Pacers reach franchise record 14-game losing streak after all-to-familiar loss to Knicks
The worst it has ever been for the Pacers.
MY OFFICE, Ind. – Pacers-Knicks is never dull, and Tuesday night was no different. For three quarters, neither team could miss. It was 105-91 entering the fourth quarter, a high-scoring game that was nearly decided but not impossible for the Pacers to win.
Yet in the end, the Knicks scored over 130 points and won with a final scoring margin in the double digits. That's happened to the Pacers... well, a lot since the All-Star break. In fact, during their ongoing 14-game losing streak, half of the games have fit that description.
- February 12: Wizards 131, Pacers 118
- February 24: 76ers 135, Pacers 114
- February 26: Hornets 133, Pacers 109
- March 4: Clippers 130, Pacers 107
- March 9: Trail Blazers 131, Pacers 111
- March 15: Bucks 134, Pacers 123
- March 17: Knicks 136, Pacers 110
And that list doesn't include the Mavericks scoring 134 in a four-point win, the Lakers scoring 128 in an 11-point win, or the Grizzlies scoring 125 in a 19-point win. Including those three, 10 of the Pacers 14 games can be defined by similar characteristics.
Tony East
In New York on Tuesday night, the Pacers held on for a while. Outside of a 15-2 Knicks run to close the first half, most of the first 36 minutes in Madison Square Garden were competitive and offensively-exciting. Both teams could create good shots and made them. The Pacers had 31 assists, the Knicks 38.
Both teams shot in the low 50s in terms of field goal percentage. Many players reached double figures in scoring, and T.J. McConnell had a double-double for the first time this season. But the Pacers got smoked and fell to 15-54.
"They played a championship caliber game tonight. They were dominant on the boards, they were dominant shooting the ball. They were dominant in the ball security department," head coach Rick Carlisle said of the Knicks postgame. "Give them a lot of credit. They moved it. We didn't play with enough presence to get them out of any rhythm at all."
The Pacers defense was costly. That's not new. They have the NBA's worst defense since the All-Star break by a wide margin and have shown no signs of getting back on track on that end of the floor. While the Pacers scored easily for three quarters, the Knicks did so without resistance for basically 48 minutes.
The other issue for the Pacers, once which hasn't always been a problem, was the possession battle. The Knicks were +13 on the glass and +8 in the turnover department. Despite nearly identical field goal percentages, New York won by 26 – they attempted 15 more shots and six more free throws.
Jarace Walker and Quenton Jackson combined for nine turnovers, as many as the entire New York team. Jalen Brunson wasn't even available. Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns pulled in 10 offensive rebounds, more than the Pacers entire roster. They've given Ivica Zubac trouble on the glass multiple times in the last week, something Zubac was self-critical about last week.
"Zubac is going to be a great fit for us. There were a lot of good stretches of offense in the first half. And we've got to build on the positives," Carlisle said postgame. "This is a very difficult stretch of games right now, five games in seven days all against playoff teams... so it's an opportunity to work on our game, obviously the basics. But we're going to be looking at the basic categories." He then mentioned rebounding, points in the paint, and ball security as some of those areas.
Truly, everything has been an issue for the blue and gold at times since the All-Star break. That's why they haven't won a game. At 15-54, they are guaranteed one of the worst seven seasons in franchise history. And, if their current win percentage holds, it could end up as the outright worst. Of course, the Pacers have strong incentive to finish with a bottom-three record. That does not make these losses positive on their own, especially as young players look to develop and veterans look to learn something about themselves and their teammates.
They'll try to get back on track tonight against Portland. If they can't, the Pacers will extend what is now the longest losing streak in franchise history.
The most consecutive losses in franchise history
Entering the season, the Pacers had never lost more than 12 games in a row in franchise history, including their ABA days. Before 2022, they hadn't lost a dozen games in a row since the 1980s.
They closed the 2021-22 season with 10-straight losses, then went 0-2 to start the following campaign. That split streak marked the first 12-game losing streak this century.
Then, the ongoing season happened. The Pacers started 1-13. They lost a then-record 13 games in a row from December 12 to January 6. Including the NBA Cup break, they didn't win a game for a full calendar month.
That's happening again right now. The last Pacers win? February 11 in Brooklyn before the All-Star break. Kam Jones hit a late game winner. Since then, the Pacers have lost all 14 of their games. This 2025-26 group now stands alone as the losingest bunch ever, surpassing... a different version of the team from earlier this season.
The reasons are obvious. They've been injured and cautious. Losses keep them in the bottom three of the NBA standings, where they have the best lottery odds. Young players, new players, and inexperienced players are getting more playing time. Injuries are mounting. Most teams would struggle in that reality.
But every other NBA team has found a way to win at least some games since the All-Star break – granted, the Washington Wizards have not won a game since beating the Pacers twice in mid February. Still, even against other poor teams (Washington, Sacramento, Memphis, and Dallas), the Pacers have come up short.
Their schedule is challenging. Games have been frequent, and they only play two teams outside of the playoff picture (Chicago and Brooklyn) the rest of the season. The factors matter, yet they will be forgotten in time. Until surpassed, this will be remembered as the longest stretch of defeats in Pacers history.
It's the 105th 14-game losing streak in NBA/ABA history and 47th this century. In the ongoing season, the Kings 16 game stretch of defeats is the longest, it lasted from January 18 to February 21. The Pacers are two losses away from that mark.
In the 14-game span, the Pacers have been outscored by 208 points. That's happened hundreds of times in NBA history (did you know the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks were outscored by 322 points in a 14-game stretch from February 13 to March 13? Wildly bad). But it's the worst 14-game stretch in terms of net points in Pacers history, with the previous worst coming in the first 14 games of the ongoing season (-203). Not including games from 2025-26? The worst net points stretch for Indiana was -165 in a 14-game span from February 23 to March 21 of 2007.
So, yes, it has been bad. It's the 16th-worst net points margin for any team this season. The Pacers keep losing, and they mostly keep getting smoked. They'll try to fix it every night, and they might have an opening for practice later this week. But in the meantime, every loss will only make these numbers more shocking.
Thank you for reading. The WNBA has a new CBA and I've been very busy recently. Sorry for the small delay in so many recent stories. Subscribe so they can be emailed directly to you when they are published.
Comments ()