The defending NBA Cup runner-up, the Indiana Pacers, will have the chance to play spoiler when they host the Detroit Pistons in tournament play on Friday night.
While the Pacers are technically still in contention for the Eastern wild-card spot in the quarterfinals, their losses to the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks earlier this month have left them at the bottom of the East Group B standings.
For Indiana to advance, they need to win both against the Pistons and on Tuesday against the Toronto Raptors by large margins to improve their point differential. Additionally, they will have to hope for a tie among the second-place teams with 2-2 records for the Eastern wild-card spot.
The Pistons, having already defeated the Heat and Raptors, are in a better position to advance even if they lose to the Pacers.
They will conclude Cup round-robin play on Tuesday at home against the Bucks, who currently lead the group with a 3-0 record.
A victory over the Bucks, regardless of Friday’s outcome, would give Detroit the Group B title due to a head-to-head tiebreaker over Milwaukee.
Beating Indiana would also allow the Pistons to potentially lose to the Bucks and still earn the East’s wild-card spot at 3-1 via a point-differential tiebreaker, in which Detroit currently stands at plus-4.
The Pacers come into the matchup in better form, having beaten the Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans, and Portland Trail Blazers to start a four-game homestand.
Tyrese Haliburton stepped up in Wednesday’s 121-114 win over the Trail Blazers, finishing with 28 points. The star guard started the game wearing a plastic mask to protect a bruised nose sustained in the previous outing against New Orleans but removed it after missing three of his first five shots as Portland took an early lead.
Haliburton was held to 15 points on Opening Night when the Pacers won 115-109 at Detroit in the clubs’ only previous meeting this season. Myles Turner (20 points) and Pascal Siakam (19 points) led the way.
The Pistons have lost four of their last five games, including three consecutive road losses. They fell 131-111 to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
Improved defense has been key to Detroit’s earlier Cup wins over the Heat and Raptors. The Pistons held Miami to 111 points in regulation during an overtime win and kept Toronto to just 95 points in a four-point victory.
