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(INDIANAPOLIS, IN.) – The Indiana Pacers (32-25) begin the four-game homestand and final third of the season with a dominating 129-115 victory over the Detroit Pistons (8-47).
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Indiana Pacers Dominate Detroit Pistons, Win 129-115 was originally published on 1075thefan.com
1. First Quarter
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Across the league tonight there were a variety of teams that either struggled coming out of All-Star break or firing on all cylinders. In this team, both would be true in the first quarter. Indiana shot a blistering 68% from the field and 7/12 on three-point shots. The game started with Pascal Siakam draining a three on an assist from Tyrese Haliburton. Indiana opened the contest on a 7-2 burst. Detroit would respond to take a 12-11 advantage after an Ausar Thompson midrange jumper. The two teams would only tie once, at 16 with 6:03 left in the quarter. From that point on, Indiana outscored Detroit 26-9. Haliburton had an All-Star game stretch where he made three straight threes during that time. He led all scorers after the first with 11 points and 5 assists. Indiana’s lead was 42-25.
2. Second Quarter
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Indiana was able to follow their fifteenth 40+ point quarter this season with 30 points in the second quarter. They scored the first four points of the second to go ahead 46-25. The Pistons then scored the next ten points to cut their deficit to eleven points. Rick Carlisle’s team responded with a 24-4 run to take a 31-point lead in the first half after a pair of Haliburton dunks with 1:32 left in the half. During that run, T.J. McConnell converted his second three of the game. That’s worth noting because he only made three coming into tonight’s game. The two teams exchanged baskets the final 92 seconds. Indiana’s lead at halftime was 72-43, largest halftime lead of the season. Haliburton led all scorers still with 16 points followed by Detroit’s Cade Cunningham with 13 points after a nine-point second quarter. Indiana had made 10 threes at halftime compared to three for Detroit.
3. Third Quarter
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Typically, the third quarter has been the best quarter for the Pacers the last two months of the season. Tonight, it would be their worst quarter from a defensive perspective. Their offense still scored 30 points, but they surrendered an alarming 45 points to the Pistons. Jalen Duren and Cunningham had it going, they combined to score 21 points. Duren had 11 points and Cunningham had 10 points. Despite outscoring the Pacers by 15 points in the quarter, the closest Detroit would get in the third quarter was 15 points on two occasions. The last time came at 92-77 with 2:32 left in the period. That was until Evan Fournier hit a triple with 5.4 seconds left to trail Indiana 102-88. Haliburton scored nine points to bring his game high total to 25 points. Cunningham was right on his heels with 23 points.
4. Fourth Quarter
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After a lackluster third quarter, the Pacers struggles continued to start the final twelve minutes of play. Detroit threatened to make it a single digit game after a Shake Milton layup, making it 102-91 with 10:59 left. McConnell responded with a layup and then a fadeaway to push the lead back to 15. The lead would hover around that number for a few minutes until Cunningham knocked down a three-pointer to make it 116-103 with 5:00 left. Myles Turner then converted a three-point play after Duren fouled him in the process of converting a layup. Siakam and Bennedict Mathurin were able to put the game away for Indiana. Siakam made it an 18-point game with 3:30 left and then Mathurin capped off his seven-point quarter with a putback dunk. Detroit and Indiana matched baskets the final two minutes. Indiana wins it 129-115.
5. Top Performers
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Tyrese Haliburton (25p, 13a, 4 threes), Pascal Siakam (20p, 4r), T.J. McConnell (16p, 6r, 5a), Bennedict Mathurin (15p, 6r, 5a), and Myles Turner (13p, 11r, 2b, 2s). For Detroit, Cade Cunningham (30p, 8a, 5r), Jalen Duren (15p, 13r), and Ausar Thompson (11p, 7r, 5a). For tonight’s full box score, click here.
6. Notes
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Tyrese Haliburton extends his double-double streak to four games, now has 32 on the season (ties last season’s total). Myles Turner notched his 11 double-double of the season. Indiana’s 42 first quarter points were the second most in the first quarter this season and 15th quarter with 40+ points. T.J. McConnell’s two threes bring his season total to five. Cade Cunningham registered his 12th game with 30+ points. Jalen Duren registered his 28 double-double.
7. Next Up
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Game two of the four-game homestand is on Sunday afternoon when Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks make their only visit to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Tip-off between the two teams is set for 5pm with Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill on the call. The Kroger Pregame Show starting at 4:30pm with Pat Boylan on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.
