East Notes: Pacers, Bennedict Mathurin, Pistons, Magic

Pacers

Coach Rick Carlisle said he was pleased that the Pacers didn’t suffer an In-Season Tournament hangover. Or if they did, they still managed to fight to a road win over the Pistons, now losers of 20 straight.

“This is one of the most difficult games you can have, coming off the emotions of last week, the game on Saturday, the travel and everything else,” Carlisle told reporters. “I just thought our guys did a great job of staying together, keeping their composure and their aggression.

“Detroit is in an all-out attack mode because of their situation.”

• Bennedict Mathurin scored 30 to lead Indiana, Myles Turner added 23 and Tyrese Haliburton had 14 with 16 assists. “This was fun, especially coming off a loss in the tournament,” said Mathurin, who also compiled a career-high eight assists. “I don’t think it is about points for me. It’s about how I impact the game.”

Pistons

The Pistons have now lost a franchise-record 20 straight and are closing in on the NBA record of 26 straight in a single season, held by the 76ers and Cavaliers. 

But coach Monty Williams implied he is at least seeing some fight.

“As much as this losing hurts us, and it hurts like you can’t believe, I see a lot of growth,” Williams told reporters. “I’m encouraged by some of the things we saw tonight. We just need to build on them.”

• Detroit’s longest losing streak over two seasons came between the end of the 1979-80 season and the start of 1980-81, when it lost 21 straight. “We’re still learning that everything we do in the meat of the game has an effect on the end,” Williams added of the current group.

Magic

The Magic avenged a loss in Cleveland last week, topping the Cavaliers by a 104-94 count in Orlando on Monday.

“We knew we didn’t have our best game in Cleveland, and we wanted to show them, and show everybody, that we don’t want to be the doormat anymore,” guard Jalen Suggs told reporters.

• The Cavs had won four straight overall and four straight on the road, so the Magic snapped a coupe of streaks. Meanwhile, surprising Orlando has won 11 of 13.