INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers will open the 2018-19 National Basketball Association season in Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Wednesday, Oct. 17, against the Memphis Grizzlies, it was announced Friday.
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Last season, the Pacers were one of the biggest surprises in the NBA with a 48-34 record and a No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference while taking Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland to seven games in a closely-contested first-round playoff series. Led by NBA All-Star and the NBA's Most Improved Player, Victor Oladipo, the Pacers return the bulk of that team which includes Myles Turner, Thaddeus Young, Bojan Bogdanovic, Darren Collison, Domantas Sabonis and Cory Joseph. The Pacers also signed free agents Doug McDermott, Tyreke Evans, and Kyle O'Quinn to add to their deep roster, as well as rookies Aaron Holiday and Alize Johnson (23rd and 50th overall picks in the 2018 NBA Draft).
That nucleus, along with last year's results, has led to the Pacers having 12 national television games (one ABC, three TNT, eight ESPN), up from just one national television appearance last season.
Key home dates to note for the team's 20th season in Bankers Life Fieldhouse include Boston (Nov. 3, Apr. 5); Houston (Nov. 5); Philadelphia (Nov. 7, Jan. 17); San Antonio (Nov. 23, the annual night after Thanksgiving game, coinciding with the Circle of Lights celebration); defending NBA Champion Golden State (Jan. 28); the Los Angeles Lakers (Feb. 5) and Oklahoma City (Mar. 14). The Pacers will have two long homestands in 2019: Jan. 15 through Jan. 23 (Phoenix, Philadelphia, Dallas, Charlotte and Toronto); and Feb. 5 through Feb. 22 (Lakers, L.A. Clippers, Cleveland, Charlotte, Milwaukee, New Orleans).
The Pacers' first road game will be Friday, Oct. 19, at Milwaukee. The Pacers have three four-game road trips and one five-game trip.
For information on ticket availability, including season tickets, group outings or suite rentals, please visit www.pacers.com or call (317) 917-2827. Single game tickets will go on-sale on Thursday, September 27. To be a part of an exclusive presale, sign up to receive Pacers Insider, the official e-newsletter of the Pacers, by going to pacers.com/insider.
The Pacers' television and radio schedule will also be announced at a later date.