Game Rewind: Pacers 131, Pistons 123

Monday, Dec. 11 at 7:00 PM ET at Little Caesars Arena

Less than 48 hours after competing in the inaugural In-Season Tournament Championship in Las Vegas, the Pacers were back to the regular season grind on Monday night in Detroit.

Monday's matchup posed a mental challenge for the Blue & Gold, who went from a week in the national spotlight playing some of the NBA's top teams and biggest stars to having to get up for a contest against a struggling Pistons team that had dropped nine straight games entering Monday.

The Pacers (13-8) passed that test with another strong performance, taking care of business in a 131-123 victory over Detroit (2-21).

Second-year guard Bennedict Mathurin led the way, putting together arguably the best all-around game of his young career. He tallied a season-high 30 points, a career-best eight assists, seven rebounds, and two steals, going 10-for-17 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point range, and 7-for-8 from the free throw line.

"Benn Mathurin played one of his best games as a Pacer," head coach Rick Carlisle said after Monday's win. "We know he can score, we know he can generate points. The visual awareness and the ability to deliver the ball tonight was huge. It shows the work that he's put in and real growth."

Myles Turner added 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and three blocks, while Tyrese Haliburton recorded yet another double-double with 14 points and 16 assists.

The Pacers had the NBA's number-one offense operating at a high rate from the opening tip on Monday. Turner scored eight of Indiana's first 13 points to get them going, Haliburton dished out eight assists in the first 8:06 of the game, and the Pacers went 15-for-21 from the field (71.4 percent) in the opening quarter.

But when the Pacers weren't scoring, they were turning the ball over, committing an uncharacteristic eight giveaways in the opening frame. The Pistons scored nine points off those mistakes and star point guard Cade Cunningham tallied 13 points in the first quarter. As a result, Detroit actually led 36-33 entering the second quarter.

But the Blue & Gold quickly moved back in front, opening the ensuing frame with seven straight points. Mathurin and Buddy Hield combined for 12 straight Indiana points as the Pacers pushed the lead to 50-43.

The Pistons surged back ahead with an 18-7 run, but Indiana closed the half with nine unanswered points (five from Mathurin and four from Bruce Brown) over the final 1:42 to take a 66-61 lead into halftime.

Mathurin led all scorers with 16 points off the bench in the first half, going 7-for-11 from the field and 2-for-4 from 3-point range.

Indiana opened the half with a 9-4 run to push the lead to double digits for the first time, but Detroit immediately answered with a 12-4 spurt of its own to get back within two.

That forced a timeout from Carlisle, who used the stoppage to sub Mathurin back in. The 21-year-old picked up where he left off in the first half, immediately hitting a three and then converting a layup off a dish from Haliburton a minute later.

Shortly thereafter, Mathurin provided one of the highlights of the night. Dribbling out on the right wing, he spotted Isaiah Jackson open near the basket and quickly whipped a bullet pass with his left hand around Isaiah Livers for the bucket. Detroit called a timeout after the basket, so Mathurin's teammates mobbed him as he headed back to the bench. Haliburton was the first to greet him, jokingly covering up the second zero on Mathurin's double-zero jersey to suggest the dime was as good as any from Haliburton himself.

"I just felt it," Mathurin said, before joking about Haliburton's celebration. "It just came to my mind. It was the right play to make. Tyrese said I looked like him. I would not agree with that."

Indiana led 98-93 entering the fourth quarter. The Pistons hung around for the first half of the final frame, but the Blue & Gold eventually created separation thanks to a 10-2 run, which Haliburton capped with a stepback three and an old fashioned three-point play that stretched the lead to 129-114 with 3:31 remaining.

"This is one of the most difficult games you can have, coming off the emotions of last week, the game Saturday, the travel, everything else," Carlisle said. "I just thought our guys did a great job of staying together, keeping their composure and their aggression."

Seven Pacers finished in double figures in the victory. Hield tallied 16 points while going 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Aaron Nesmith added 13 points off the bench on 5-of-7 shooting (3-of-4 from beyond the arc), Brown narrowly missed out on a double-double with 11 points and nine boards, and Jackson contributed 10 points and five rebounds.

Cunningham had a team-high 23 points on 11-of-21 shooting, six rebounds, and six assists for the Pistons, who become just the eighth team in NBA history to lose 20 consecutive games during a single season.

Rookie forward Ausar Thompson added 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, former Purdue All-American Jaden Ivey scored 18, and former Pacer Bojan Bogdanovic tallied 17 for Detroit.

The Pacers' road trip continues on Wednesday night in Milwaukee, where they will face the Bucks for the second time in a week. Indiana prevailed 128-119 on Thursday night in Las Vegas in the In-Season Tournament Semifinals.

Mathurin recorded the third 30-point game of his career and his first this season. His previous high this year was 26 points in a win over Milwaukee on Nov. 9.

Turner topped 20 points for the ninth time this season.

Haliburton, who leads the NBA in assists, has recorded a double-double in 16 of his first 19 regular season games.

The Pacers outrebounded Detroit 43-30 overall and 11-6 on the offensive glass. They outscored the Pistons 21-10 in second chance points.

Indiana's bench outscored the Pistons' reserves 61-44, with Mathurin, Nesmith, and Jackson all finishing in double figures.

The Pacers had a strong offensive night all around, topping 130 points for the 10th time this season. The Blue & Gold shot 56.5 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from 3-point range.

"It had all the makings for a trap game. I think we started off a little slow. We picked it up in the second half, just rallied around each other. We knew we were going to have to make our mark defensively more than anything and I think we finally started to catch a little bit of a rhythm." -Turner on getting up for Monday's game and finding a way to win

"Things are so bunched up right now in the East. We've got to scrap and claw for every win that we can possibly get." -Carlisle

"You get a guy like Benn that gets going, we've got to keep finding him. It was a good game for him also because it was a lot small ball and there were a lot of loose balls. He comes up with a lot of loose balls around the basket, finished a couple plays there." -Carlisle on Mathurin

"Aggressive. I feel like he was like what LeBron did to us the last game. He was just approaching downhill, super aggressive. Not worrying about nothing, just putting his mind to the rim and making plays." -Hield on Mathurin

"I think everybody's going to talk about Benn's scoring, but he made some great passes tonight, some good reads. I think it was a nice balance of things. He knew when to be aggressive, he knew when to come off it. He's definitely maturing. You can see it throughout the season. He's learning when to pick and choose his spots." -Turner on Mathurin's all-around performance

"He keeps improving. As long as he keeps playing within himself and doing what he does, he's going to play well. I thought he did a great job getting downhill, putting pressure on the refs to call fouls at the rim. And I thought he was great defensively. I think that playing Detroit is a little fuel for him after (they passed on him in) the (2022) draft." -Haliburton on Mathurin's growth

"I think my defense has been better. That's one of the areas I'm trying to focus on right now, just trying to be a two-way player." -Mathurin on where he feels he's improved the most

"This is going to be the new normal probably for a little bit. Everybody's going to start doubling and see how it works." -Haliburton on facing more double teams after his In-Season Tournament success

Mathurin's eight assists were two more than his previous career best. He had six assists at New York in the final game of his rookie season on April 9 and had dished out five assists in four previous contests, including three this season.

The Pacers will travel to Milwaukee for a rematch of last week's In-Season Tournament Semifinal against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 8:00 PM ET.

The Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, Dec. 18 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>