Pacers Host Hawks and Warriors Amid Injury-Plagued Start

The Indiana Pacers will play host to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night and the Golden State Warriors on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as the franchise seeks its first victory of the regular season amid a mounting injury list and consecutive defeats. Indiana opened the in-season Emirates Cup with a 128-108 loss to Atlanta on Friday, leaving the Pacers winless through five games before Saturday’s meeting with Golden State.

Friday’s loss continued a trend that began at the start of the season. The Pacers entered the Hawks game having lost four straight and were undermanned across multiple positions. The team is without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton for the season after he suffered a right Achilles injury in last season’s final, and several rotation players remain sidelined or day-to-day. The injury report lists T.J. McConnell out with a hamstring issue, Bennedict Mathurin and Obi Toppin out with foot injuries, and Andrew Nembhard, Johnny Furphy and Taelon Peter listed as day-to-day. Coach and team officials have indicated available reserves will be relied upon while the roster stabilizes.

Atlanta, appearing in the Emirates Cup opener, entered Friday favored by bookmakers...