The Indiana Pacers will attempt to avoid some ugly history when they travel to face the Orlando Magic in a Sunday matinee.
Indiana has lost 11 in a row and another loss Sunday would match the franchise record, which happened three times previously. At 6-29, the Pacers currently have the worst record in the NBA.
“It’s difficult to put together four great quarters, in our situation we’re down a couple of guys and we still have guys that are getting back into it,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after Friday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs. “Those are obvious reasons, but execution has to be better, simple as that.”
Carlisle has been stuck on 999 career wins since Dec. 8.
Already without star Tyrese Haliburton, who was hurt in last year’s NBA Finals, the Pacers are missing Obi Toppin for at least another month after foot surgery.
Pascal Siakam leads the Pacers with 23.5 points a game, but Indiana ranks last in the NBA in shooting percentages overall (43.8) and from 3-point range (33.2).
Bennedict Mathurin has been expected to carry a share of the offensive load, and has put up 17.8 points a night, but only had two against the Spurs in 19 minutes while dealing with foul trouble.
“Look, this is the opportunity of a lifetime for Benn Mathurin,” Carlisle said to the Indianapolis Star. “He’s starting, he’s second on the team in minutes played with, I think 33 a game. There’s a great opportunity here. And we have to work at helping him adjust to his level of responsibility. This is a lot.”
Only four of the Pacers’ 11 losses in the skid have been by single digits, but one of those was on New Year’s Eve to the Magic, when Paolo Banchero scored with 7.5 seconds left to lift Orlando to a 112-110 win.
Orlando has alternated losses and wins the last nine games and floundered late in a loss at Chicago on Friday. The Magic got back point guard and defensive ace Jalen Suggs against the Bulls, but he only played 20 minutes and had to leave in the third quarter after a hard fall on his knee.
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said he hoped the injury wasn’t too bad and said Suggs would be reevaluated back in Orlando.
Frustration is starting to set in for Orlando, which is giving up 115.1 points per game compared to 105.5 last season. Desmond Bane, brought over in a blockbuster trade with Memphis to give the Magic a boost outside, is shooting 34.5% from 3-point range, well off his career average of 40.5%.
“We’ve just got to come out and play better home or away, it doesn’t really matter,” Magic guard Anthony Black said. “We’re just not playing up to our standard right now.”
There could be good news on the horizon for the Magic. There was a TV report before the game against the Bulls that both Franz and Moritz Wagner would be back “within the next week.” Franz Wagner has been out since Dec. 7 with an ankle sprain, while Moritz Wagner tore his left ACL in December of 2024.
