The Indiana Pacers’ injury report included most of their rotation and four of their five starters. For the Detroit Pistons, it made for a quick night against the worst team in the East.
The Pistons defeated the Pacers at Little Caesars Arena, 121-78. They opened the game with a 23-2 run and never looked back against a team on the second night of a back-to-back missing Pascal Siakam (rest), Aaron Nesmith (rest), Andrew Nembhard (injury management), TJ McConnell (injury management) and Bennedict Mathurin (right thumb sprain).
Advertisement
Indiana also was without All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is out for the season after tearing his Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. In all, the Pacers were missing their top six scorers.
“I think for the NBA in general, these games where the top players aren’t playing, are the hardest,” Pistons wing Javonte Green said afterward. “We just came in with the focus of playing Pistons basketball for 48 minutes. Basketball is a game of runs. They made their runs of course, with a couple players. We stayed in it and pushed forward.”
The Pacers’ final total of 78 points is the lowest total of any NBA team this season, surpassing the Los Angeles Clippers‘ 79 points on Oct. 28. For the game, they held Indiana to 35.4% overall and 22.9% from 3.
The 43-point victory is the largest ever for the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena and is tied for their ninth-largest win ever.
Advertisement
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons (30-10 overall) with 16 points and five assists. Duncan Robinson and Green also scored 16. Jalen Duren added 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists. The Pistons led by as many as 46 points, which they reached with 8:23 to play in the fourth with a fastbreak dunk from Caris LeVert.
The victory also marked the second time in franchise history that the team has won 30 of its first 40 games, joining the 2005-06 team.
MORE: Pistons midseason grades full of A’s and B’s for awesome first half
“I’m excited to just be a part of this team and be a part of this organization,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “It’s not one person ever that does it. It’s organizations that do it, and its players are a huge part of that. So, I give credit for us being in this situation. They work their tails off.”
Advertisement
Cunningham powers Pistons with hot start
The superstar guard led the way for the Pistons as they built a commanding lead early, scoring 11 of their first 20 points. He made his first four shots but missed his next seven entering halftime. It didn’t slow the Pistons’ rhythm, though.
After closing the first quarter with a 20-point advantage, the Pistons proceeded to win the second quarter, 28-14, to enter halftime with a 59-25 lead. The 34-point margin doubled their previous high of 17, set against the Milwaukee Bucks Nov. 22 and Sacramento Kings Dec. 23.
Overall, Cunningham had a much stronger night scoring the ball compared to his 10-point, 11-assist outing on 3-for-16 overall shooting against the Phoenix Suns Thursday, his first game back after missing two with a right wrist contusion. His wrist appeared to still be bothering him two nights ago, and he had it lightly wrapped against the Pacers.
Advertisement
Cunningham’s night ended early, checking out with Jalen Duren for good with 4:10 remaining in the third quarter.
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dribbles in the first half against the Indiana Pacers at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.
Pistons dominate defensively from start to finish
The Pacers scored their first bucket of the night with 9:57 on the clock. Their next field goal wasn’t until the 4:27 mark, five minutes and 30 seconds later. At that point, the Pistons already were up 24-5.
It was a thorough beating by the Pistons, who held the Pacers to just 25 points at halftime on 23.3% shooting. The Pacers missed their first 16 3-point attempts and turned the ball over 13 times in the first half. It was the Pistons’ first time holding an opponent to 25 at halftime since May 3, 2004 – against the New Jersey Nets – according to Pistons PR.
Despite leading by as many as 44 in the third quarter, the Pistons gave the crowd reason to stay engaged with two highlight-reel dunks. The first was a Duren alley-oop on Jay Huff, and the second was a tomahawk by Ron Holland on Isaiah Jackson that led to a 3-point play, extending their lead to 83-42 near the five minute mark of the period.
Advertisement
[ MUST WATCH: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
Want more Pistons updates? Download our free app for the latest news, alerts, eNewspaper and more.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X @omarisankofa.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons score in obliteration of Indiana Pacers