Game Rewind: Pacers 129, Pistons 115

Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

All-Star Weekend is now in the rear-view mirror, but the energy from the festivities in the Circle City has carried over into the regular season.

In their first post-All-Star break contest on Thursday, the Pacers (32-25) kicked off a four-game homestand with a 129-115 Central Division win over the Detroit Pistons (8-47) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Indiana led 72-43 at halftime, allowing its fewest points in a first half this season, and led by double digits the rest of the way. With the win, the Pacers clinched their regular season series with the Pistons 3-0, with one game left to go on March 20.

Overall, the Pacers were 50-for-94 from the floor (13-for-30 3-point), while Detroit made 47 of 89 shot attempts (12-for-30 3-point). Indiana’s bench outscored Detroit’s reserves 48-31 in the game, and the Pacers won the rebounding margin 42-41.

Six players scored in double figures for the Pacers.

Tyrese Haliburton, fresh off a memorable All-Star weekend, led the Pacers with 25 points and 12 assists, T.J. McConnell scored 16 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists, and Pascal Siakam scored 20 points. Additionally, Bennedict Mathurin logged 15 points, six rebounds, and five assists, and Myles Turner chipped in 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Blue & Gold.

Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, topped the Pistons with 30 points (13-for-21 shooting) and eight assists, and Simone Fontecchio and South Bend native Jaden Ivey each scored 14 for the visitors.

The Pacers shot a solid 57.1 percent as a team, including making 10 3-pointers, to go up big early. Haliburton had a fast start, recording 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting, five assists and two rebounds in the first half, while Cunningham scored 13 for the visitors by intermission.

In the first quarter, the Pacers shot 68 percent as a team to build a 42-25 lead. Haliburton put up a nearly perfect stat line across eight minutes on the floor, scoring 11 points while dishing out five assists.

Off the tip, the Pacers strung together a 7-0 scoring spree, but the Pistons responded with a 14-6 scoring run – on six points by rookie Ausar Thompson, the No. 5 pick in the 2023 draft – to give the visitors a 12-11 lead.

Out of a timeout, Pacers second-year guard Andrew Nembhard scored a layup before Haliburton drained three straight 3-pointers and added a layup to push the Pacers ahead 26-18 with 4:03 on the clock.

The Pacers’ second unit controlled the tempo for the remainder of the quarter, outscoring the Pistons 16-7 in the final 3:07 to keep the lead at double digits. During the stretch, Doug McDermott and McConnell hit 3-pointers, Isaiah Jackson converted an and-one, and rookie Ben Sheppard drained a 3-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer.

During a six-minute stretch in the second quarter, the Pacers went on a 21-2 run to go up a game-high 31 points.

A 10-0 scoring run by the Pistons, where four different players scored a bucket, narrowed the score to 46-35 early in the second quarter, but five points by McConnell, four from Nembhard and free throws by Turner put the Pacers back up 20 at 57-37 with just over six minutes left in the half.

The scoring streak turned into the 21-2 spree, featuring two 3-pointers from Obi Toppin and a pair of dunks by Haliburton -- including a showstopping reverse – to push the lead to 70-39 with 92 seconds left in the half.

In the third quarter, the Pistons scored more points than their entire first half. Shooting 66.7 percent in the period, including making six 3-pointers, the Pistons narrowed the score to 102-88 by putting up 45 points in the frame.

The Pistons chipped away in the third, using a 12-0 spree from 6:15 to 4:30, where Cunningham and Duren supplied all their team’s points, to make it 90-74 with 4:30 left in the period.

However, Haliburton scored a pair of baskets, Sheppard threw down a two-handed dunk, and Jackson converted an and-one in the final two minutes of the third quarter to help the Pacers stay ahead by 14 points heading into the final 12 minutes.

Pacer head coach Rick Carlisle said there was obviously a loss of concentration in the third quarter.

“I told the guys it’s a great win, a really important win, but we can’t back up our best defensive half of the year with one of our worst defensive quarters of the year,” Carlisle siad. “It’s a standard we aspire to be consistent. We need to learn from it.”

Two baskets by McConnell, three points from Jackson, a bucket by Sheppard and a 3-pointer from Mathruin in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter helped the Pacers to a 114-97 advantage. The Blue & Gold held on from there thanks to timely shots from Turner, Mathurin and Siakam.

The Pacers continue their homestand on Sunday when they host Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

“Looking forward, on the 25 (games) we have coming up, we just want to approach every game the right way,” Haliburton said. “That’s our biggest thing – just playing the right way.”

The biggest lead for the Pacers was 31 points and the largest for the Pistons was one point.

Tyrese Haliburton posted his 32nd double-double of the season and Myles Turner logged his 11th double-double of 2023-2024.

Indiana had 10 steals as a team in the game.

The Pacers are 17-4 when outrebounding opponents this season.

Indiana is 29-10 when six or more players score in double figures.

The Pacers finished with 36 assists as a team while the PIstons distributed  27.

“Detroit is a very hard-playing, competitive team. I thought that the first half was one of the best halves of the year, and then our third quarter was one of our worst.” – Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on the win

“That's why you have a team. Not everybody is going to play perfect. (McConnell) is a guy that’s a constant source of energy, and he did great things for us throughout the entire game. Look, nobody was perfect in the game, but that’s a hard team to play. They’ve developed a style and approach where they can stay in virtually every game and give themselves a chance to win.” – Carlisle on T.J. McConnell stepping up when the Pistons made a push

“Today is the best I’ve felt by far, the best I’ve moved.”  – Tyrese Haliburton on his recent health

“Overall you want to maintain through four quarters, but we’ll take a win any day. I don’t care how it looks.” – Haliburton on the win

“T.J. is the best backup point guard in the NBA. He changes games. This is what he does. It’s not a surprise to any of us watching him out there. It’s just good to see him hooping.” – Haliburton on McConnell

“There's not many guys that play harder than T.J. McConnell, and I think that’s what separates him.” – Haliburton on McConnell

“Without (Haliburton), we are just a completely different team. To have him back, with no restriction, it just takes our team to another level. There’s no other way to put it. He’s an All-Star starter for a reason. He just plays at an elite level, and gets our team going.” – McConnell on Haliburton

“I feel like the guys we have added to our lineup have realized how we play. We have guys on this team who constantly stay ready. The way we play doesn't really change.” – McConnell on playing with different lineups this season

“Lineups constantly change. That’s the NBA. Our unit has done a good job of, whoever is in there, to get out and run. I have to credit Obi (Toppin). I thought he was awesome tonight. I felt like he made the right play every play tonight. He’s one of those guys who is selfless, and some of the things he does doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.” – McConnell on the second unit

“He’s incredible. He makes the right play every time. He pushes the pace, he’s a shooter’s dream.” – Doug McDermott on Haliburton

“The way the city rallies around him is pretty cool. I haven’t been here in a while, but you can tell. He’s obviously the fan favorite, and it’s much deserved.” – McDermott on Haliburton

“He is one of those guys, when he checks in the game, you better be ready to match his energy.” – McDermott on McConnell

“Our goal is to go out and really show who we are in the second half of the season. I feel like we have done that really well, but I feel like we have a lot of things we need to improve on to keep it going to make the playoffs. Not only to make it, but to make it a big run.” — Bennedict Mathurin on the rest of the season

“I want to come out and just be me.” – Mathurin on building off the All-Star Weekend

The Pacers allowed a season-low 43 points in the first half against the Pistons. The previous low was 44 points against the Charlotte Hornets on Feb. 4.

The Pacers continue their four-game homestand by hosting Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 5:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>