The Indiana Pacers took the court with only six available players on Monday night and still came close to an upset, losing 108-104 to the Atlanta Hawks in Indianapolis.
According to ESPN, citing ESPN Research, no team had used so few players this early in a season since 1948, when the Lakers fielded just five in their third game of the campaign.
Indiana, now 2-6, were missing 11 players through injury, illness and rest. Tyrese Haliburton, T.J. McConnell and Aaron Nesmith were all out with hamstring problems, while Pascal Siakam was rested on the second night of a back-to-back. Johnny Furphy, Larry Nance Jr., Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard, Obi Toppin and Ivica Zubac were also unavailable, and Kelly Oubre Jr. was ruled out late with a bruised knee.
Coach Rick Carlisle started Jay Huff, Quenton Jackson, Jarace Walker and two-way players Braden Smith and Jalen Slawson, with fellow two-way signing Kobe Brown the only option off the bench. Walker logged 44 minutes, and even Jackson, who played the least, was on the floor for 34.
The depleted hosts gave themselves a real chance late on. Jackson stole the ball from Nickeil Alexander-Walker and scored a layup to cut the gap to two with 1:36 remaining, but his three-point attempt with 43.1 seconds left would not drop. Onyeka Okongwu then hit a jumper with 10.2 seconds to go to seal the result.
Alexander-Walker top-scored for Atlanta with 34 points as the Hawks avoided an embarrassing defeat.
It was the first time Indiana had used just six players since November 20, 2004, the day after the 'Malice at the Palace' brawl with Detroit. Carlisle was also in charge for that loss to Orlando and compared the two games. "And they will talk about this game for a long time," he said.
ESPN noted that the lowest number used by any team earlier this season was eight, by Philadelphia on October 25. The players who sat out reportedly earn a combined salary of about $193 million, against roughly $15 million for those who played.