Game Rewind: Pacers 94, Pistons 96

The Pacers appeared on their way to their first win of the season on Monday. T.J. Warren scored five straight points to give Indiana its first lead of the night, a 94-90 advantage with 1:42 remaining.

But the Pistons (2-2) got two contested buckets from Luke Kennard and Derrick Rose down the stretch to move back in front and held on for a 96-94 victory.

With the loss, Indiana fell to 0-3 on the season, with two of those losses coming to the Pistons, who also handed the Pacers a 119-110 defeat last Wednesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

"I thought we scrapped tonight," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said after the loss. "Defensively, we got some stops. They made some tough shots and we had some open looks down the stretch that we didn't knock down."

McMillan stressed at Monday's shootaround the need for Indiana to get off to a better start, but once again the Blue & Gold found themselves in an early hole. The Pistons jumped out to a 10-4 lead and knocked down their first seven shots on Monday, including three 3-pointers.

Domantas Sabonis kept the Pacers in the game early, scoring 11 of Indiana's first 17 points. But Detroit remained in front throughout the frame, taking a 33-25 lead into the second quarter.

The hosts extended their lead to as many as 12 points in the second quarter. The Pacers climbed back into the contest with a 7-0 run, then used a 7-2 spurt just before the half to make it a three-point game.

Pistons center Andre Drummond handed Indiana a demoralizing blow, however, just before the buzzer. After Kennard missed a 3-pointer, Drummond outbodied Myles Turner for the offensive rebound and converted a putback, drew a foul, and sank the ensuing free throw to push the lead back to 59-53 at the break.

Reserve forward Christian Wood gave the Pistons a lift in the third quarter, drilling two 3-pointers and a mid-range jumper to help extend Detroit's lead back to 11.

The Pacers got a minor lift from their own bench to close the third quarter, as Justin Holiday drained a 3-pointer and T.J. McConnell added a jumper from the top of the key to keep Indiana within striking distance, trimming the Pistons' lead to 78-71 heading into the fourth.

Detroit led 83-74 after Bruce Brown's 3-pointer with 10 minutes to play. Indiana responded with seven straight points. Kennard answered with a three, but Malcolm Brogdon responded with back-to-back baskets to trim the deficit to one with 6:07 remaining.

The Pistons did just enough to remain in front for the next few minutes until Warren converted a floater with 2:53 left to give Indiana a 91-90 lead.

Brogdon then dished to Warren in the right corner for a 3-pointer to push the lead to four with 1:42 to play, only for Kennard to answer, getting the shooter's bounce on a contested three of his own on the other end.

Rose put the Pistons back in front with 28.2 seconds to play, as the former MVP drove down the lane and converted a tough left-handed layup over Turner.

On the other end, the Pacers got a great look as Sabonis drove and kicked out to an open Brogdon. He missed the trey, but Sabonis corralled the rebound and dished to Warren in the left corner. Warren appeared confused about the time remaining, forcing up a heavily contested shot with seven seconds left that came up well short.

Kennard was fouled and made the first free throw, but missed the second. Drummond was called for a goaltend on the rebound, giving the Pacers the ball with two seconds to play.

Out of a timeout, Justin Holiday inbounded to Warren on the left wing, but his three came up short and Indiana fell to the Pistons for the second time in five days.

"We had opportunities to win that game," Brogdon said. "We took good shots, we missed them, and they made some tough shots...Sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way."

"We fought with them hard in the second half," Turner added. "We still have to start games a bit better. They hit two tough shots in the end, and things went in their favor."

Sabonis led Indiana with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Warren added 19 points, five boards, and five steals. Turner finished with 16 points and five rebounds.

Brogdon flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists.

Wood led Detroit with 19 points off the bench on 8-of-10 shooting and also collected 12 rebounds. Drummond also recorded a double-double, tallying 18 points and 18 rebounds. Kennard added 14 points, including nine in the fourth quarter.

The Pacers will close out a three-game road trip on Wednesday night in Brooklyn, when they face Kyrie Irving and the Nets at 7:30 PM ET.

Brogdon recorded his third straight double-double to open the season. He already was the first player in NBA history to score 20 or more points and dish out 10 or more assists in his first two games with a new team and entered Wednesday leading the league in assists per game at 10.5.

Sabonis has recorded a double-double in each of his last four games against Detroit dating back to last season.

Indiana outscored the Pistons 54-40 in points in the paint.

The Pacers scored 23 points off 20 Pistons turnovers, while committing just eight giveaways on the other end.

Detroit had a distinct advantage from beyond the 3-point arc, outscoring Indiana by 21 points from long range. The Pistons shot 13-for-24 from 3-point range (54.2 percent), while the Pacers went just 6-for-21 (28.6 percent).

"We had two options off of that. One was if (Warren) came open and the other option was Malcolm (Brogdon) coming off — Justin (Holiday) needed to make a read (on) which guy was open." -McMillan on the final play call

"You got to tip your cap when they're hitting shots like that, there's not much you can do. You don't want to overreact. You can't show your weak side, so we just have to stay solid and stay rounded." -Turner on Detroit's shotmaking

"I thought defensively we met the challenge. We held them to 41 percent, they are very physical team and we met it. I thought Markieff (Morris) did a good job with Sabonis down in the post when he tried to post him up. We didn't lose Turner, which was big for us. So, it was a good win — a good team win." -Pistons coach Dwane Casey

In the fourth quarter of Detroit's two wins over the Pacers so far this season, Kennard has scored 25 points while going 7-for-9 from the field and 5-for-6 from 3-point range.

Indiana travels to Brooklyn to take on the Nets on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 7:30 PM ET.

After a three-game road trip, the Pacers will return to Bankers Life Fiedhouse to host Kevin Love and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »