After a tough drought stemming from a four-game losing streak, the Indiana Pacers defeated the Detroit Pistons 111-95 on Thursday night.
The Pacers came to the Motor City and took care of the Pistons in a dominant fashion putting them back in the win column.
In the third-quarter, the Pacers went on a 13-1 run outscoring the Pistons and shot a total of 52 percent from the three-point line. It was difficult for the Pistons closing out the Pacers at the perimeter and watching Blake Griffin isolation plays collapse on offense.
Griffin scored 16 points, shot 1-6 from three and took plenty of hard hits throughout the night on defense against All-Star Domantas Sabonis.
Sabonis led the Pacers with 26 points and fell shy of his seventh career triple-double with eight assists and rebounds.
During the post-game interview, Sabonis spoke with BSO about his match on the block with Griffin and how he owed it to his team for making the right plays.
“Just team defense. All the players have my back. We’re in the gaps trying to be scrappy and getting deflections. It helps when you got four guys behind you like that.”
Jeremy Lamb shot 100 percent from the three-point line feeding off his team rhythm scoring 17 points in 28 minutes played.
Malcolm Brogdon played at a slow pace but generated scoring of his own finishing with 18 points, 4 rebounds and nine assists. Myles Turner recorded two blocks and added 14 points in a team effort to get the Pacers back rolling.
In a surprise effort on both ends, Pistons Center Isaiah Stewart took over in the first-half blocking a layup by Sabonis which led to a fast-break. Stewart outran the Pacers and scored giving the Pistons momentum. Stewart is rising and proved he’s capable of scoring 17 points on any given night if his energy is unmatched.
The next four games are relatively easy or seen as “winnable” how Doug McDermott explained after Wednesday night loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks are on the Pacers radar Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in a anticipated offensive game.
Flip the page for IND vs. DET post-game highlights and press-conference.