Missing 11 Players, the Pacers Play Just Six and Nearly Beat the Hawks

By The Arena Staff

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 3, 2026 — The Indiana Pacers had six players in uniform on Monday night, and three of them were on two-way contracts. They still had the ball with a chance to take the lead in the final minute before losing to the Atlanta Hawks 108-104.

According to ESPN Research, no NBA team had used six or fewer players this early in a season since 1948, when the Lakers used five in their third game.

Indiana started the night with 11 players on the sideline: Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring), Pascal Siakam (rest), Johnny Furphy (knee), T.J. McConnell (hamstring), Larry Nance Jr. (illness), Andrew Nembhard (cervical), Aaron Nesmith (hamstring), Ben Sheppard (knee), Obi Toppin (lumbar sprain) and Ivica Zubac (ankle), plus Kelly Oubre Jr., a late scratch with a bruised knee, ESPN reported. It was the second night of a back-to-back, and coach Rick Carlisle described some of the absences before the game as "injury management."

That left Jay Huff, Quenton Jackson and Jarace Walker to start alongside two-way players Braden Smith and Jalen Slawson. Kobe Brown, another two-way player, was the only reserve. Walker played 44 minutes, and nobody on the roster played fewer than Jackson's 34.

All six scored at least 12 points, and Huff led Indiana with 22, Bleacher Report noted. Jackson stole the ball from Nickeil Alexander-Walker and scored on a layup to pull the Pacers within two with 1:36 left. He missed a 3-pointer that would have given Indiana the lead with 43.1 seconds remaining, and Onyeka Okongwu's jumper with 10.2 seconds left put it away. Alexander-Walker finished with 34 points for Atlanta.

"These guys all played too many minutes," Carlisle said. "But they played their hearts out. ... The guys left everything out there, and our fans got their money's worth, even though we weren't able to win the game."

The last time Indiana used only six players was Nov. 20, 2004, against Orlando, one day after the "Malice at the Palace" brawl in Detroit led to suspensions. Carlisle coached that team, too. "People are still talking about that game," he said. "And they will talk about this game for a long time."

The players who sat out make about $193 million combined, ESPN reported, while the six who played make about $15 million. The loss was Indiana's fifth straight and dropped the Pacers to 2-6. They play at Memphis on Wednesday.

Sources: ESPN and Bleacher Report.