The Central Division’s final two spots are held by Detroit and Indiana. In the Pacers’ home finale on Friday night, the lottery-bound teams will play their second-to-last games of the season.
The race to the finish line is a slog for both clubs. Indiana (34-46) has lost eight out of the last ten games and six of its last seven. Detroit (16-64) has lost 22 of its last 23 games and 11 in a row.
Due to an injury to his ankle, All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton has missed the Pacers’ last five games. They still lost to the New York Knicks on Wednesday, scoring 129 points without him.
In spite of the absence of leading scorers Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, New York prevailed 138-129 by scoring 32 or more points in each quarter.
Coach Rick Carlisle was also forced to use a improvised lineup because the Pacers played without center Myles Turner.
The Pacers tried to come back the rest of the night after New York took a 32-14 lead.
T.J. McConnell, a veteran guard who came off the bench, scored 18 points and had 12 assists in 22 minutes to keep the Pacers within striking distance. In his last eight games, McConnell has scored an average of 14.5 points.
On Wednesday, the depleted Pistons held their ground against Brooklyn for the majority of the game, but they were outscored 27-18 in the fourth quarter to lose 123-108. The night before, Detroit lost to Miami by 13 points despite having a point lead with less than five minutes left.
The Pistons lost establishment player Cade Cunningham to a shin injury from the get-go in the season and have played without various turn players as of late. The growth of rookies Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey has given hope for the future. Duren had 18 points and eight rebounds, while Ivey had 23 points and 10 assists against the Nets.
