After bricking their way to a late collapse against the Knicks, the Indiana Pacers’ offensive slump continued against the Detroit Pistons, losing to an inarguably inferior club in a tight contest, pulling them down to 6-10 on the season as they fall to 0-2 in their three-game road trip.
The Indiana Pacers’ shooting struggles persisted against the Detroit Pistons
Both the Pacers and the Pistons had subpar shooting performances on the night, with the former hitting just 41.8 percent of their shots and 24.3 percent of their triples and the latter not faring any better, shooting 42.5 percent overall, including 28.6 percent from downtown.
Detroit got the upper hand in the first half, winning the slugfest at that point by eight before Indiana roared back in the third to wage a deadlock at 73-all. The Pacers began the fourth by scoring the first six points of the period, but managed to produce just 10 points the rest of the way, while the Pistons caught fire late and Indy simply didn’t have any rhythm to bank on to cut the deficit.
Malcolm Brogdon led the Pacers with 19 points, while Caris LeVert, despite another off-night, finished with 18 markers. Meanwhile, Jerami Grant’s 19 and ex-Pacer Cory Joseph’s 18 spearheaded the Pistons. First overall pick Cade Cunningham, who played in his ninth career game, shot the ball poorly, but still ended up with 16 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Both teams were plagued by turnovers, with Indiana tallying 18 of their own and Detroit coughing the ball up 20 times. The Pacers racked up just 14 assists on the night, easily their lowest so far this season. This contest marks only the second time where they turned the ball over more than they assisted on field goals.
Before the Indiana Pacers head to Charlotte for the finale of their three-game roadie, here are player grades from their deflating loss to the Detroit Pistons.