On this particular New Year's Eve, you can look at the Pacers with a champagne glass half-full or half-empty. Take your pick.
Empty: Turning the ball over early and often, they allowed Milwaukee – a 12-21 team missing its head coach – to come into Bankers Life Fieldhouse Thursday night and roll up a 13-point lead in the second quarter. They rallied to take a two-point lead in the third period, but quickly collapsed again to fall behind by 15, then rallied again in the game's final minutes only to come up just short. It was their second loss on consecutive nights, both to divisional opponents.