Pacers 94, Pistons 82
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Rodney Stuckey scored 23 points off the bench and the Indiana Pacers notched their first victory of the season by downing the previously unbeaten Detroit Pistons 94-82 on Tuesday night at The Palace.
The former Pistons point guard made 9 of 14 field goal attempts and 5 of 6 free throws for the Pacers (1-3). Indiana power forward Paul George supplied 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists, point guard George Hill contributed 12 points and six assists and shooting guard Monta Ellis added 15 points.
Indiana converted 23 Detroit turnovers into 30 points. The Pacers bench outscored the Pistons' reserves 43-2.
Center Andre Drummond recorded his second consecutive 20-20 game for the Pistons (3-1) with 25 points and a career-high 29 rebounds. His second career 25-25 game matches the amount recorded by the rest of the league since his rookie season of 2012.
Detroit point guard Reggie Jackson contributed 20 points and six assists but also committed six turnovers.
Hill and Stuckey sparked a 22-0 outburst, including the first 20 points of the second quarter that gave the Pacers a 14-point lead. Hill piled up eight points and two assists during that span, while Stuckey had six points and two assists.
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy had to bring back his starters quicker than he would have liked to stop the run but Indiana carried the momentum to a 59-47 halftime lead. Hill collected 12 points, five assists and four steals by the break while Drummond led Detroit with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The Pacers inched their lead up to 17 early in the third and led by double digits throughout the quarter. George's 3-pointer after a Jackson turnover made it 75-60. Stuckey later had back-to-back three-point plays, the second off a giveaway by Detroit guard Spencer Dinwiddie, to nudge the lead to 85-65.
Indiana center Ian Mahinmi left the game with a sore lower back.
NOTES: Pistons C Andre Drummond's three double-doubles last week gave him a league-high 108 since the start of the 2013-14 season. ... Drummond and the Pistons mutually agreed to put off a contract extension until July. That saved Detroit approximately $12.7 million in salary-cap space. "We would have given up far more cap space than anyone's ever given up to do an extension," coach Stan Van Gundy said. ... Indiana hasn't lost its first four games of the season since the 1988-89 team dropped its first nine outings. ... The Pacers won five of the teams' previous six meetings at The Palace. The all-time series was tied at 89-89 heading into Tuesday. ... Indiana assigned PFs Rakeem Christmas and Shayne Whittington to its Development League affiliate in Fort Wayne on Monday. ... Entering the game, Detroit led the NBA in rebounds per game (54.3) and offensive rebounds (17.0).