Detroit Pistons easily dispatch shorthanded Indiana Pacers, 121-78
Duncan Robinson and Cade Cunningham each scored 16 points in limited minutes as the Detroit Pistons routed the shorthanded Indiana Pacers 121-78 on Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena.
The 43-point margin matched the ninth-biggest win in Pistons franchise history.
The Pacers played without their four leading scorers, with Pascal Siakam resting and Benedict Mathurin (thumb), Andrew Nembhard (back) and Obi Toppin (foot) dealing with injuries. T.J. McConnell, who is sixth on the team in scoring and second in assists, also sat out with a knee problem.
Jalen Duren had 15 points and eight rebounds for Detroit, which got points from 13 players, as the Pistons won for the fifth time in six games.
Jarace Walker led Indiana with 13 points and Tony Bradley added 12. The Pacers had won four of five.
Detroit led by as many as 44 points in the third quarter, around the time that Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff pulled his starters for the night. Duren led the starters with 23 minutes and Cunningham and Robinson were the only others to reach 20.
Indiana started the game looking like a team using a G-League roster. They missed 10 of their first 11 shots and turned the ball over five times as Detroit built a 24-2 lead in the first seven minutes.
It was 59-25 at the half, thanks to the Pacers shooting 23.3% (10-43) from the floor, including 6% (1-18) on 3-pointers, and missing seven of 11 free throws. Cunningham (11), Robinson (10) and Duren (9) outscored the Indiana roster 30-25.
The 25 points was Detroit's best defensive half by 11 points and Indiana's worst offensive half by nine points.
Up next
Indiana: Play their third game in four nights on Monday in Philadelphia.
Detroit: Host the Boston Celtics on Monday.