DETROIT — Pascal Siakam had 25 points and eight rebounds, Tyrese Haliburton added 20 points and nine assists, and the Indiana Pacers beat the short-handed Detroit Pistons 122-103 on Wednesday night.
Aaron Nesmith added 14 points as the Pacers (39-31) swept the four-game series against the Pistons. The game was the first of Indiana’s five-game road trip.
Cade Cunningham had 23 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for Detroit, which lost its fourth straight.
The Pistons played without starting forwards Ausur Thompson (blood clots) and Isaiah Stewart (hamstring), who were each ruled out for the season on Wednesday. Tosan Evbuomwan made his first NBA start and Stanley Umude made his second before leaving with an ankle injury.
Indiana led 54-52 with 1:27 left in the first half, but went on a 33-9 run to take a 26-point lead late in the third quarter.
The Pistons’ makeshift roster struggled to defend the league’s highest-scoring offense and couldn’t catch up on the other end. The Pistons missed 12 of their first 15 3-pointers before Evan Fournier hit one in transition in the final minute of the third.
The Pacers led 98-78 heading into the fourth and quickly emptied the bench. Haliburton did not play in the fourth, Myles Turner played 48 seconds and Siakam played 1:09.
Chimeze Metu made his Pistons debut in the second quarter, extending the franchise record to 29 players used in a season.
FOLLOWING
Pacers: At Golden State Warriors on Friday.
Pistons: Host the Boston Celtics on Friday.
