Siakam, Haliburton combine for 45 points as Pacers rout short-handed Pistons
DETROIT (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 25 points and eight rebounds, Tyrese Haliburton added 20 points and nine assists, and the Indiana Pacers routed the short-handed Detroit Pistons 122-103 on Wednesday night.
Aaron Nesmith added 14 points as the Pacers (39-31) swept the four-game season series from the Pistons. The game was the first on 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 makeshift Pistons lineup struggled to defend the highest-scoring offense in the league, and couldn’t make up for it on the other end. The Pistons missed 12 of their first 15 3-pointers before Evan Fournier hit one in transition in the last minute of the third.
The Pacers led 98-78 going into the fourth and quickly emptied the bench. Haliburton didn’t 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.
UP NEXT
Pacers: At the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
Pistons: Host the Boston Celtics on Friday.