Pacers Notebook: Siakam's game-winning block ends 16-game skid — 'We’re not gonna back down'
Indiana snaps 40-day drought in Orlando, Rick Carlisle details Zubac's injury, David Simon dies at 64, Lloyd Pierce attends Santa Clara game, Eddie White earns Hall of Fame honor
It had been a dark and gloomy 40 days for the Indiana Pacers.
The losses piled up almost as bad as injuries had all season, and they hadn’t tasted victory since the other side of the All-Star break, in Brooklyn on Feb. 11.
There had been several new injuries, including a season-ending rib fracture to newcomer Ivica Zubac, and several others in and out of the lineup. But what we saw after Monday’s game was pure joy experienced by the Pacers.
At last.
It was a reminder that this team was not that bad, this wasn’t a group that should lose a franchise record 16 straight games, as they did.
The Pacers traveled to Orlando on Sunday, refocused, and were challenged by the coaching staff ahead of the second of this road trip before returning home for six of their final 10 games this season.
“A very competitive game,” head coach Rick Carlisle said afterward. “... It felt like a playoff-type game.”
He said they were all disappointed with their performance in San Antonio and the players were challenged to make a stand and raise their collective will. A simple message, but not so easy to execute when they’re already out of contention for the playoffs.
The players delivered.
Led by a season-high 37 points from All-Star Pascal Siakam, the Pacers captured their first win of the month — and in 40 days.
It all came down to the Pacers, who have allowed 127.7 points per game over the last 15 games, getting a stop.
The Magic, trailing by two, called timeout and then got the ball to Paolo Banchero with five seconds remaining. Banchero had his way and produced a season-high 39 points. He drove the right baseline, Jay Huff came over to help, then Siakam recovered to get the block from behind.
A Pacers win, finally, 128-126.
“We gotta get some wins, man,” Siakam said during his on-court interview on FanDuel Sports Network Indiana. “We gotta keep building on the team. It’s been tough; it’s been a tough year for us, man. It shows your character, it’s gonna test you, but that’s life. We’re not gonna back down, we’re gonna keep fighting for each other, keep working.”
(Interesting to me, it was done in the same city where the group first gathered, last September, for a players-only camp at Siakam’s home.)
The Pacers (16-56) led by 10 points after 1 by shooting 63% and keeping the Magic to a 31% clip. But their second quarter woes reappeared and the Pacers allowed 40, which sent them into the locker room trailing by five points.
“We had been allowing too much paint penetration in the second quarter,” said Carlisle. “We had let a double-digit lead turn into a five-point deficit at halftime. I told the guys we’re still in good position, here are the two or three things we’ve got to do better.”
They then leaned on Aaron Nesmith out of the break. He scored 16 of his 19 points in the third, helping the Pacers erupt for a season-high 44 points in the period. They rode his playmaking.
Point guard Andrew Nembhard was solid all night — finishing with 13 points, seven rebounds, and 14 assists while also defending Desmond Bane.
By this point, it was clear the Pacers were all-in on a victory in this one. None of the three two-way players were active, Kobe Brown did not play for the first time since making his Pacers debut, and Carlisle’s rotation was just nine.
That also meant four of the five starters played at least 34 minutes, well above what they have been at recently.
It’s undoubtedly been a difficult month for the team. They need to experience winning again and hope that reinforce their core principles.
More than anything, a standard has to be upheld.
That’s another thing Siakam reiterated in his postgame interview.
“Continue to focus on the basics,” he said. “Like I said, and I’m going to keep saying it, it’s been a hard year for us. So trying not to lose identity, who we are, Pacer basketball. Some of the things that I fell in love coming here and playing for the Pacers, we just want to keep that. It’s something special.
“I know it’s hard and the fans have been so awesome with us, sicking sticking with us, and I just think that at the end, it’s gonna be a reward. I don’t know what it’s gonna be yet, but I just know that with the fight and continue to work and just continue to battle, we’re gonna get out of it.”
The reward the Pacers would like to see? Keeping their top-four pick in the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft, then good health next season.
But for now, on this night, the Pacers locker room got to experience winning together for the first time in too long.
News and Notes
I enjoyed this tweet from Tyrese Haliburton after Iowa State’s 82-63 win over Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Haliburton’s latest color way of his Hali 1 shoe came out last week and it was special to see Carlisle wearing it for several games. I’m not sure anyone took notice, but I sure did. Those little things matter.
And while I mentioned college basketball, I’ll be keeping tabs on Ronald Nored as a potential hire at Butler University after Thad Matta announced his sudden decision to retire one week ago as basketball coach. I wrote about Nored four years ago and the story is still true. “As talented a young coach as I've ever been around,” Rick Carlisle said then.
Micah Potter was wearing what appeared to be padding under his right arm sleeve.
Myles Turner was on another podcast and discussed his exit. If that’s still of interest you, watch it here.
Former Pacer Fred Hoiberg's magical season as head coach at Nebraska continues... A 28-6 record, recording the program’s first NCAA Tournament win, and now a trip to the Sweet Sixteen.
Greg McDermott, father of former Pacer Doug McDermott, announced his retirement from coaching on Monday. He’s the all-time winningest coach in program history at Creighton and is moving on after 16 seasons.
IU head coach Darian DeVries was a longtime assistant on his staff from 2001-18.
The term sheet was finalized by the WNBA and WNBPA on Friday and the players union shared that 100% voted to ratify the deal — with 93% participation from membership. So yes, the players are thrilled with the deal.
A vote of team owners will come this week.
Condolences to Boom head coach Tom Hankins and his family. He was away from the team this past weekend after his mother passed away. Associate head coach Justin Wetzel served as acting head coach.
With a loss on Sunday, the Boom were eliminated from the playoff conversation. They had reached the postseason in each of the last three seasons.
Just one more Boom game left at home this season: Thursday v Cleveland Charge at 7 ET.
Pacers rookie Taelon Peter attended an Indy Ignite volleyball match last week.
David Simon, Nephew of Herb, Passes Away
A member of one of Indiana’s most prominent business families has died.
David Simon, chairman, CEO and president of Simon Property Group, died March 22 following a battle with cancer, the company announced Monday. He was 64.
Simon was the son of the late Mel Simon, who died in 2009, also from cancer.
In 2006, a $50 million donation led to the renaming of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center in his honor.
Headquartered in Indianapolis, Simon Property Group grew into the world’s largest retail real estate company under David Simon’s leadership. He was named CEO in 1995 at age 33 and was a 1983 graduate of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
“My family and I are deeply saddened by my nephew David’s passing,” Pacers owner Herb Simon said in a statement. “I was proud to see him grow into an exceptional and transformative leader whose vision, dedication and discipline helped shape Simon Property Group into the world’s leading retail real estate company. His impact on our family, our community and the real estate industry will be felt for generations to come. We will miss him greatly.”
David and his wife, Jackie, had five children: Eli, Rebecca, Hannah, Sam and Noah.
(Disclosure: As an Indianapolis native, I own shares of SPG.)
Rick Carlisle on Zubac’s Season-Ending Injury
Before leaving Indianapolis last Friday for a two-game road trip, the Pacers announced that center Ivica Zubac had suffered a rib fracture and would miss the rest of the season.
The first time he discussed the injury came Saturday night in San Antonio before the team’s 134-119 loss, their 16th in a row. Here’s what Carlisle shared pregame.
“It happened in the first quarter of the Portland game. He’s not exactly sure when it happened. But later that night, he was having a lot of difficulty sleeping. Didn’t get much sleep at all. Came in the next day and then got the MRI and there’s a non-displaced fracture.
“If you’ve ever had rib stuff, it’s kind of the worst because it breathing bothers it, coughing bothers it, sneezing is impossible and laughing — you just can’t do it. He’s going to be uncomfortable for a while, but he will make a full recovery. It’s a tough break for us because we were looking forward to seeing as much of that core group together as possible and now it’s just not gonna happen.”
Carlisle Backs Kerr on Considering a Shortened Schedule
Several times this season, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has said he’d like the NBA to seriously consider shortening the schedule from 82 games.
The game is played at a different speed, and despite teams’ first-class amenities, can the league make such an adjustment? Carlisle, a Hall-of-Fame worthy coach, was asked for his perspective on March 17 while in New York City.
A change would certainly disrupt records and history, but adaptation is key. As Carlisle noted, the biggest factor is whether it can work financially — because neither players nor owners will want to lose significant revenue.
“It’d be great if it was possible to do that,” he said before the Pacers’ 136-110 loss (via SNY). “There would be a lot involved with it. An obvious big revenue shift. You’re talking about 10-12% of the games being eliminated. … the question is, would everyone be willing to do that if it was deemed that it would really help the game? It’s a lively conversation. I’ve heard Adam (Silver) talk about the possibility of shortening the season slightly, going back a few years.
“The game has changed. One of the compelling aspects of it to me is that when the effort was made to eliminate back-to-backs, in order to have the space to do that, you needed to shorten training camp. So training camp essentially became three weeks instead of four. That extra week to build a base in terms of strength, many layers of protection that you can get for the body, I’ve always wondered if the effort to have less back-to-backs was really worth it. Essentially, you’re playing every other day. But these are all questions.
“There are a lot of great things about today’s game (and) schedule. The longer All-Star break has been a real positive…. To get to the heart of the matter, you’re going to have to talk about the finances of it. I certainly am in agreement that it’s conversation worth having…. (The exact solution) is hard to say… but the nature of the game has changed significantly. Steve is right on point with that. The speed and everything is quite different than it was 5-6 years ago, 3-4 years ago.”
What do you think?
🏀 Tracking Two-Ways
Players on two-way contracts may be active for up to 50 games. To be clear, it’s being designated as active — and not whether they play or not.
Just 10 Pacers games left this season after playing in Orlando, where none of three were active.
Taelon Peter: 9
Ethan Thompson: 9
Jalen Slawson: 8
Lloyd Pierce Attends Alma Mater’s First Tournament Game
Indiana Pacers lead assistant coach Lloyd Pierce was on the verge of seeing his alma mater pull off a stunning upset to begin the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
With the Pacers not having a game on Friday, Pierce made the trip over to St. Louis — about a four-hour drive from Indianapolis — to support the Santa Clara Broncos. He played for the university from 1994-98, and he was part of the program’s last NCAA Tournament appearance in 1996.
Eddie White To Be Inducted Into Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame
You may know him as the host of “Pacers Overtime,” which he refers to as “The World’s Greatest Postgame Show” on 107.5 The Fan. Or you may remember when he co-hosted “Kravitz & Eddie” on the same station more than a decade ago.
Eddie White has seen and done it all in his sports career — and he’s set to receive a special honor this summer.
White will be one of 10 individuals inducted into the Luzerne County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame on June 7 in Wilkes-Barre, Penn.
White, who truly knows just about everyone in sports, spent time at Notre Dame before becoming the director of public relations for the Miami Dolphins. He then worked with NFL and NBA teams while working for Logo Athletic, Reebok and Adidas before moving into media.
Eddie is proud of his Pennsylvania roots and is the most-connected man in Indy. He’s one of 10 members of the Class of 2026.
From the announcement:
EDDIE WHITE III - Sports communications - A native of Wilkes-Barre, a Bishop Hoban High School and Wilkes University grad, White has promoted athletes, coaches and teams through sports communications and marketing on various collegiate and professional levels for 45 years. He lives in Indianapolis, where he works for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, the Indiana Pacers and the Indiana Fever as a senior communications professional. Among his many duties, he hosts the Pacers Overtime post-game radio show. His previous employers included Wilkes, Notre Dame, the Miami Dolphins, Logo Athletic, Reebok, Puma and Adidas. He also hosted a radio show in Indy for ESPN. A popular MC for charity events in Indy, White worked 26 Super Bowls in various capacities for the NFL. He has also performed PR duties at the NBA and WNBA All-Star Games, the NBA and WNBA Finals; and numerous national championship events for multiple NCAA sports, including the NCAA men’s and women’s Final Four; PGA and LPGA events, MLB All-Star Games and major college bowls.