Game Rewind: Pacers 115, Pistons 122

Friday, April 7 at 7:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

The 2022-23 Indiana Pacers took the floor at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the final time on Friday night. Playing without several key players, Indiana fell to the Pistons, 122-115.

It was the third straight loss and the seventh over their last eight games for the Pacers (34-47), who were once again without leading scorers Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner as well as second-year guard Chris Duarte, who have all been out for the past two weeks due to injury. Backup point guard T.J. McConnell (hip) and third-year big man Jalen Smith (knee) joined them on the inactive list on Friday.

The Pistons (17-64), owners of the NBA's worst record, have been undermanned themselves, but got a combined 57 points and 15 assists from their young backcourt of 21-year-old Killian Hayes and rookie Jaden Ivey to come away with the win.

It was just the second victory for Detroit in its last 24 games. Both of those wins have come over the Pacers. The Pistons snapped an 11-game skid with a win over Indiana in Detroit on March 13, then dropped another 11 straight before Friday.

Buddy Hield led Indiana with 22 points in as many minutes on Friday, going 5-for-11 from 3-point range off the bench. The Pacers once again started five players all 24 or younger. Every member of the young first unit reached double figures, led by 16 points from rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin, but it wasn't enough to add up to a victory.

Detroit led 112-99 following Ivey's jumper with 6:33 remaining before the Pacers reeled off seven unanswered points. Hield drilled his fifth three of the night with 6:20 left in the game, George Hill scored off a dish from Hield the next trip down the floor, and then Hill connected with Hield to set up a dunk that made it a six-point game with 5:03 to play.

After a Detroit timeout, Ivey knocked down another jumper with 4:39 remaining. Hayes added a bucket in the lane at 3:40.

Two-way guard Gabe York drained a three from the right wing with 2:46 remaining, but former Pacer Cory Joseph answered with a triple of his own on the other end.

The Pacers got actually off to a torrid start on Friday. The Blue & Gold scored the first seven points and knocked down their first three 3-point attempts -- two by Aaron Nesmith and one by Jordan Nwora -- to jump out to an early 17-6 lead.

But the Pistons' young backcourt answered with a run of their own, as Hayes scored seven points and Ivey added five during an 18-5 Detroit run that gave the visitors a brief lead.

That lead last all of eight seconds, as Hield drained a three on the other end. But the Pistons moved back in front a couple minutes later on Hayes' trey from the top of the arc with 2:28 remaining in the first quarter and added on to the margin for the rest of the frame, leading 35-27 after one.

Ivey scored seven quick points in the first 55 seconds of the second quarter and suddenly the Pistons led by 15.

"We had a very good start and then things sputtered," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. "It felt like Detroit turned up their defense a little bit and we just had a wave of turnovers."

Hield did his best to keep Indiana in the game, scoring seven points during a 9-2 Pacers run that got the Blue & Gold back within eight. But Hayes and Ivey kept the Pistons' offense chugging along. Ivey's windmill dunk on a breakaway pushed Detroit's lead to 64-46 with 2:58 remaining in the first half.

That forced a timeout for Carlisle, but even after the stoppage, Indiana couldn't get a stop. The Pistons scored on their next four possessions to push the lead to 21.

Isaiah Jackson scored on a putback with 30.8 seconds remaining and then added a three-point play just before the final buzzer to trim the deficit to 73-57 heading into the intermission.

The Pacers scored the first six points of the second half to get back within 10. That's where the margin hovered for the majority of the third quarter.

Back-to-back threes by Hill and York made it a seven-point game with three minutes remaining in the frame. James Johnson's spinning layup with 1:15 left in the period cut Detroit's lead to 93-87, but Joseph's three with 17.8 seconds remaining in the frame pushed the Pistons' advantage back to nine entering the fourth quarter.

Hield knocked down a pair of treys early in the final frame, the latter of which made it 99-95 with 10:06 to play. But the Pistons got threes from Joseph and Marvin Bagley III over the next two minutes to get the lead back to double digits.

The Pacers never seriously threatened the rest of the way, as the Pistons held on for the victory.

Ivey finished with 29 points, five rebounds, and nine assists, while Hayes added 28 points, four boards, six assists, and four steals to help lead the Pistons to victory.

Jackson tallied 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, seven rebounds, and three blocks for the Pacers. Andrew Nembhard recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists, Nwora added 13 points, six boards, and three assists, and Nesmith scored 10.

Joseph went 4-for-9 from 3-point range en route to 18 points and five assists against his former team. Fellow reserve Bagley added 14 points and five rebounds for Detroit.

The Pacers will wrap up the 2022-23 season on Sunday afternoon in New York.

Nembhard recorded his fifth double-double of the season and his third over his last 10 games.

Mathurin went just 4-for-10 from the field, but 8-for-10 from the free throw line. It was the rookie's 14th game this season attempting 10 or more free throws and his first with double-digit free throw attempts since Jan. 25.

Indiana scored 16 second-chance points off of nine offensive rebounds.

Hill played 18 minutes off the bench, his first action since March 29, and tallied nine points and five assists.

York, a 29-year-old out of Arizona who spent this season in the G League with the Fort Wayne mad Ants, went 2-for-7 from 3-point range and tallied eight points, five rebounds, three assists, and one steal in just under 30 minutes off the bench in his fourth career NBA game and his second since signing a two-way contract with Indiana on March 30.

The Pistons scored 34 points off 19 Indiana turnovers. 23 of those points and 13 of those turnovers came in the first half.

"In the fourth, every time we got close, they'd knock in a shot or get a tip-in or something like that. We're getting some valuable experience for guys that need it. We're learning things." -Carlisle on the end of the game

"It's been a great year, just learning and getting better start to finish. I didn't really put too much expectations on what I wanted to get out of the season. I just wanted to get better." -Nembhard on takeaways from his rookie season

"Detroit's undermanned, but they've battled a lot of teams and battled a lot of teams to close games. And tonight, they (had) a really good shot-making group. The two guards were terrific, Ivey and Hayes, and their bigs caused problems around the basket. They earned the win." -Carlisle on the Pistons

"You appreciate and you always applaud aggressiveness of other guys, especially with guys like George and James (Johnson) out there that don't always get a chance to play a lot. You want them to be aggressive." -Hield on veterans Hill and Johnson getting extended playing time on Friday

"The fans have been great. The fans have been super supportive, super encouraging of the team. I've really enjoyed my time here and playing in front of these fans." -Nembhard on connecting with Indiana fans as a rookie

"The fans in Indiana have been so great to me since I've been here. The move was a smooth transition. Nothing but love and respect for them. They opened their arms and welcomed me to the city...The organization, the fans, everybody just opened their arms and showed us love. I feel really appreciated and this feels like home. I love being here. And hopefully next year we can give these fans what they really want and get in the playoffs." -Hield on being embraced by Pacers fans

With five threes on Friday, Hield extended his franchise-record total for the season to 283. That is a new career high for Hield, who made 282 3-pointers in 2020-21.

Hield is one of just five players in NBA history to make 280 or more threes in a season. The others are Stephen Curry (six times), James Harden (twice), Paul George, and Klay Thompson, who leads the NBA with 290 threes this season entering Friday night.

The Pacers play their final game of the season in New York against the Knicks on Sunday, April 9 at 1:00 PM ET.

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