Pacers Snap Four Game Losing Streak

Pacer fans can finally take a breath as Domantas Sabonis and company beat the Detroit Pistons 111-95 on the road to snap their four game losing streak. The Pacers record improves to 13-13 as the team has fought back to .500 on the season.

Sabonis finished the game as the Pacers leading scorer with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and shot 9/14 from the field. Pat Boylan, a reporter for Fox Sports, asked Sabonis about his perspective of busting out of not only a team slump, but a personal one as well.

“We just came out with a lot of energy,” said Sabonis, “W knew we had to win this game. [We had a] four game losing streak, it’s not fun. Especially on a team with a bunch of good guys, we just wanted to play for each other and today I feel like we did that.”

The Pacers and Pistons were tied 52-52 at halftime with Sabonis leading the Pacers with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists while battling Blake Griffin, who led Detroit or the Pistons with 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists. Sabonis shot 60% from the field in the first half, but most notably went 2/3 from three with one beating the buzzer at the end of the first quarter.

Jeremey Lamb provided a huge boost from the bench with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and shot a scorching 6/7 from the field. Lamb scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, including two three pointers during critical moments to extend the Pacers lead.

Malcolm Brogdon, Turner, and Sabonis scored all the Pacers points for the first nine minutes of the third quarter as they took control of the game. Myles Turner found his offensive groove and scored 8 points in the third quarter as the Pacers outscored the Pistons 30-18 to lead 82-70 after three. The Pacers kept the lead for the rest of the game after taking it at 59-58 with 8:18 left in the third quarter.

The only starter that did not play more than 30 minutes was Myles Turner who was in foul trouble early in the second half. Even though Turner did not play as many minutes, he finished an efficient 6-9 shooting from the field with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and a pair of blocks.

“Consistency,” said Bjorkgren when asked about what the team did well in the win. “When they made their runs, we didn’t let them last. I thought we bounced back from some of the lows over the course of the game. Lots of highs and lots of lows and I thought we were trying to fight through them a little bit better.”

The Pacers are 4-1 on the second end of their back-to-backs throughout the season so far and are looking to extend their new win streak on Saturday, February 13 against the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks are currently the eighth seed, but in a competitive Eastern Conference, it’s possible for them to steal the fifth seed away from the Pacers in their upcoming matchup.