Tuesday, November 3, 2015, 7:30 PM at The Palace of Auburn Hills

 

Game Recap

Looking for their first win of the season, the Indiana Pacers traveled to Detroit to take on the Pistons and came out victorious, besting their Central Division foe 94-82. Indiana leaves the Motor City with a win thanks to an excellent second quarter and the play of former Piston Rodney Stuckey.

Indiana began the second quarter trailing by six, but took control of the game by starting the period with a 20-0 run. The outburst enabled Indiana to dominate the quarter 35-17, and the Pacers led 59-47 at halftime.

The second half was the “Stuckey Show.” The veteran guard made big play after big play throughout the half. With 2:00 remaining in the third quarter, his three-point play pushed Indiana’s lead to 20, its largest of the night. At one point in the second half, Stuckey scored 15 straight points for Indiana, single-handedly keeping the Pistons at bay.

“[Stuckey] showed us that he could do that last year,” Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. “Our second unit is all new this year, so we’ve been feeling ourselves out, but you know we’ve got to remind ourselves of what he’s capable of doing. [It was] just a great performance and if we had that off the bench every night then it’s another reason why we can be really good this year.”

He finished with a team-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting. With Stuckey leading the way, Indiana’s bench outscored Detroit’s 43-2.

“Their bench had a lot more minutes than our bench, so we got to factor that in, but the 20 to nothing run was the deal in the game,” Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said.

Indiana’s offense struggled in the final quarter, scoring just nine points, but the defense held Detroit to 15. The Pistons cut the lead to 11 midway through the period, but wouldn’t get any closer.

“It feels good to get off of this losing streak and build towards something positive,” Pacers forward Paul George said.

George scored 16 to go along with nine rebounds and six assists. Monta Ellis had his best game since donning a Pacers uniform, finishing with 15 points. Finally, George Hill contributed 12 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds.

Detroit’s Andre Drummond was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week and continued his excellent play tonight. The big man scored 25 points on 12-of-17 shooting and grabbed 29 rebounds. Reggie Jackson scored 20 and dished out six assists and Ersan Ilyasova added 12, including two three-pointers, to support Drummond.

Inside The Numbers

Rodney Stuckey’s +/- of +16 was the team-high tonight.

Monta Ellis’ 15 points are the most he’s scored since joining the Pacers.

Paul George led the Pacers in rebounding with nine boards.

Stat of the Night

Indiana’s bench outscored Detroit’s 43-2.

What They’re Saying

“We talked about it (defending) the last two practices, how we can get back on a streak to start winning and how we turn things around. I told everybody that we have to talk to each other on the defensive end and rely on each other on the offensive end; move the ball and play together.” -George Hill

“We were sluggish, didn’t come out with the same intensity. No excuses, we have to get back to who we are.” -Reggie Jackson

“That first win always feels good, especially when you start 0-3, that’s no fun. It hasn’t been a fun couple days for anyone in the organization, so it’s been a little bit edgy and rightfully so, and it’s good to see our guys get after it tonight.” -Frank Vogel

Noteworthy

• Ian Mahinmi left the game after playing just 5:29 with a lower back injury.
• Rodney Stuckey’s 23 points is the most he’s scored in a game since he put up 24 against his former team on April 10, 2015.
• Andre Drummond’s 29 rebounds are tied for the second most ever by an Indiana opponent. Bob McAdoo had 29 against the Pacers on 12/7/76. Dennis Rodman holds the distinction of grabbing the most rebounds ever against Indiana, amassing 33 on 3/4/92.