The Pacers defeated the Pistons in their first meeting (115-109) on Oct. 23.

Here are five things to know before the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers battle in East Group B of the NBA Cup.

1. Detroit continues to surprise

The Pistons had just 14 wins in 2023-24, but they’ve been a pleasant surprise this season. At 8-12, they are on pace to win 33 games, an improvement they can credit to the development of Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. Unfortunately, Cunningham is questionable for this matchup due to a hip issue.

2. Indiana regress?

The Pacers quietly had one of the best seasons in the NBA last year. They made the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Cup championship but haven’t seen the same success this year. Indiana (9-10) enters this matchup with three straight wins (vs. Washington, New Orleans and Portland).

3. NBA Cup ramifications

This has been a surprising Group, with Detroit going 2-0 record and Indiana at 0-2 in the Group. That means a win for the Pistons will guarantee them a spot in the Knockout Round while a loss for the Pacers would eliminate them from the tournament.

4. Can Haliburton keep going?

The Pacers guard, Tyrese Haliburton, is averaging 17.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 8.8 assists on 39.9% shooting and 33.9% on 3-pointers this season. The good news is that Haliburton has been scorching in two games this week, averaging 31 ppg, 5 rpg, 11.5 apg and 2.5 spg.

5. Pacers dominance over the Pistons

Indiana beat Detroit back on October 23, 115-109 where Myles Turner scored 20 points, Pascal Siakam and Bennedict Mathurin had 19 each. The early win this season gives the Pacers five straight wins over the Pistons over the past two seasons, winning by an average of 14 points per game in those matchups.