NBA Game Preview - Indiana at Detroit

Mon Oct 28, 2019 7:00 PM EDT

The Indiana Pacers will be seeking revenge and their first victory of the season when they visit Detroit on Monday.

The Pistons spoiled Indiana's home opener Wednesday by rallying in the fourth quarter for a 119-110 victory. Indiana's defensive woes continued at Cleveland on Saturday as the Cavaliers captured a 110-99 win.

The two Central Division foes shot a combined 51.3 percent overall and 40 percent from 3-point range.

"We're professional basketball players. That can't happen. It has to stop happening. ... Everybody has to take it personally and bring it out onto the court," Pacers center Domantas Sabonis told the Indianapolis Star.

"We don't come out with any urgency," guard Malcolm Brogdon said to Pacers.com. "We pick up our urgency when we're down 15 or 20."

The rebuilding Cavaliers, considered the weakest team in the division, led by 24 in the third quarter.

"They pretty much did whatever they wanted. We're not stopping anyone," coach Nate McMillan said. "They dominated the paint once again. More physical than we were throughout this game."

McMillan's team was dominated in the lane by Detroit center Andre Drummond on opening night, as he piled up 32 points and 23 rebounds. Reserve swingman Luke Kennard provided the perimeter punch, pouring in a career-high 30 points with six 3-pointers.

Brogdon is averaging 26.0 points and 10.5 assists in his first two games for Indiana, which is still waiting for star player Victor Oladipo to fully recover from a serious quad injury he suffered last season. Shooting guard Jeremy Lamb missed Saturday's game with a bruised right hip.

The Pistons are operating without All-Star forward Blake Griffin, who has yet to make his season debut due to hamstring and knee injuries. Detroit has lost two home games since its trip to Indianapolis.

Point guard Reggie Jackson missed the Pistons' 117-111 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday with a sore lower back.

Without them, the offense tends to stall until coach Dwane Casey can get Derrick Rose and Kennard in the game.

"You're holding your breath. Guys are working their behinds off," he said. "They're playing hard. We've got to learn to do it as a team until we get Blake back, get Reggie back, whenever that is."

Rose is averaging 25.3 points in his first three games as a Piston, but Casey must be wary of overusing the oft-injured veteran point guard.

"I just wish we had more time to play him," Casey said. "I'm sitting there watching the clock. Medically, he can't. I would love to play him 40 minutes, but just can't do it. He stirs the drink. He makes things happen. No disrespect to the guys who start, but we're just kind of buying minutes for him to get in there."

The Pistons had a 13-point, third-quarter lead against the Sixers, who were playing without star center Joel Embiid. But they couldn't hold it due to a combination of 23 turnovers, 15 missed free throws and Drummond's foul trouble, which limited him to 25 minutes.

"That was a big miss for us (Saturday)," reserve guard Langston Galloway told the team's website. "We had them on the ropes. They were about to give up."

--Field Level Media