Indiana Pacers win season opener in Detroit

The Indiana Pacers’ season began on Wednesday night on the road against the Pistons. The final score in Detroit was 115-109 in favor of the Pacers. The team is 1-0.

The Indiana Pacers’ season began on Wednesday night on the road against the Pistons. A place head coach Rick Carlisle knows all too well, as he coached Detroit for two seasons in the early 2000s.

Indiana got off to a slow start in this contest, and this Detroit team made them pay for it early. Their new summer acquisitions of Tim Hardaway and Malik Beasley were some of that struggle, but I chalk it up to first-game jitters.

The final score in Detroit was 115-109 in favor of the Pacers. Indiana is 1-0.

• Myles Turner: 20 PTS | 9 REB | 4 AST

• Pascal Siakam: 19 PTS | 8 REB | 9 AST

• Ben Mathurin: 19 PTS | 6 REB | 1 AST

The High:

There were many positive takeaways in the Pacers’ first game of the season. I will highlight a few key players in a moment. One of the more exciting was, that Bennedict Mathurin showed up and played well after returning from season-ending surgery last season.

Mathurin came off the bench tonight but was in the rotation for the game's final minutes. That spot has been Aaron Nesmiths, but Mathurin made his opportunity count. He scored 14 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. Talk about closing the game. Mathurin was a bright spot tonight. What could have been in last season’s playoff run…

Another standout was Myles Turner, particularly his third-quarter performance, where he scored 16 of his 20 points. Turner, now in his 10th season with the Pacers, also had 4 blocks and made 3 three-pointers in tonight’s win.

Finally, how could you leave out T.J. McConnell? He was the spark this team needed when, at one point, they trailed by 10+ points. He went on a mini-run and was a consistent piece in an offense trying to find its rhythm.

Overall this team found a groove in the second half and made plays when it mattered. One thing that was fun to see — the team closed a game and didn’t lose by 1 point. Something that plagued them last season.

The Low:

Rebounding was not ideal in the first half, but the Pacers were playing shorthanded in the center position. To their credit, they bounced back and ended up out-rebounding the Pistons by one as the game ended.

Tyrese Haliburton struggled from the field, going 6/18 in 34 minutes. Nine of those attempts were threes, but he only made one (which ended up being the dagger to close the game). Even so, Haliburton was still effective, and there’s no doubt he’ll find his rhythm.

One thing that stood out: Tyrese had four assists tonight which is abnormal. Usually, when it’s an off-shooting night, which is rare, the assist numbers are there. Again, this is nitpicking. Tyrese still scored 15 points and the team won the game.

The in Between:

James Wiseman was able to play just four minutes of this game before leaving with an injury. This was a non-contact injury and looked like a calf/lower leg issue. He walked off the court on his own power and then was helped to the locker room.

Wiseman played well in his brief stint off the bench, scoring 6 points and grabbing a rebound. He looked comfortable on offense, even taking shots outside the paint. His timing on defense was a bit off, but he showed promise and could have had a solid game off the bench.

Hopefully, this is nothing serious for Wiseman and he can get back into the rotation for Indiana. Isaiah Jackson was out with a groin injury.

Full box score from tonight’s game:

*A side note, this site is back in action. With a much busier schedule towards the end of last season, writing became much tougher. Most of my thoughts are more quickly shared on Twitter, or “X” @zapearsonNBA. Thank you to everyone for the support, and I am happy to say we are back to normal programming.*