Game Rewind: Pacers 93, Hornets 119

In the final regular season game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse of the season, the Pacers fell 119-93 to the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night.

The loss, however, didn't carry the same sting as other defeats, since Indiana's playoff seeding was locked in at the fifth spot regardless of the game's outcome.

With the postseason starting this weekend, Pacers (48-34) head coach Nate McMillan elected to give rest to three of the team's key starters: Victor Oladipo, Thaddeus Young, and Bojan Bogdanovic.

"We prepared our guys to go out and play the game hard, play the game the right way and play to win," McMillan said after the game. "My message to them, it really shouldn't look any different as far as how we play even though we have a number of guys out of uniform. We wanted to give some guys an opportunity to get some minutes. We were able to do that."

The shorthanded unit that took the floor on Fan Appreciation Night played with heart, nearly overcoming their deficit in the second quarter. But Charlotte (36-46) — who was eliminated from postseason contention weeks ago — rolled with its usual starting lineup and was able to control the game for nearly the entire night.

Hornets center Dwight Howard was particularly effective, controlling the paint while racking up 14 points and 17 rebounds.

On the Pacers, Glenn Robinson III and TJ Leaf came up big with the increased playing time. Robinson nearly recorded a double-double, notching 13 points and eight rebounds. Leaf came off the bench to provide instant offense, going 6-of-12 from the field for 13 points.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: Track the Pacers' Playoff Push »

Even with some impressive games from Pacers players that normally don't log major minutes, the Pacers were never able to seriously threaten Charlotte's lead in the fourth quarter, as the Hornets finished off the 26-point win with ease.

Indiana's remixed starting lineup got off to fast start in the early moments of the game, going ahead 10-5 when Stephenson canned a 3-pointer from the wing. Charlotte, however, wasn't willing to fold up shop. The Hornets took control of the opening quarter, finishing off the frame leading Indiana 37-25 as Charlotte forward Marvin Williams poured in a quick 12 points.

To begin the second quarter, Indiana's bench unit started to bring the Pacers back, as buckets from TJ Leaf and Joe Young helped pull the Pacers back within four.

But after closing the gap, Hornets rookie Malik Monk got cooking, connecting on back-to-back 3-pointers to reestablish Charlotte's lead. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, the Pacers trailed the visiting Hornets 63-55.

In the third quarter, it was another Hornets-dominated frame, as the Charlotte carried an 87-71 lead into the final 12 minutes of regular season basketball.

During the fourth quarter, the Pacers were never able to put a run together, dropping their final game of the season. Luckily for the Blue & Gold, the loss had no impact, aside from bettering the Pacers' draft position.

For meaningful basketball, the Pacers will have to wait until the weekend, when they'll open their first round series on the road. In what's been a season of surprises and surpassing of expectations, Lance Stephenson wasn't shy about spelling out the group's postseason plans.

"I feel like that made us even more hungry because they had us all the way at the bottom," said Stephenson of preseason predictions. "They just underestimated us. I feel like everybody thought we weren't going to get as far as we did, but we shocked the world. It's amazing; but we've still got more to prove."

Darren Collison, TJ Leaf, and Glenn Robinson III all scored 13 points, leading the Pacers in scoring.

Frank Kaminsky of the Hornets led the game scoring with 24 points.

The Hornets lit up the nets downtown, making 18-of-42 attempts from beyond the arc.

"There's another level that you need to go to and really that level is the focus. Understanding that every possession you've got to be locked into on both ends of the floor. The play that we had during the regular season is not going to be good enough come postseason. Because you're going to be playing against a better team. In our case, we're a higher-seeded team. You have to be looking at the things you've conditioned yourself to do all season long. That's defensively and offensively. You can't make a lot of mistakes. We're not going to be picked or favored to win, pretty much like the start of the season for us. We've got to be the aggressors no matter who we play." -Nate McMillan on the postseason

"Everyone in here was hungry, and we just put that all together. This whole team is playing incredible, playing hard defense, having each other's back and helping each other up. That's what I think helped us this year." -Lance Stephenson

"These fans were unbelievable. Straight unbelievable. Every game they supported us. I kinda knew what to expect when I came back here. I know the fans were going to kind of be our sixth man and they have been. They helped us win some games with their support and them cheering for us every play. It's been a joy to play in front of them and we can't thank them enough." -Darren Collison

After a season of surprises, the Pacers will finish their 2017-18 regular season with 48 wins, their most since the 2013-14 season when they finished 56-26 and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.