INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers used just six players due to injuries and rest in Monday night's 108-104 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, marking the earliest into a season a team has used that few players in nearly 80 years.
The Pacers (2-6) began the game 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). Kelly Oubre Jr. was a late scratch due to a bruised knee.
The last time a team used six or fewer players this early in a season was the Lakers in 1948, who used just five in their third game of the season, according to ESPN Research.
The Pacers started Jay Huff, Quenton Jackson, Jarace Walker and two players on two-way deals: Braden Smith and Jalen Slawson. Another two-way player, Kobe Brown, was Indiana's lone reserve. Walker led the Pacers in minutes with 44. Jackson had the shortest time on the court for Indiana with 34 minutes.
"These guys all played too many minutes," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after the game in Indianapolis. "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."
Monday was the first time since Nov. 20, 2004, that the Pacers used only six players. That game against Orlando was one day after the infamous "Malice at the Palace" brawl between Indiana and Detroit, which led to multiple suspensions.
Carlisle coached that Indiana team as well -- and drew comparisons between that Indiana loss to a Grant Hill-led Orlando team 22 years ago and what the Pacers nearly did against the Hawks on Monday.
"People are still talking about that game," Carlisle said. "And they will talk about this game for a long time."
The previous low for players used in a game so far this season was eight, by Philadelphia on Oct. 25. There have been seven other instances of teams using six players over the last 15 seasons -- almost all of those in meaningless contests toward the end of a season.
The loss was Indiana's fifth straight -- a result that might have been considered inevitable before tipoff. But the Pacers had reasonable hopes of ending the skid when Jackson stole the ball from Nickeil Alexander-Walker and converted a layup to get them within 106-104 with 1:36 left.
Jackson missed a 3-pointer with 43.1 seconds remaining that would have given Indiana the lead, and Atlanta's Onyeka Okongwu converted a jumper with 10.2 seconds left for the final margin.
Alexander-Walker scored 34 points to lead the Hawks, who avoided the embarrassment of losing to a severely undermanned team.
"I thought everybody did an unbelievable job," Smith said. "It's hard. I don't think I've ever been a part of a game where six guys have dressed. For all of us to just go out there and leave it all on the court and at least just give them a game, I think it was a big deal to be able to do that. It's hard. You're exhausted for a lot of the time, so it makes it difficult mentally."
Some of Indiana's players are out for weeks, while some just couldn't go Monday with the Pacers on the second night of a back-to-back. "Injury management," Carlisle said before the game.
The players who sat out have a combined salary of about $193 million, while those who were on the court make about $15 million.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.