Pacers Notebook: Road trip struggles, Isaiah Jackson details concussion, Mathurin nearing return, national TV slot dropped
A look at the Pacers’ road trip, injury updates on Isaiah Jackson and Bennedict Mathurin, another national TV change, officials wearing headset, All-Star news, and other NBA notes.
Good evening and welcome back in to Fieldhouse Files. I’m Scott Agness — and back in Indianapolis after spending the last four days in Miami to see Indiana (my alma mater) become the first 16-0 national champion in modern college football. So now coach Curt Cignetti’s team joins Quinn Buckner’s 1976 IU basketball team as the last unbeaten teams in their sport.
I covered a lot of ground in this story. Several news items, a couple health updates, another national TV appearance lost, All-Star starters named, top-selling jerseys unveiled, and more.
As always, I welcome your comments and questions below. Any questions will be used for an upcoming mailbag.
The Pacers’s five-game road trip continued Wednesday in Boston after losses in Detroit (-43) and Philadelphia (-9) over the holiday weekend.
In Detroit, they rested many key players. In Philadelphia, they committed 24 turnovers to the 76ers’ nine. And in Boston, they were then outscored by 10 points in each of the first two quarters — including a costly mid-second quarter run.
Fittingly, here’s what Rick Carlisle told reporters pregame:
This year, with being down some guys, it’s been all about putting 48 minutes together. We’ve had a lot of stretches of games where we’ve been good for three quarters, and not good for the entire game. In the game against Boston — the last one — we built a lead in the third, which helped us down the stretch when it was back-and-forth.
It was a 119-104 loss in Boston, so the Pacers (10-35) dropped to 2-19 in road games this season. The goal each year is above .500 away from home. At least.
Still, Pascal Siakam continues to try to keep this team afloat. He finished with a game-high 32 points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes. It’s the ninth time he’s scored at least 30 points in 43 games — just past the midway point of the season.
It was also his ninth double-double this season after recording 11 one season ago.
“Pascal’s a great player, he’s a great competitor,” Carlisle said postgame. “He has great competitive integrity.”
Notes
Two-way guard Quenton Jackson exited Wednesday’s game in the first half with right ankle soreness. The Pacers are staying on Boston overnight, but Jackson will get scans on Thursday.
“He said he jammed it on a play,” Carlisle said. “Might be some kind of a sprain, might be some kind of a bruise.”
The Pacers signed center Tony Bradley to another 10-day contract on Monday. This final one will take him through their game v. the Bulls on Jan. 28 — then a decision will have to be made. That’s also a week before the trade deadline (Feb. 5).
