Game Rewind: Pacers 108, Pistons 89

As the calendar turned to April, Pacers head coach Nate McMillan told his team to hit the reset button.

So far, so good.

The Pacers closed March by losing seven of their last eight games and had dropped 10 straight contests away from Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

But over the first three days of April, Indiana (47-32) has swept a home-and-home series with the Pistons (39-39), including a 108-89 victory on Wednesday night in Detroit, their first road win since Feb. 23.

"We've been in the games," Pacers forward Thaddeus Young told FOX Sports Indiana's Jeremiah Johnson after snapping the road skid. "We've been scratching and clawing. The biggest thing is just staying the course and that's exactly what we did.

"We stayed the course, believed in our structure system, believed in our culture, believed in our unity. And our brotherhood got us through."

The win also kept the Pacers tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with Boston, with a crucial clash with the Celtics looming on Friday night in Indianapolis.

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Both teams got off to sluggish starts on Wednesday. The score was tied at 7-7 with 4:15 remaining in the first quarter.

The Pacers then finally broke through, scoring on four of their next five possessions and moved in front with an 8-0 run. The Pistons closed the frame with an 8-3 spurt of their own to take an 18-15 lead into the second quarter.

The Blue & Gold got a big boost from their bench to start the second, as reserve forward TJ Leaf and Doug McDermott scored five points apiece during a 12-2 run to open the quarter.

Indiana remained in front for the rest of the half, taking a 44-36 advantage into the break.

Myles Turner and Young combined for 12 of the Pacers' first 15 points in the third quarter, helping the visitors extend their lead to as many as 13 points.

After going scoreless in the first half, Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson came alive in the third to keep the hosts in the game. Jackson scored 13 points in the frame, helping Detroit get back within six.

But the Pacers responded once again, closing the third with a 9-0 run — bookended by a layup and 3-pointer from McDermott — to take a commanding 78-62 lead into the fourth.

Detroit guard Wayne Ellington caught fire in the fourth quarter, drilling three 3-pointers and scoring 14 points over the first 5:04 of the frame to trim the Pistons' deficit to eight.

The hosts went to a small lineup with four guards and center Andre Drummond, but the Pacers locked them down defensively, holding the Pistons scoreless over a four-minute stretch and pushing the lead back to 15 and effectively sealing the victory.

"We talked about trying to be road tough tonight," McMillan said after the victory. "We wanted to come out and play well, and I thought the guys did from start to finish. Offensively, we didn't shoot the ball particularly well, but defense was able to help hold the lead."

Young led the Pacers with 21 points in the win on 9-of-15 shooting (2-of-5 from 3-point range) to go along with eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

Turner and Bojan Bodganovic added 17 points each, Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and McDermott tallied 14 points while going 6-for-7 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Drummond led all scorers with 28 points and also collected 19 rebounds, three blocks, and three steals. Ellington added 24 points, while Jackson had 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

The Pacers now return home to host the Celtics on Friday night at 8:00 PM ET. They will also welcome Brooklyn to The Fieldhouse on Sunday before closing out the regular season next Wednesday in Atlanta.

Photo Credit: NBAE/Getty Images

The Pacers dominated inside the paint, outscoring Detroit 62-36 on the interior.

Sabonis recorded his team-leading 29th double-double of the season in the victory.

McDermott scored in double figures for the third straight game and the sixth time in his last nine contests.

Indiana had 31 assists on 43 field goals and is now 16-4 on the season when accumulating 30 or more assists. Point guard Cory Joseph had a team-high 12 assists, matching his season high set on Feb. 28 against Minnesota.

The Pacers forced the Pistons into 20 turnovers while only committing 11 giveaways on the other end.

Drummond recorded his league-leading 66th double-double of the season in the loss.

Bogdanovic recorded his first block of the season with 10:54 remaining in the fourth quarter. Remarkably, the 6-8 forward had not blocked a shot despite starting all 78 games and logging a career-high 2,485 minutes entering Wednesday's game.

"Every win counts. Every game, we have to play like it's our last possession or our last game. We have to get as many wins as possible to keep up with that four spot. We just need to continue the course and continue to play and just take it from there." -Young

"It was a team win. Both the offense and the defense played well. For us, the challenge was facing Detroit again after getting the win in Indiana, and staying hungry. I thought our group tonight came out, played hungry, played aggressive and both units played solid." McMillan

"Aaron Holiday and Cory Joseph did a great job of running the point guard spot and just making sure they got us into some plays and got us into the right structure system. Coach did a great job calling some different playsets to throw them off a little bit. Aaron and Cory really picked up their intensity and made it tough on Reggie (Jackson) and Ish (Smith)." -Young

"Nobody really to key in on, I think that's the biggest thing with their team, one of those teams around the league, especially ever since Vic (Victor Oladipo) went down you never really know where the ball is going." -Jackson on the difficulty of game-planning for the Pacers

"20 turnovers against a playoff team, a top three or four team, whatever they are in the Eastern Conference. You can't turn the ball over 20 times and give up 20 points, and that was one of our goals going into the game. See the great play and make the easy play, don't play in the crowd." -Pistons head coach Dwane Casey

Wednesday's win was the Pacers' first road victory in 39 days. Their last win away from Bankers Life Fieldhouse came on Feb. 23 in Washington. It was Indiana's first road losing streak of 10 or more games since 2009.

Their 10-game skid actually began on Feb. 25 in Detroit.

The Pacers will return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to host Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics in a likely first-round preview on Friday, April 5 at 8:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »

Jack's Donuts: Visit your local Jack's Donuts the day after a Pacers victory and mention the Pacers win to receive a free twelve ounce coffee with any purchase. Visit JacksDonuts.com to find the Jack's Donuts nearest you.