INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers' postseason will go on.
The Pacers dominated the Charlotte Hornets 144-117 Tuesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in their NBA play-in game.
Indiana controlled the game from the start, scoring 40 points in the first quarter to take a 40-24 lead, then led 69-45 at halftime.
Oshae Brissett led eight Pacers in double figures with 23 points. Domantas Sabonis had 14 points and 21 rebounds for Indiana and finished one assist shy of a triple-double for the game.
Miles Bridges led Charlotte with 23 points. Indiana University alum Cody Zeller scored 17 points for the Hornets.
The Pacers were playing without Caris LeVert, who entered the league's health and safety protocol about five hours before tipoff. LeVert missed the second half of Indiana's game Sunday against Toronto with a migraine headache, but was expected to play in Tuesday's game. Indiana was also without the services of Jeremy Lamb, Myles Turner and T.J. Warren.
Brownsburg High School and Butler University alum Gordon Hayward missed the game for Charlotte with injuries.
Indiana, the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference, will travel to play the eighth-seeded Washington Wizards Thursday night at 8 p.m. on TNT. Washington lost to seventh-seeded Boston 118-100 Tuesday night.
The winner of that game clinches the final spot in the playoffs and a matchup with the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the first round.