2024-03-19 15:56:00
Wednesday, March 20 at 7:00 PM ET at Little Caesars Arena
Game Preview
After another close loss, the Pacers (38-31) will try to bounce back on Wednesday night in Detroit, when they tip off a five-game road trip against the Pistons (12-56). It will be the final game this season between the two Central Division rivals. Indiana has won the first three meetings.
The Blue & Gold are coming off a 108-103 loss to Cleveland on Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. They led 47-32 midway through the second quarter, but went without a field goal for nearly six minutes of action, allowing the Cavs to come back and tie the game by halftime.
Cleveland surged in front in the second half. The Pacers rallied to tie the game at 103 on Tyrese Haliburton’s layup with 2:05 remaining, but former Pacer Caris LeVert answered with a jumper on the other end and Indiana didn’t score the rest of the way.
The Pacers’ rough shooting month continued against the Cavs. Indiana went just 9-for-38 from 3-point range (23.7 percent) and is now shooting just 30.9 percent from beyond the arc in nine games this month. Haliburton — a career 40-percent 3-point shooter — went 1-for-9 from distance for the second straight game and is just 11-for-65 (16.9 percent) from 3-point range in March.
“It’s really not falling right now,” Pacers guard T.J. McConnell said of the team’s shooting woes. “There’s no real explanation for it. We’ve got to continue to play the way we do, continue to take the shots. They’ll fall. It’s just an up-and-down thing from three and the numbers will even themselves out.”
The Pacers are now in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings with 13 games remaining in the regular season. They’re just a half-game back of Philadelphia and a half-game up on Miami. The top six teams in the final standings advance to the playoffs, while the teams that finish seventh through 10th have to compete in the Play-In Tournament.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: Track the Latest Standings, Potential Matchups, and More >>
The Pistons have already been eliminated from the playoffs, but have a young team that has been more competitive in recent weeks. Detroit actually won three of four games from March 7-13 before dropping its last three contests.
Detroit is led by third-year guard Cade Cunningham, who is averaging 22.2 points and 7.6 assists. Cunningham sat out Monday’s loss to Boston for left knee injury management.
The Pistons also feature several other recent lottery picks, including Purdue All-American Jaden Ivey (15.3 points and 3.8 assists), big man Jalen Duren (13.9 points and 11.9 rebounds), and 2023 first-round pick Ausar Thompson (8.8 points and 6.4 rebounds).
Projected Starters
Pacers: G-Tyrese Haliburton, G-Andrew Nembhard, F-Aaron Nesmith, F-Pascal Siakam, C-Myles Turner
Pistons: G – Marcus Sasser, G – Jaden Ivey, F – Stanley Umude, F – Isaiah Stewart, C – Jalen Duren
Injury Report
Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin – out (right shoulder labral tear), Doug McDermott – out (right calf strain)
Last Meeting
Feb. 22, 2024: The Pacers cruised to victory in their first game after the All-Star break. Indiana led 72-43 at halftime en route to a 129-115 win over the Pistons at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Fresh off starting the All-Star Game, Tyrese Haliburton led the Blue & Gold with 25 points and 13 assists, going 10-for-18 from the field and 4-for-10 from 3-point range. Pascal Siakam added 20 points, T.J. McConnell had a strong night off the bench (16 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals), and Myles Turner (13 points and 11 boards) recorded a double-double.
Cade Cunningham led all scorers with 30 points for Detroit, going 13-for-21 from the field and 4-for-9 from 3-point range while also dishing out eight assists. Jalen Duren added 15 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.
Noteworthy
- With a win on Wednesday, the Pacers would sweep the season series for the first time since they went 3-0 against Detroit in 2020-21 and the first time Indiana went 4-0 against the Pistons since the 2016-17 season.
- Pacers center Myles Turner has 1,241 career blocks and needs five more to break Jermaine O’Neal’s franchise record.
- Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle has 934 career wins, one shy of tying Dick Motta for 13th place on the all-time list.
Broadcast Information (TV and Radio Listings >>)
TV: Bally Sports Indiana – Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)
After a five-game road trip, the Pacers will return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, March 29 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>
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