Indiana Pacers hope to avoid record NBA losing streak when they host Cleveland Cavaliers
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Pascal Siakam has been a bright spot in the Indiana Pacers' wretched NBA season, averaging 23.8 points per game.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LOS ANGELES – The Indiana Pacers have had four 12-game losing streaks since joining the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976.
They could make history with their unlucky 13th in a row on Jan 6 (Jan 7, Singapore time) against the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
Desmond Bane scored 31 points and Paulo Banchero had 28 points and 12 rebounds on Jan 4 as the Orlando Magic beat Indiana 135-127, sending the Pacers to a 12th straight loss to match those in the 1982-83, 1984-85 and 1988-89 seasons.
Pascal Siakam continued his strong season with 34 points, Aaron Nesmoith scored 25 points and Andrew Nembhard had 20 points and 11 assists for Indiana, who lost for the 30th time in 36 games after reaching the NBA Finals last season.
“There are positives,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’re making progress. We’ll look at all this stuff, but I was very proud of the way we battled.”
Indiana led by 12 points in the first quarter at Orlando but promptly gave up a 17-0 run in the second that saw them fall apart at both ends of the court.
Siakam made things interesting with a 20-point third quarter that jump-started a Pacers comeback, which peaked when Nembhard put them ahead with 7:29 left in the fourth.
But Bane answered with a basket and the Magic never looked back. Orlando beat the Pacers for the second time in five days.
“The stretch in the second quarter, that’s what we’ve got to address,” Carlisle said in his post-game press conference. “Any long offensive or defensive droughts, most times they’re related.”
Indiana have gone 0-2 against the Cavaliers this season, losing 120-109 at Cleveland on Nov 21 and 135-119 at home on Dec 1.
Donovan Mitchell torched the Pacers for 75 total points in those games, admitting that Indiana’s five-game upset of the Cavaliers in the 2025 Eastern Conference semi-finals continues to fuel him.
Cleveland, however, have not recovered from that series loss and sit outside of a top-six play-off position in the conference as one of the NBA’s biggest disappointments.
“It comes down to decision-making, trying to do the right things,” Mitchell said. “But sometimes it’s just dumb, dumb things. Communication, coverage, rebounding. Things we need to improve on.”
The Cavaliers are coming off a 114-110 home loss on Jan 4 to the East-leading Detroit Pistons, who were without starting centre Jalen Duren (ankle) and power forward Tobias Harris (hip).
Mitchell scored 23 of his 30 points in the second half and Darius Garland had 16 points.
But they were outshone by the Pistons’ Daniss Jenkins, who erupted for 21 points without a miss in the second quarter and finished with 25 points off the bench.
Cleveland’s three-game winning streak was snapped, and they lost for the first time to ex-coach J.B. Bickerstaff since he took over in Detroit. “We should have won this game and we didn’t,” Mitchell said.
Cavaliers’ centre Jarrett Allen was a game-time scratch with an illness that has lasted two weeks, while power forward Dean Wade is out with a bruised left knee.
Sam Merrill, playing through a series of injuries, made five three-pointers for his 15 points while moving into the starting line-up as a result of Allen and Wade being out.
“We threw some punches, they threw some punches, but when you’re playing against a really good team, your little mistakes get maximised,” Merrill said of the Pistons. REUTERS
