NBA Notes: Pacers, Pascal Siakam, Cavs, Darius Garland, Bulls

Pacers

Life without Tyrese Haliburton means Pascal Siakam is the Pacers’ engine now, and he’s acting like it.

Siakam has stacked back-to-back 24s as Indiana finally doubled its win total with weekend victories over Washington and Chicago. The Pacers are still digging out of a brutal 2-16 start after last season’s Finals run, but Siakam is leaning hard into the reset.

“You can’t take it for granted,” he told Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “Every single possession we win… every single run we have… every single win, we gotta take it and enjoy it. We’re tired of losing. We can’t keep losing. That has to be our mindset.”

Cavaliers

The Cavs are rolling into tonight’s visit to Indiana without half the roster. Darius Garland (toe management) and Lonzo Ball (illness) were added to the injury report, joining Larry Nance Jr., Max Strus, Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill. Depth? Not tonight.

Bulls

Chicago may be without Coby White again, as he’s listed as doubtful with left-calf tightness and congestion, per K.C. Johnson of CHSN. White has only appeared in five games but has been terrific when available, averaging 24 points and six assists. Noa Essengue, Jalen Smith and Isaac Okoro are out. Zach Collins is doubtful.