During a moment early in the third quarter on Wednesday night, CJ Miles couldn't believe it himself.

He had missed shot after open shot in the season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers and this time the defender, Chris Johnson, tripped over his own teammate's foot while trying to track Miles. A single defender on the ground and absolutely nothing standing in front of Miles, who now had the ball in his hands 25 feet away from the basket. So, Miles instinctively did what any shooter would do in this situation -- and still missed.

"I (could've) walked into it and shot it with my eyes closed," Miles said, recalling the play Friday morning before the Pacers will meet the Memphis Grizzlies. "I chuckled a little bit and coach (Frank Vogel) looked at me and said, 'You got to shoot 100 of them if you're open.'"

In Miles' debut as an Indiana Pacer, he missed his first six attempts. He shot his first pair of jumpers over a defender's outstretched hand. On his third attempt, Miles drove the lane but once the second defender, 76ers rookie rim protector Nerlens Noel, jumped to alter the attempt, Miles shot a 3-foot layup only two feet. By his sixth look, a 3-pointer, Miles had the space to shoot courtesy of crisp ball movement but blew the open attempt.

After this flurry of fast-twitch shots, Miles finished the night 6-of-17 from the field. Still, Miles, a 10-year veteran, knows that the stat line does not reflect his shooting abilities.

"Whatever percentage in the first half (was), I'm not that percentage of a shooter," Miles said. "So eventually you're going to be able to even it out. I'm going to get some good looks."

Pacers coaches reiterated that message to Miles during the day-after video session.

"I sat down with Nate (McMillan) and watched the film, then we watched the film as a whole (team)," Miles said. "Coach said the same things to me. He said, 'Stay assertive but you don't have to start pressing when it's not falling. Just take your shots when you're open.'"

Miles did in fact recover through the second half, making 5-of-9 shots. And he remains confident that those open shots will eventually fall through with more frequency; and the Pacers could use them beginning tonight versus Memphis.

"I still feel like that I should've made it," Miles said. "I've been making it throughout camp and preseason, that's the positive, that I was able to find a rhythm and not feel like I had to press to find it."

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