By TYLER SMITH

ISL Editor

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers lost 26 games all of last season. At the halfway point of this season, they have already matched that total. Injuries and close losses have plagued this season, and Friday was no exception. Andre Drummond made a tip-in with 0.3 seconds left, giving the Detroit Pistons a 98-96 victory over the Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Heading into a favorable stretch of games schedule-wise, the Pacers were hoping to capitalize and make a run. Instead, they have dropped three consecutive games to the 76ers, Timberwolves, and Pistons.

After a close 1st half, the Pacers started the 2nd half on an 11-2 run, giving themselves a 62-51 lead. The hot shooting of Pistons guard Brandon Jennings closed the gap in a hurry and it set the stage for the 4th quarter. “It’s the NBA. Leads don’t mean anything,” Roy Hibbert said after the game. “We’ve got to find a way to finish.”

Jennings finished the night with 37 points, including 8-of-13 from behind the arc. He also made two big free throws down the stretch on a questionable foul call against Solomon Hill. Pacers Coach Frank Vogel wasn’t pleased with the call: “He (Hill) doesn’t get any respect from the officials. It wasn’t a foul.”

There was another questionable call on the other end against Roy Hibbert in the final minute. He got called for an offensive foul with 23.9 seconds remaining, which led to the Drummond tip-in winner. The Pacers had an opportunity to go two-for-one in that situation and chose not to.

It was a rough shooting night for both C.J. Miles and C.J. Watson. They combined to shoot 3-for-13 on the night. The Pacers got a nice lift off the bench from Damjan Rudez who scored 13 points in 16 minutes. He was a plus+17 on the night.

“It hurts to lose like this” Roy Hibbert said. “We’ve been playing some good point guards and have to do a better job on them.”

Despite a disappointing 15-26 record through the first half of the season, the Pacers still find themselves in the playoff hunt in the weak Eastern Conference. However, they are just as close to 13th in the East as they are 8th. With a five game road trip coming up next, they will try to turn things around.

Follow Tyler on Twitter: @TylerSmith_ISL

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