Pacers lose franchise-record 13th straight, leaving coach stuck one win shy of 1,000
The Pacers are on pace for a 13-win season, which would tie the 1998-99 Bulls for the fewest by a team that made the previous finals.
The Indiana Pacers set a new franchise record with their 13th straight loss Tuesday, falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-116.
The Pacers led by as many as nine points early on, but they couldn’t overcome the Cavaliers’ size, as illustrated by Cleveland’s outscoring Indiana 64-42 on points in the paint. Center Jay Huff scored a season-high 20 points and made 4 of 7 3-point attempts, but All-Star forward Pascal Siakam had a rough night offensively (9-of-23 shooting).
The Pacers led 60-53 at halftime, but the Cavaliers pulled away in the fourth quarter thanks to a 36-23 advantage in the final frame, during which Cleveland’s Darius Garland scored 14 of his 29 game-high points. The Cavaliers also held a 57-43 advantage in rebounds.
This is the fourth time (1989, 1985 and 1983) the Pacers franchise has endured a losing streak of at least 12 games. The Pacers won at least 20 games in each of those seasons. At 6-31, the Pacers are on pace for their lowest single-season win percentage in history.
Tuesday’s loss also keeps head coach Rick Carlisle at 999 career regular-season wins, leaving him one shy of becoming the 11th coach in NBA history to reach 1,000 for their career. He’s been stuck at this figure since Dec. 8. Bucks head coach Doc Rivers is the only active coach with 1,000 regular-season wins. This defeat also puts the Pacers on pace for a 13-win season, which would tie the 1998-99 Chicago Bulls for the fewest by a team that made the NBA Finals in the previous season.
The most recent comparable would be the 2019-20 Golden State Warriors, who were coming off a finals loss to the Toronto Raptors and went 15-50 due to injuries. Those Warriors lost Kevin Durant via free agency and Klay Thompson to an ACL tear. Golden State finished that season ranked last in net rating (minus-8.6).
Like the Pacers, that Warriors team also missed its star point guard, as Stephen Curry played in a career-low five games, shooting a career-worst 40.2 percent and making only 24.5 percent of his 3-pointers.
The Warriors drafted James Wiseman second that year, and the Sacramento Kings selected Tyrese Haliburton with the 12th pick.