The Indiana Pacers couldn’t find an answer for Giannis Antetokounmpo for nearly the entire night. Nearly. He scored 54 points over his first 31 minutes on the court but did not score in the last 5:18 of the game as the Pacers erased a 10-point 4th-quarter deficit to win by a 126-124 final score.
“The only way you really grow as a team in this league is to be battle-tested under tough circumstances,” Rick Carlisle said after the game. “Tonight, there were some very tough circumstances and our guys did a tremendous job with their collective will and hanging in there. Nobody every dropped their head. They stayed positive. It was all about finding a way to get the next stop, the next score, winning the game.”
The Pacers put just about everyone they could on Giannis including Daniel Theis, who played for the first time all season. In the end, they made just enough plays and forced just enough turnovers to make the Greek Freak’s 19-of-25 shooting from the floor and 16-of-18 shooting from the foul line all for naught as Indiana ended a 5-game homestand over the last 7 days with a 4-1 record.
Bennedict Mathurin stepped up on multiple occasions against Antetokounmpo with three key stops down the stretch. First, he forced a missed layup after the Pacers couldn’t corral a rebound that was deflected into Giannis’s hands, then he blocked his shot attempt with the help of a timely double team by Bruce Brown, and he topped it off with a steal with 30 seconds remaining as the Pacers were trying to hold on to a 1-point lead.
“That’s the main thing I’ve been working on the whole summer,” Mathurin said of his defense, “guarding the best player on the other team. It was great. It was great to have a couple stops.”
Mathurin and Tyrese Haliburton took over offensively in the fourth quarter and both seemed determined to do everything they could to get the win against Milwaukee. Haliburton hit the go-ahead triple with less than two minutes left.
The Pacers now have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference at 6-3 and will face the red-hot 76ers (6-1) in Philadelphia in both of their next two games.
Bennedict Mathurin: A+
“Benn Mathurin is taking significant strides each game now,” Carlisle said. “He’s starting to really understand what it means to have the responsibility of being one of those guys that we rely on to score and rely on to be solid defensively and to secure possessions. I’m real proud of him. … He’s been tremendous these two games.”
Mathurin topped his previous career-best overall game on the very next night. 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists to go with his block and steal down the stretch that put a stamp on the best defensive game of his young career.
His relentless effort to get to the rim was back on full display. Mathurin’s been actively working on being a better passer on his drives—a needed and welcome improvement—but at times it’s felt like he’s overthinking about when to pass which saps some of what made him so intriguing as a rookie. Tonight, he seemed to find the right balance between making simple reads by taking what the defense gives you by moving the ball and being aggressive by taking what the defense was trying to take away with drives around and through multiple defenders. This was highlighted by his eurostep through both Bobby Portis and Jae Crowder, gathering his own miss and finishing a reverse layup through contact during the Pacers 4th-quarter push.
“Just being me,” Mathurin said of his recent solid play. “I had a tough start to the season and I’m going to have bad games, having such a long season. The main thing for me is just to be myself every single day. The main thing for us is to win. I’m willing to do everything in order for us to win.”
He took advantage of weak defense by Cameron Payne to drive to the basket for a dunk and an and-1 in the first half.
His 3-point shot is also coming around in this last two games (7 of 13) after he was just 5 for 22 in the first seven games. He’s hitting tough step-backs and shooting pull-ups with confidence.
Tyrese Haliburton: A
29 points (10 of 17), 10 assists, and 6 rebounds. Haliburton is in the 50/40/90 club through his first eight games. He’s the reason the Pacers have the best offensive rating in the league (121.5), average the most assists per game (30.4), have the highest effective field-goal percentage. They aren’t only doing their damage in transition as the Pacers also have the best half-court offense in the league. Early in the season, they’ve been historically great on the offensive end.
Haliburton hit the clutch 3-pointer to give the Pacers the lead for good as part of his 10 points in the final 8 minutes. He set up Malik Beasley by calling for a screen and then just blowing right by Beasley before a screen ever came. Beasley moved his body towards Haliburton on the screen signal and then just was completely frozen as Haliburton left him in the dust like Road Runner speeding by Wile E. Coyote.
He was key to the Pacers blistering hot start that saw them get out to a 27-9 lead in the first quarter, spraying the ball around but also getting his own offense going early in this one instead of his sometimes slow first half starts.
Myles Turner: C+
Turner’s grade suffers mostly because he took the majority of Antetokounmpo’s 54. Not that it’s an ideal matchup for Turner, but Giannis had his way with the Pacers big man and got anything he wanted by spinning, eurostepping, or just driving into him to get a foul call once the Pacers starting doubling in second half.
Offensively, Myles continues to play well. He scored 21 points (8 of 16) and added six rebounds and four assists. His ability to both space the floor and finish inside with his jump hook have been invaluable all season. He seems to play well against Milwaukee often with their typical drop coverages leaving him open beyond the arc. He hit 4 of 9 attempts from deep in this game.
Bruce Brown: A
In the final minute of the second quarter, the Pacers were up three when Bruce Brown earned a jump ball against Giannis Antetokounmpo. So, Bucks ball, right?
Brown won the tip over the 6’11” star and Haliburton pulled up from 3 quickly on the next possession to give the Pacers a 6-point halftime lead. It was one of many moments that Brown really showed why he was so highly coveted as a free agent this summer.
Brown finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and a block in a do-it-all performance. He helped force multiple turnovers from Giannis in the fourth quarter and blocked Khris Middleton on one of his post-up attempts. Four of Brown’s assists were to open 3-point shooters he found after driving.
Obi Toppin: D
Toppin could only stay on the court for 13 minutes in this one as he quickly racked up fouls—including multiple and-one fouls—-while trying and failing to guard both Antetokounmpo and Middleton. He did score 7 points but contributed zero other statistics beyond one turnover and four fouls.
Aaron Nesmith: D+
Nesmith hit a couple threes early but also struggled to stay on the court while dealing with the impossible task of guarding Giannis. He had 5 fouls in 16 minutes clearly frustrated at times when he had to go to the bench and was a team-low -22 for the game.
Andrew Nembhard: A-
With Nesmith and Hield not having the best games, it was Nembhard closing this one alongside Mathurin and Brown. He was the only Pacers bench player with a positive +/- in this one and made a few key shots including his favorite middy fade over Giannis. A great sequence at the end of the third saw him box out Bobby Portis on one end and hit a 3 to end the quarter to cut the Bucks lead to just 1. Not only has Nembhard been a fantastic lead guard off the bench lately, he continues to be valuable as a wing player alongside Haliburton as he closed the game tonight.
Buddy Hield: D
For the second consecutive game, Hield just could not find his outside shot as he made just 2 of 11 from deep. Lots of great looks and potential momentum shifters that didn’t drop. Even while making just 4 of 23 in the last two, he’s still shooting 37% from deep on the season.
Isaiah Jackson: C
I-Jax continues to make highlight-reel plays on the defensive end and added 2 blocks and a steal. He also has 3 points in 11 minutes.
Daniel Theis: C+
The FIBA World Cup gold medal winner stepped onto the court for the first time all season and played power forward alongside both Turner and Jackson during the third quarter. He was given the task of trying to help guard Giannis and be another body that could soak up fouls as needed with both Nesmith and Toppin struggling (interesting that. He didn’t do much over his 8 minutes with 2 points on 4 shots but the Pacers played the Bucks even over his playing time at +0 and that was exactly what they needed in that stretch.
iPacers - Indiana Pacers News 