Game Rewind: Pacers 105, Pistons 84

Even an injury to a key starter couldn't slow down the streaking Indiana Pacers.

Starting power forward Thaddeus Young was in street clothes on Saturday night, nursing a sprained shooting wrist sustained in the fourth quarter of Friday's win in Brooklyn.

But Lavoy Allen, Young's replacement in the starting lineup, set season highs with 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Indiana (28-22) to a 105-84 victory over Detroit (23-28).

It was the sixth straight win for the Pacers, who are now officially on their longest winning streak of the season.

Allen, celebrating his 28th birthday, was 8-for-14 from the field and collected five offensive boards while recording his first double-double of the season.

"You've just got to be ready to play," Allen said. "I know all my teammates, I know their tendencies, so no matter who I'm on the floor with, I know how to play my role."

"He was huge for us," All-Star forward Paul George added. "He kept a lot of plays alive, (we) got a lot of second-chance opportunities from him. And offensively, he was confident shooting the midrange, the pick-and-pop, and finishing at the rim."

George led all scorers with 21 points and four assists, knocking down 9-of-14 shots.

The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair featuring six ties and eight lead changes. Paul George scored nine points in the period for Indiana, but Tobias Harris' jumper with 5.3 seconds left gave Detroit a 32-30 lead heading into the second.

The game remained close all the way up until halftime, but the Pacers opened up a modest lead when Jeff Teague reeled off six unanswered points in a 53-second span midway through the second quarter.

But the Pistons eventually erased that deficit, tying the game on Jon Leuer's fastbreak layup with 46.7 seconds remaining. For the second straight quarter, the Pistons buried a contested jumper to take the lead in the final seconds, this time on Marcus Morris' 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds remaining.

Midway through the third quarter, the Pacers put together a 12-0 run to take the first double-digit lead of the game. Allen scored six points during that stretch, which ultimately gave the hosts a 78-65 lead with 3:21 left in the period.

"One stop after another just fueled us," George said. "Getting those stops, it fueled us energy-wise. We were the home team...It felt like their energy was kind of drained, so we just kept our foot on (the gas)."

The Pistons trimmed the deficit to eight points in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, but Al Jefferson's layup with 10:12 to play pushed the margin back to double digits and Detroit never seriously threatened the rest of the way.

Indiana has won each of its first three meetings with the Pistons so far this season. The Pacers won in Detroit on Dec. 17 and Jan. 3. The two teams conclude their regular season series with another game at The Fieldhouse on March 8.

In addition to George and Allen, four other Pacers players scored in double figures. Teague had 13 points and seven assists. Myles Turner, C.J. Miles, and Al Jefferson all also had 13 points for the Blue & Gold.

Morris led the Pistons with 19 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Leuer added 15 points and Andre Drummond had 13 points and nine boards in the loss.

The Pacers continue a three-game homestand on Monday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both Young and Rodney Stuckey (sprained right ankle) could return to the lineup for that game.

The Pacers forced Detroit into a season-high 21 turnovers in the victory, including 11 in the third quarter and 17 after halftime.

Conversely, the Pacers committed just six giveaways, matching their season low set on Jan. 5 against Brooklyn. Indiana outscored the Pistons 21-4 in points off turnovers.

The 21-point margin of victory matches the Pacers' biggest win of the season. Indiana also won by 21 on Nov. 25 against Brooklyn and Nov. 27 against the Clippers.

Detroit scored just 26 points in the second half, the fewest by a Pacers opponent in a half this season and three shy of the franchise record for fewest points allowed in a half (Cleveland scored just 23 second-half points on Dec. 12, 2012).

George has now scored 20 or more points in 28 games this season.

"We just felt like we didn’t establish ourselves defensively in the first half. I thought we responded in the second half and got stronger. I thought we just tightened up in the second half." -Pacers head coach Nate McMillan

"I just thought he was solid for us, he's always been solid for us. He's doing what we know he's capable of doing, he just plays in the flow of the game. He's smart, he's solid and he'll be in the right place most of the time." -McMillan on Allen

"We play well at home and then struggle on the road. So if we can match how we play at home with how we perform on the road, we'll be a lot better off in the second half of the season." -George on the Pacers' strong play at The Fieldhouse, where they are 19-6 on the season

"I thought they (the Pacers) were outstanding in the second half, they really picked it up and got to us. We didn't handle it well at all. We couldn't complete passes, let alone get shots." -Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy

"They were just way more aggressive than us defensively, the ball was staying in one spot and it was easy for them to cover the ball, everyone was just watching the ball. We have to be as aggressive as the other team." -Morris

Allen's double-double was the 15th of his career and his ninth with the Pacers, but his first since March 31 of last season.

The Pacers will welcome Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 6 at 7:00 PM ET. Good seats still remain. Find Tickets »