Rookie Bennedict Mathurin had 27 points and seven rebounds as the host Indiana Pacers collected their first victory of the season by defeating the Detroit Pistons 124-115 on Saturday.
Tyrese Haliburton contributed 24 points, 10 assists and five steals, while Jalen Smith had 19 points and 15 rebounds for Indiana. Goga Bitadze supplied 14 points, 15 rebounds and four assists. Isaiah Jackson chipped in eight points, five rebounds and five of the Pacers’ 15 blocks.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 22 points, four rebounds and four assists. Saddiq Bey tossed in 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Jaden Ivey had 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Bojan Bogdanovic fired in 16 points and Isaiah Stewart added 11 points.
The Pacers shot 43.7 percent from the field and made 38.1 percent of their 3-point attempts. The Pistons were held to 38.9 percent shooting despite making 42.9 percent of their 3-point tries. Indiana’s bench outscored Detroit’s reserves 60-29.
Both teams were playing their third game in four nights. The Pistons were up 10 points after the first quarter and led 56-52 at halftime. Cunningham led Detroit with 10 points, while Haliburton topped Indiana with the same amount despite making just 2 of 10 shots.
Both teams struggled from the field, with the Pistons making 36 percent of their field goal attempts and the Pacers shooting 34.5 percent.
The Pacers erased the deficit in the third. A Bitadze layup with 4:58 left in the quarter gave Indiana a 75-67 lead. Mathurin drained a 3-pointer just over three minutes later for an 83-73 advantage. After Isaiah Livers made a 3, Mathurin hit another one before the quarter ended. Indiana brought an 88-79 lead into the fourth.
Cunningham hit a 3-pointer with 8:58 remaining to cut the Pacers’ advantage to six, 94-88. Mathurin made a layup midway through the quarter to make it 102-93.
Mathurin’s 3-pointer with four minutes left gave Indiana a 108-97 lead. The Pacers maintained the lead with the aid of two Haliburton 3-pointers.
–Field Level Media
