Early Doors
Doors will open at 5:30 PM ET for Thursday's game.
Matchup
After a very successful Western Conference road trip, the Pacers (46-32) return home to host the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors (57-21) on Thursday in their penultimate regular season home game.
Indiana went 3-1 out West over the past week, with Tuesday's narrow loss at Denver spoiling their bid for a perfect road trip. The trip began with a win at Golden State on March 27, but the Warriors team the Pacers beat that day was very different from the team that will come into Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday.
The Warriors were without all four of their All-Stars — former league MVPs Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant as well as Klay Thompson and Draymond Green — last week due to injuries and illness. However, all but Curry have since returned to the lineup, meaning Thursday's game will present the Pacers with far greater challenge.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: Track the Pacers' Playoff Push »
Thompson, in particular, has given the Pacers fits over the years. The sharpshooting guard memorably exploded for 60 points in just three quarters against Indiana last season, but that was far from his only big night against the Blue & Gold. In 12 career games against the Pacers, Thompson has averaged 26.3 points — a full four points better than his best average against any other team — while knocking down 48.2 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Though beating the nearly full-strength Warriors is no small task, the Pacers need a strong finish to the regular season to have any shot at securing a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Tuesday's loss to Denver dropped the fifth-place Pacers to two games back of both Cleveland and Philadelphia in the East standings with four games to play. Indiana owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over both teams, but will need some help to catch either of them before the regular season ends next week.
Projected Starters
Darren Collison
Victor Oladipo
Bojan Bogdanovic
Thaddeus Young
Myles Turner
Quinn Cook
Klay Thompson
Kevin Durant
Draymond Green
Zaza Pachulia
Pacers: PG - Darren Collison, SG - Victor Oladipo, SF - Bojan Bogdanovic, PF - Thaddeus Young, C - Myles Turner
Warriors: PG - Quinn Cook, SG - Klay Thompson, SF - Kevin Durant, PF - Draymond Green, C - Zaza Pachulia
Injury Report
Pacers: None
Warriors: Kevon Looney - probable (flu-like symptoms), Andre Iguodala - doubtful (left knee soreness), Omri Casspi
- out (sprained right ankle), Stephen Curry - out (left MCL sprain), Patrick McCaw - out (lumbar spine contusion)
Last Meeting
March 27, 2018: The Pacers outscored the undermanned Warriors 24-11 in the fourth quarter to come away with a 92-81 win in ORACLE Arena. Indiana trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, before rallying over the final two quarters.
"We finally got our legs under us," Victor Oladipo said. "Finally started making shots. Getting stops and making shots. It was effective for us. I thought we picked it up defensively, that was huge for us. We just have to build on it."
Oladipo led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go along with six rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Thaddeus Young recorded a double-double in the win, chipping in 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Nick Young led Golden State with 12 points, while Quinn Cook added 11 points and seven assists.
Noteworthy
- With a win on Thursday, the Pacers would sweep the regular season series with Golden State for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
- Indiana has dropped six of its last eight games against the Warriors, but still holds a 46-42 advantage in the all-time series.
- David West, the second-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder on the Pacers teams that reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2013 and 2014, is in his second season with the Warriors.
- Thursday's game is the start of the Pacers' 14th and final set of back-to-back games this season (they play in Toronto on Friday). Indiana is 7-6 on the year when playing on the first night of a back-to-back, including a 2-2 record at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Tickets
Following a four-game road trip, the Pacers return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to host Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, April 5 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »
Broadcast Information TV & Radio Listings »
TV: FOX Sports Indiana - Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 107.5 FM/AM 1070 The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Slick Leonard (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)
Please Note: Inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Pacers radio broadcasts can be heard on 1080 AM instead of 1070.
Pacers Team Store Game Night Special
Pacers Nation T-Shirt - $15. The Game Night Special can be purchased at the Pacers Team Store on game day, as well as online from 10:00 AM-Midnight. Order Online »