard to play great defense against a team that plays hard for 48 minutes, but we were able to do that in the second half tonight.

"For me, it's about continuing to do a good job on defense and playing hard on offense."

Jazz coach Quinn Snyder said it took his team two quarters to adjust to Indiana's speed and new emphasis on transition offense.

"They were fast, and the ball was coming at us," Snyder said. "We were on our heels. We made some mistakes and put them on the free throw line.

"Offensively, we gave them some easy stuff by turning the ball over. Eventually, we adjusted to their speed and physicality."

Guard George Hill scored 17 and forward Paul George had 16 for Indiana, which fell to 0-3. The Pacers have been outscored by 51 points in the second halves in losses to Toronto, Memphis and now Utah

Indiana was 2-16 last season when scoring less than 90 points, and the Pacers struggled to score and to defend Saturday.

Utah outscored the Pacers 28-12 in the third quarter and 27-15 in the final 12 minutes.

Hood scored seven quick points to begin the fourth quarter, extending the Jazz lead to 77-64. But Hill scored the next five points, bringing Indiana to within 77-69 with 9:21 to play.

Favors and Trevor Booker responded with back-to-back baskets for Utah and an 81-69 advantage with 7:40 remaining.

A Hayward 3-pointer extended the Jazz lead to 87-69 with five minutes to play, prompting an Indiana timeout.

"Moving forward, defense has to be our identity," said Hayward, who is from nearby Brownsburg, Indiana, and played college basketball at Butler, only a few miles from downtown Indianapolis. "Tonight, we played really well in the second half. I think we are going to be a very solid defensive team again this season."

Utah opened the third quarter with a 14-2 run, turning a seven-point halftime deficit into a 56-51 lead as Indiana missed seven consecutive field goal attempts to begin the second half.

The Jazz continued to pound away at the Pacer defense, finishing the period with a 70-61 lead, outscoring Indiana 28-12 in the quarter.

Through three quarters, Utah had outscored Indiana 42-20 in points in the paint, finishing with a 50-26 advantage.

"They hurt us inside in the second half, and we did not capitalize on the other end," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. "We weren't able to execute in the third quarter and certainly did not match their physicality. We let them beat us to spots. Our guys have to stay together and understand that we have a chance to be a good team."

Through three games, Indiana has given up 186 second-half points, 62 a game.

"We have to get better defensively," George said. "I have been a part of some great defensive teams in my career here, and we have to get back to that."

The Pacers led 49-42 at halftime, taking advantage of nine Jazz turnovers during the first 24 minutes. Rookie Myles Turner led Indiana with 10 first-half points.

"We are killing ourselves with turnovers (24), and we had a lot more energy in the first half than we had in the second," Turner said. "We all have to step it up defensively."

NOTES: The Pacers honored team Hall of Famer Mel Daniels, who passed away Friday, with a pregame moment of silence. Daniels, 71, helped the Pacers win three American Basketball Association championships. ... Indiana altered its starting lineup, replacing PF Jordan Hill with SF C.J. Miles and moving Paul George to the power forward slot. ... Utah played without PG Dante Exum, who is out after having left ACL surgery. ... The Jazz were playing the third of back-to-back-to-back road games, coming off a 99-71 Friday night victory at Philadelphia, a game in which F/C Derrick Favors had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Utah. ... The Jazz led the Philadelphia game 50-33 at halftime and coasted to victory after a season-opening loss at Detroit on Wednesday. ... Indiana allowed a total of 131 second-half points in back-to-back losses at Toronto on Wednesday and at home to Memphis on Thursday. ... Indiana entered having beaten Utah four consecutive times.