Three quick observations from Saturday night’s 115-109 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse
TURNOVER TROUBLE – The Pistons pounded Indiana inside, outrebounding them 62-39, but squandered their advantage in possessions all of that rebounding created by turning it over to the Pacers 18 times to a mere five Indiana turnovers. It ultimately came down to which team could do a better job covering up its deficiency and Indiana limited the Pistons’ second-chance points down the stretch while the Pistons continued to turn it over at inopportune times. T.J. McConnell had two big steals – ripping the ball from Killian Hayes’ grasp, leading to a Caris LeVert with 3:41 to play for a three-point Indiana lead, intercepting Mason Plumlee’s backcourt pass with 1:30 left and the Pistons trailing by six – to disrupt a comeback try for the Pistons. The game was back and forth all night, a 12-0 Indiana run spanning the first and second quarters creating a 15-point Pacers lead answered by a 15-2 Pistons run. The Pistons, taking advantage of a Pacers roster depleted by injury, outscored Indiana 36-23 in the second quarter to take a three-point halftime lead, ending the quarter on a 12-2 run. The Pistons took the lead to eight points midway through the third quarter but Indiana went on a 10-0 run as the Pistons managed just five points over the last six minutes of the quarter. And a late 12-0 run by Indiana erased a four-point Pistons lead. Jerami Grant led the Pistons with 25 points. Indiana had three starters with more than 20 points, led by Caris LeVert and Malcolm Brogdon with 26 each. Indiana swept the season series from the Pistons, 3-0.