Pacers begin road trip with a snoozer, on the Philly
The Pacers rested key players while playing on a back-to-back against the Pistons and were run out of the gym from the tip.
The Pacers won the opening tip in Detroit and even that wasn’t easy. Jalen Duren actually controlled the tip, but Quenton Jackson fought through a couple of Pistons to snatch the ball and draw a foul. That’s where the winning ended for the Pacers.
QJack missed a shot on the opening possession and the Pistons answered with a Duncan Robinson 3-ball at the other end. After two minutes, the Pistons were up 9-0. Then over the next five minutes the lead burst to 24-2. While the Pacers did score some points, the game didn’t improve much as the Pistons won, 121-78. Oof city.
Playing on a back-to-back, the Pacers decided to give a few key players a breather, holding out Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith and TJ McConnell. Benn Mathurin remains close to returning but was also out.
So the Pacers threw their more inexperienced players to the wolves and it wasn’t pretty. Not only did the Pacers play somewhere between an actual Pacers game and Boom game, but the Pistons were happy to pound the Pacers and seemed to take pleasure in flipping the script from the past two years even if it was obvious, the Pacers were severely short-handed. Congrats, I guess.
It wasn’t like the young Pacers rolled over, but they simply didn’t execute well and could not make a shot, which buried them early. The Pacers shots just 4 of 20 in the first quarter and for the game missed their first 18 threes in the first half before Jarace Walker made one.
The one piece of good news to come from the miserable loss was the return of Isaiah Jackson who played off the bench and made 2 of the 4 buckets in the first quarter. He ended up playing about 17 minutes, scored 10 points with 5 rebounds. He also took a tough shot to the chin around the rim which was the last thing you want to see coming off a concussion, but he shook off the initial shock and was able to keep playing.
All of the bigs played in this one, including Tony Bradley on the last day of his 10-day contract. Rick Carlisle mentioned that the Pacers intend to sign Bradley to another 10-day contract. With the return of IJax, Bradley will be immediate support while Micah Potter may remain out of the normal rotation.
The road trip continues when the Pacers play their MLK Day game against the 76ers on Monday evening. The Sixers have lost their last two games and have busy schedule this week matchup with the Pacers will be the first half of a back-to-back for Philly, with Phoenix on Tuesday and then Houston on Thursday. That’s why Paul George and Joel Embiid are on the injury report as questionable.
It would make sense that the Sixers would save their full lineup for a more challenging game against the Suns, although the need for a win may change that thought process. May try to win and manage the minutes for Embiid and PG. However, the Pacers should be rested and ready after essentially taking their Saturday night game off.
Pacers vs. 76ers
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
When: Monday, January 19, 2026 - 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +8.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Johnny Furphy, Pascal Siakam, Jay Huff
76ers: Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecomb, Paul George, Dominick Barlow, Joel Embiid
Injuries
Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin (thumb) - out, Obi Toppin (hammy) - out, Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) - out
76ers: Joel Embiid (knee) - questionable, Paul George (knee) - questionable