Pacers turn back Pistons’ comeback attempt

Myles Turner poured in 28 points and the visiting Indiana Pacers defeated the Detroit Pistons 111-100 on Thursday night.

Pascal Siakam contributed 26 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals, while Tyrese Haliburton had 17 points and eight assists. Andrew Nembhard added 12 points and six assists as Indiana won for the seventh time in eight games.

Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Pistons with 25 points. Cade Cunningham had 20 points and nine assists, and Jalen Duren racked up 17 points, 17 rebounds and two blocked shots.

The Pacers finished the first half on a 14-5 run to take a 69-56 halftime lead. Detroit put itself in the hole with sloppy play, committing 13 turnovers in the half.

The frontcourt duo of Turner and Siakam did most of the damage for the Pacers. Turner had 19 points, including five 3-pointers. Siakam supplied 18 points as Indiana shot 52.1 percent from the field. Hardaway carried the Pistons with 17 points, while Cunningham was held to seven on 2-of-7 shooting.

After Detroit’s Tobias Harris scored the first basket of the second half, the Pacers continued to build their lead. They went on an 8-0 run to take a 77-58 lead. Turner continued to fire away, knocking down two more 3-pointers in that span.

Indiana coach Rick Carlisle called a timeout after the Pistons pulled within 15 points. Indiana quickly increased the advantage to 20 at 84-64 on a 3-pointer by Haliburton and a layup by Obi Toppin. From that point, the Pistons started chipping away.

Detroit finished the quarter with a 17-8 run to cut the Pacers’ lead to 92-81. Cunningham had five points and two assists during that span.

The Pistons also scored the first five points of the fourth to make it 92-86. The Pacers stretched the lead to 105-92 on Turner’s trey with 3:12 left. Hardaway’s three-point play with 2:02 remaining cut Indiana’s lead to 107-100.

Siakam made a midrange basket as the shot clock expired for a nine-point advantage with 1:37 to play.