Indiana Pacers handle Detroit Pistons to open post-All-Star break play

The Pacers season resumed on Thursday

The Indiana Pacers returned to action after the All-Star break on Thursday night as they hosted the Detroit Pistons. The Pacers were hoping to keep the momentum going from their win over the Toronto Raptors just before the break.

Detroit has the worst record in the NBA, but they entered the night 5-10 in their last 15 games. That's still bad, but it's far better than the form they had earlier in the season. It isn't as easy to walk all over them, which Indiana had done twice before this campaign.

The Pacers started off strong, bursting out to a 7-0 lead just 65 seconds into the action. They are the more talented group, and they showed it early. But talent isn't always enough — they needed to keep up their offensive pressure.

They didn't as the visitors came back and took a 12-11 lead with 7:31 to go in the first period. The Pacers defense needed to be better even with their offense being solid enough in the early going.

Star guard Tyrese Haliburton dragged his team out of a rut. He hit three-straight outside shots to get the crowd, and his team, energized. They were ahead after that surge and maintained that lead for the next several minutes.

Indiana's second unit gave the team a 10-point advantage with three minutes to go in the first quarter at 29-19. After a sluggish start defensively, the blue and gold had settled in and looked much better. They were humming on both ends.

That continued for the rest of the period. The Pacers led the Pistons 42-25 after one quarter after Ben Sheppard hit a corner three at the buzzer of the frame. Haiburton led the way with 11 points and five assists at the time.

The second period opened with great play from the Pistons, who went on a quick 8-4 run. It didn't change the score margin much, but they looked much more threatening at the time. Indiana's defense was poor enough to call a timeout.

Pacers reserve point guard T.J. McConnell stabilized his team. He knocked down a few outside shots (he entered the game with three all season) and hit his usual fall away jumpers in the lane. He had 10 points with 7:08 left in the first half, and the blue and gold were up 16.

They continued to roll and were up by 20 with five minutes left in the second frame. Outside of a few moments where the blue and gold looked flimsy defensively, they looked effective for much of the action until that point. It was 57-37 at the time.

Their lead reached 23 not long after, and the Pistons took a timeout. They were having trouble hitting shots and were shooting 41% at the time. Indiana was a little hot from the field, they were generating wide open looks.

Haliburton dunked on consecutive possessions near the end of the half, and that put the Pacers up by 30 points. It was a total demolition at that point. Haliburton was up to 16 points at the moment.

At halftime, the Pacers were ahead 72-43. It was a butt kicking. Haliburton had 16 points and five assists at the time to lead his team. They were rolling.

The second half opened with better play from the Pistons again as they trimmed their deficit from 29 to 23 in just two minutes. Indiana wasn't playing well and needed a reset, so head coach Rick Carlisle took a timeout.

In the first half, most of Detroit's best runs were met with a strong punch from the Pacers. This time, the PIstons kept cruising and getting whatever shot they wanted. The blue and gold were playing poor defense, and their lead would have kept shrinking if Haliburton wasn't raining in shots.

Indiana steadied the ship in the next few minutes and pushed their lead back to 27 with a three from Pascal Siakam. Even in their worst stretches, the Pacers were able to keep the Pistons away. They were more talented.

Detroit was able to cut the deficit down to 20 with 5:27 to go in the third, which prompted another timeout from Carlisle. His team was still up big but didn't have the same energy or effectiveness level. They needed to regroup again.

The stoppage didn't help much immediately as the Pistons were able to cut the lead down to 15 at 88-73. To that point, they were outscoring the Pacers 30-16 in the third period. The momentum of the game had changed dramatically, though the blue and gold were still up big.

The Pistons were able to score 45 points in total in the third quarter, a disastrous defensive frame for the blue and gold. They scored 30 themselves and were ahead 102-88 entering the final period, but their grip on the game was gone. They needed to play better.

The final period opened with more buckets for the Pistons, who cut the lead down to 11 quickly. The Pacers were in danger of this being a close game again. They needed to get their act together to avoid a disaster.

Indiana got their lead back to 15 with about seven minutes to go. They cleaned up their play somewhat, but they still weren't doing well enough to believe they had put things away. McConnell made some important plays in the fourth quarter.

Cade Cunningham, who had been playing excellent basketball so far for the Pistons, returned to the game with 6:29 to go. His team was trailing 114-97, but Detroit was winning Cunningham's minutes. He had 23 points and eight assists at the time.

His presence can turn a game, so the Pacers needed to keep their foot on the gas. With about five minutes to go, Cunningham hit a three that cut the Pacers lead to 13.

Indiana found their level thanks to a few buckets from Siakam, and they were ahead by 18 with 3:29 to go. They were close to wrapping up the game and just needed a stop or two more to kill enough clock.

They did exactly that and were able to hold off the Pistons for a 129-115 win. Indiana has now won two games in a row and had a good showing coming out of the All-Star break.

Haliburton finished with 25 points and 13 assists. Siakam had 20 points while McConnell added 16. Indiana's offense was great all night.

They next play on Sunday when they host the Dallas Mavericks.

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• Doug McDermott adjusting to trade and studying how to help the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
• One-on-one with former Indiana Pacers great Metta Sandiford-Artest (Ron Artest) during NBA All-Star weekend. CLICK HERE.
• Tyrese Haliburton shows off in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game with a home crowd watching. CLICK HERE.
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