Pacers move on from rough trip to Atlanta to start 'fourth quarter' of regular season

The Pacers were not ready to go from the tip in their Saturday night loss to the Hawks.

Hopefully the Pacers had a great off day in Atlanta on Friday, otherwise there were nothing worthwhile to remember on the roadie that saw them lose twice to the Hawks in three day.

The Pacers poor energy and execution to start the game on Saturday sure showed signs of a quality off day. After falling down by 10 early, the Pacers rallied back to within four points midway through the first quarter to make it feel like a typical NBA start. But then the Hawks closed the quarter with an 18-4 run,. TJ McConnell had to leave the game with an ankle tweak and the Pacers were in a hole too big to overcome in the end despite having a few possessions to do so late, before losing 120-118.

The Pacers did win each of the last three quarters, so that was good. Bennedict Mathurin returned and scored 30 points while also playing quite well on the defensive end in spurts against Trae Young. Also, good.

But the late game execution with the win sitting there for the taking, similar to the loss on Thursday, would make even the most casual Pacers fan audibly gasp. Pascal Siakam, who always has to do the heavy lifting with Tyrese Haliburton out, brought about the biggest gasp when he burst to the hoop for a layup with less than a second remaining and the Pacers down three. All-time buzzkill, just pack up and get out of town moment.

20 games to go

The loss moved the Pacers to 35-27 overall while they somehow maintained pace with the Bucks and Pistons for the 4th thru 6th spots in the Eastern Conference standings. The Bucks also lost their last two games while the Pistons split their last two. So the Pacers are a half game behind the Bucks and a half game ahead of the Pistons.

The Pacers schedule has them playing four of their next five games on the road starting on Monday night in Chicago. The lone home game is Tuesday against the Bucks on TNT. Hopefully, Haliburton will at least be ready to play the Bucks if not the Bulls on Monday. He remains questionable along with McConnell which obviously puts a severe strain on the Pacers backcourt rotation.

Following the road-heavy five game stretch, the Pacers finish the season with 11 of their final 15 games at home. Now three of the four road games are no joke, playing at OKC, Denver and Cleveland. Although the Cavs game is the last game of the season and Cleveland will likely best in playoff prep mode, if the Pacers need that win.

Regardless, nothing matters at this point more than the health of the team, particularly Haliburton. He went out after playing at such a high level, so not only his return, but returning at that level making all around him better (hello, Myles Turner) is what any success this team has for the remainder of the regular season and into the playoffs hinges on.

At this point, the Pacers have put themselves in position to finish no worse than sixth in the East, but the two losses in Atlanta highlighted how important the final quarter of the season will be for the team to get healthy and have their level of play trending back in a positive direction to close out the season which will ultimately be more important than their final spot in the standings.

Pacers vs. Bulls

Where: United Center, Chicago, IL

When: Monday, Mar. 10, 2025, 8:00 p.m. ET

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

Odds: Pacers -6

Projected Starters

Pacers: Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner

Bulls: Tre Jones, Coby White, Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, Zach Collins

Injuries

Pacers: TJ McConnell (ankle) - questionable, Tyrese Haliburton (hip) - questionable, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out

Bulls: Coby White (toe) - probable, Nikola Vucevic (calf) - questionable, Patrick Williams (quad) - questionable, Lonzo Ball (wrist) - doubtful, Ayo Dosunmu (shoulder) - out