Pacers shut down Zubac for the season after injury against Blazers
The Pacers lost their 15th consecutive game along with the services of their newly acquired center for the remainders of the season.
The Pacers almost had a rally for the ages leading to a most improbable win against the Trail Blazers. Almost.
Instead they absorbed their 15th straight loss, 127-119 which saw Ivica Zubac exit the game in the second half with a huge knot on his head from an errant elbow. The good news was that a big bump like that is always a good sign there a concussion was avoided.
The bad news is, Zubac had also absorbed a shot to the midsection at some point in the game that was not so visible but did result in a fractured rib, which Dustin Dopirak reported will have Zubac out for the rest of the season. The ‘rest of the season’ sounds like a long time but in reality is just a bit over three weeks in real time and 12 games on the schedule.
Zubac finished the game against the Blazers with 18 points and 8 rebounds in about 23 minutes, but certainly had his hands full with Portland’s young big (and I mean really, really big) Donovan Clingan who was a monster early and finished with a career high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Alas, while Rick Carlisle has indicated Pascal Siakam will return at some point, the benefit of seeing him alongside Zubac has suddenly vanished. Viable reasons to play the vets more than 20-25 minutes are also disappearing as the Pacers face the Spurs, Magic, Lakers, Clippers and Heat in their next five games. The best news to come from the report on Zubac is the realization that this godforsaken season is almost three weeks from completion.
As for the game against the Blazers, the visitors put up 79 first half points and appeared willing and able to sleepwalk their way to a win from there. After amassing a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Pacers deep, deep bench almost caught the Blazers sleeping while nearly catching them on the scoreboard.
The bulk of the damage was done by a small ball lineup of Kam Jones, Taelon Peter, Jalen Slawson, Jarace Walker and Kobe Brown. Their effort brought yet another solid Fieldhouse crowd to life starting with a transition 2-on-1 opportunity that had Jones throwing a lob to Peter at the very tippy top of the rook’s vertical leap, for a lob dunk.
With the lead down to 11, Peter scored five straight points including a 3-ball that had the fans excited. Kobe Brown then turned up the heat following a defensive stop with another three to cut the lead to three. Whoa!
Another stop via a Scoot Henderson charge, had the Pacers with the ball on the attack with 1:20 to go, but Jarace Walker missed a contested shot at the rim. At the other end. Jrue Holiday drained a corner 3-ball and the Blazers put out the fire for good.
Jalen Slawson continued to show up well and take advantage of his opportunity to play, both starting and finishing this game. He ended up with a career-high 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and a steal. Took just 10 shots, no turnovers and tons of effort which was among the reasons the faithful were so inspired by the team’s late run.
Now what?
As mentioned above, the Pacers schedule doesn’t lighten up after playing 6 games in 9 days. After two days off, the team will be in San Antonio on Saturday night to take on the Spurs in the first of 5 challenging games by the following Sunday.
The Spurs played their last game without Stephen Castle but rallied to take down the Heat via a Victor Wembanyama pull up game winner. Wemby will always be a problem. Hopefully, Jay Huff enjoyed his two days off to rest.
Pacers vs. Spurs
Where: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
When: Saturday, March 21, 2026 - 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +10.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: TJ McConnell, Aaron Nesmith, Jarace Walker, Kobe Brown, Ivica Zubac
Spurs: De’Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Harrison Barnes, Victor Wembanyama
Injuries
Pacers: Ivica Zubac (ankle) - questionable, Aaron Nesmith (ankle) - questionable, Andrew Nembhard (back) - questionable, TJ McConnell (hammy) - questionable, Obi Toppin (foot) - questionable, Quentin Jackson (calf) - questionable, Ben Sheppard (ankle) - questionable, Micah Potter (triceps) - questionable, Pascal Siakam (knee) - doubtful, Johnny Furphy (knee) - out, Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) - out
Spurs: Stephen Castle (hip) - questionable, David Garcia (ankle) - out