The Indiana Pacers are now 11-8 on the season following their 111-100 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.
After a slow start in the first quarter, the Pacers never managed to take control of this game. They were outscored in each of the opening three quarters by a combined 13 points.
Indiana did manage to outscore San Antonio in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t by nearly enough. The 31-29 advantage that the Pacers had in the final period was enough to result in an 11-point loss.
The Pacers were without Victor Oladipo and Myles Turner in this game. As a result of key absences, Domantas Sabonis started at center, Tyreke Evans started at shooting guard, and Kyle O’Quinn filled the backup center role.
As for the Spurs, they were without Pau Gasol, Dejounte Murray, and Lonnie Walker. The only short-term injury on their injury report is Gasol and him being out resulted in LaMarcus Aldridge starting at center and Rudy Gay serving as the starting power forward.
Here are five takeaways from the Pacers’ loss to the Spurs: