DETROIT – The Indiana Pacers started their 2024-25 season on Wednesday night with a battle against the Pistons in Detroit. It wasn't pretty and the Pacers struggled for most of the first 30 minutes or so of the game. But they found enough periods of success to give themselves a chance late on and slammed the door with a strong finish.

“Very physical, very emotional and typical opening game. Very difficult,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “(We were) down nine points at halftime. They had momentum and then we were able to throw a 19-point defensive quarter at them. At one point we had six or seven stops in a row, and that was really crucial for us to change momentum.”

The Pacers defense came alive in the final quarter. They looked more physical on the glass and were generally more effective as they forced the Pistons to respond to their play. Detroit missed some good plays, but Indiana was able to punish them in a way they hadn't earlier in the game.

The hosts scored just 19 points in that fourth quarter, and young guard Bennedict Mathurin took over the Pacers' offense and led his team to victory. Mathurin scored 14 of his 19 points in the final quarter.

Myles Turner shined early in the second half while Pascal Siakam was quietly dominant throughout the evening. Despite a slow start and a sluggish offense, the Pacers did enough to win. They are 1-0 and play the New York Knicks on Friday.

You can find out more about the game in the video below.

“Good teams find a way to win. The rest doesn't matter. I think we just had to find a way to win and we did,” Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton said after the game.