The Indiana Pacers miss Tyrese Haliburton desperately. They’ve now lost seven straight games since his injury and have gone from being 23-18 and feeling pretty good at 6th in the conference standings to 23-25 and just a half game ahead of the 10th seed.
Your fortunes can change so quickly in the NBA.
With the trade deadline less than three weeks away, that puts the Pacers at three wins behind the Miami Heat for 6th in the conference and three wins ahead of both the Wizards and Raptors who sit outside the play-in and in the lottery. Thus, Kevin Pritchard and the front office find themselves at a decision point in this choose-your-own-adventure season that’s only going to become more critical if the losing streak continues: Continue reading With the trade deadline approaching, the Pacers must choose a path→
In another battle against a team full of large wings, the Indiana Pacers came away saying, “Who needs wings anyway?” as they collected their fourth straight win and sixth in their last seven with a 122-114 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
In case you haven’t been here before, welcome to PacersrecaP where every column ends the way it began much like a Christopher Nolan film. Think of it like Tenet, confusing at first, no one knows what I’m talking about but slowly it starts to make more sense as time goes on. Or maybe I just like palindromes and couldn’t resist being clever for the sake of being clever … like a Christopher Nolan film.
In reality, this column tries to highlight the standout events, performances, and whatever else catches my eye in hopefully a fun and creative way. Let’s get to it:
Bennedict Mathurin is a glorious antagonist
Mathurin led the Pacers in scoring with 21 points and was a team-high +21 on the night where the bench units were the decisive factor in the victory. But better than the efficient night from the floor than featured more free throw attempts (7 for 10) than shot attempts (6 for 9) was how he was able to get under the skin of multiple members of the Raptors organization. Continue reading Bennedict Mathurin, the antagonist, a win streak, and secret conversations: PacersrecaP #30→
2022 brought about a lot of change for the Indiana Pacers. That probably undersells the transformation of an overall organizational culture not just in terms of its on-court product but in trying to build its roster in ways that the team had largely avoided for over three decades.
Liz Lemon knows what I’m talking about.
Just compare how you may have been feeling after DeMar DeRozan hit a one-leg 3-pointer to beat the Pacers at the buzzer on New Year’s Eve 2021 as the team lost yet another close game in clutch time to how that one felt with Haliburton and the Pacers besting a 45-point night from George and winning in thrilling fashion. These Pacers have already won two more clutch games this season (13) than what I’ll refer to as the Injury List Era team won all of last year (11).
With all due respect to Ben Gibbard, so this is the new year, the Pacers feel very different. We’ve gone from feeling like Lieutenant Dan on NYE to feeling like Lieutenant Dan with new legs in one short trip around the Sun.
As far as the roster goes, Myles Turner is the only remaining starter from the Injury List Era. In types of trades that the Pacers have rarely done in their history, they sent out veterans primarily for draft capital. Caris LeVert was the first to be dealt which eventually netted the Pacers Andrew Nembhard as the first pick in the second round last summer and a likely first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Malcolm Brogdon was dealt in the off-season to the Boston Celtics for a first-round pick and Aaron Nesmith.
T.J. Warren and his troublesome foot that haunted him for over 2 years after his unbelievable NBA Bubble run exited to Brooklyn as a free agent. And of course, 2-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis was dealt near the trade deadline for Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield. While Sabonis is doing his hub-of-the-wheel thing to perfection surrounded by a terrific cast of shooters and a speedy point guard for the Kings, Tyrese Haliburton has become the face of the franchise and its leader in every way.
There’s no moment that tops that seismic trade for best of 2022 for the Indiana Pacers. As hard as it might be to let go of a 2-time All Star in Sabonis, Haliburton was the ideal candidate if they were going to move him and he instantly–from his first moments wearing a Pacers jersey as they blitzed the Cavaliers with 40 first-quarter points–showed how he was something they haven’t ever had: a guy both capable of leading the league in assists and with enough scoring and shooting skills to be a primary option as well. Suddenly with Haliburton, the Pacers were fast, fun, and there was hope of more to come in the future.
Where the previous iteration of the Pacers had become stale and a painful watch with little to look forward to in its future, these new-look Pacers are somehow both younger and better with far more room to grow. While not many expected that hope that was felt after the trade deadline last year to turn into wins so soon, the Pacers are 20-17 and sit at sixth seed in the Eastern Conference standings as 2023 begins. And Haliburton not only looks like an All Star but a potential All-Star starter and perhaps an All-NBA level player in his third season as he’s figuring out how to close games before our eyes in the 5-1 stretch with wins against the Celtics, Heat, Hawks, Cavaliers, and Clippers.
His latest closing masterpiece against former Pacers star Paul George and the Clippers was the exclamation point to a stunning set of 4th-quarter performances of late. Coming into the final 12 minutes with only six points, Haliburton scored 18 points including 13 of the team’s final 15 points, answering every score by George with his own including drives through contact to the basket to earn trips to the free-throw line, nifty hesitation dribble to blow by the switching big man, and a pull-up 3-pointer that followed a George turnover in transition that may have been the play of the game.
This sequence is where the game shifted for me
PG not attacking a backpedaling Myles or pulling up for a wide open transition 3. Either one makes it a two possession game with a little over 2min left
Instead, turnover and Hali comes down hunting his own shot for the lead
“In that fourth, I knew what time it was,” Haliburton said after the game. Carlisle called him a “basketball savant” that has an ability to feel what the team needs in big moments and Haliburton echoed that point, “It’s a feel thing. It’s just feeling what a team needs in that moment. Today we needed some energy. We needed a boost from me.”
Here are the Pacers 4Q scoring plays from 8:07 timeout – game end
Haliburton 2 Haliburton 3 Turner 2 Haliburton AST Nesmith 2 Turner 2+1 Haliburton FT Haliburton FT Haliburton 3 Haliburton 2 Haliburton 2 Haliburton FT Haliburton FT Haliburton FT Turner FT Turner FT Haliburton FT
The veterans that remained on the roster despite never ceasing rumors of deals for picks far off in the future: Myles Turner and Buddy Hield have been instrumental in the team’s success. You can talk all you want about Hield’s shooting and spacing that he adds to the team but perhaps his best quality given the state of the previous roster is the fact that this guy never misses games.
“We’re just trying to build a culture here with guys who want to play every night,” Haliburton said after a game in December, “who want to compete, just love the game of basketball.”
Shots fired at the Injury List Era squad
As for Turner, he’s played the best basketball of his career and is relishing being back at his comfortable center position full-time while also playing with the best playmaking guard that he’s ever had as a teammate. He’s played so well that talks of a re-negotiation and extension have begun between him and the front office that could allow the team to give Turner a hefty raise this season while signing him to a reasonable extension over future years. While there’s no guarantee that an agreement will be reached, it’s a much different story than before the year when Kevin Pritchard said matter of factly that Turner would be a free agent after the season despite those extension options being available if both sides were interested.
I asked Myles about this postgame.
"As a player, every now and then, you look for certain motivations to get you going. And tonight was one of those situations for me. I took the matchup (w/ Zubac) personally."
While the defense isn’t amazing, it’s better this year despite the roster still being short of bigger wings and playing four guards almost all the time because of the presence of Turner, who missed the second half of last season, and the additions of capable defenders in Nesmith and Nembhard in the starting lineup.
Nembhard is the best perimeter defender on the team, makes savvy, veteran-level plays without thinking while taking on assignments like guarding Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James. He’s hit a buzzer beater in Los Angeles to beat the Lakers and defeated the defending champion Warriors in their arena while doing basically everything for the Pacers offense who were without all of their other point guards. That 31-point, 13-assist performance might be the best game a Pacers rookie has ever had.
"In a game full of subtext, Andrew Nembhard provided a far more meaningful plot, both with the drama of his game-winner and the through line of his budding defense."
On his contributions at the other end of the floor, in what has been a building trend: https://t.co/UdgTv9eFAL
Nesmith, who could never manage to get consistent playing time in Boston, has found his footing with the Pacers over the last month. His detonation at the rim against Jarrett Allen and the Cavaliers seemed to further his confidence and in December he had shooting splits of 50.8/39.7/100 while averaging 11.6 points in 23.9 minutes per game. If he can consistently make his 3-pointers at an above average rate while playing his energetic, do-the-dirty-work style on the other end, the Pacers might have found something in the 2020 lottery pick.
our PA announcer Troy Pepper's reaction to Aaron Nesmith's dunk last night is amazing.🤯🔥 pic.twitter.com/SE0BrImPQx
While attacking on closeouts and driving to the basket had been dicey early in the season for Nesmith, especially with his left hand, he’s had a series of nice attacks, including that vicious dunk, to the rim lately while being under control and finishing. He started the year off slow with his shot but also had been dealing with a foot injury. You wonder if that was affecting his play on offense with how well he’s come along of late.
Oh and the Pacers had their first draft pick (besides the Jonathan Bender pick they acquired in the Antonio Davis trade) in the top-9 since they took George McCloud 7th in 1989. It’s truly incredible that a sports franchise can go through three entire decades without ever being bad enough to pick in the single digits in their next draft. With that rare opportunity, Kevin Pritchard and the front office had to nail that pick and by all accounts through this nearly half a season, they did just that in selecting Bennedict Mathurin at sixth overall.
While he’s only started two games, he’s been an absolutely electric scorer and driver off the bench for the Pacers. He already might be the team’s best player at drawing fouls ever … as a rookie. As a player with an unwavering confidence, Mathurin has gone through countless scoring outbursts that keep the Pacers in games to start the second and fourth quarters as he becomes the go-to option in bench lineups. His ability to both get to the rim and force contact and whistles often stems the tide of opposing runs and swings momentum in the opposite direction. He leads the league in bench scoring at 17.2 points per game and is a legitimate contender for sixth man of the year.
While his efficiency has dipped in the last month, you can see how much potential there is for him to grow as he gains a strong handle and a better feel for when he should look to pass to an open teammate. The fact that he’s succeeding this much already even with those clear areas of improvement for him to work on are really encouraging to his future outlook.
And that brings us to the core issue for this team: they don’t have a star that can put the team on their back and get a basket whenever one is necessary. Not one of their best players is a consistent scoring threat that can be counted on each and every night in the clutch. A basketball team without a star is a football team without a quarterback. It’s a television show without its show-runner. It’s the fourth season of Community.
No one wants to watch that gas leak season and that’s what the Pacers solved in getting Haliburton and him quickly figuring out just how good he can be. With Mathurin, they may eventually have two guys that they can count on in these crucial situations and if that’s the case, watch out in 2023 and beyond. I don’t know what the future holds for the Pacers or even whether they can keep up this level of play this season, but I’m sure excited to find out and that definitely was not the case one year ago.
The Indiana Pacers are now 4-1 after briefly falling below .500 and sit at sixth in the Eastern Conference after a highly entertaining home win against the Cleveland Cavaliers in front of the first sellout crowd of the season.
This game was perhaps the best game of the season as it was a back and forth affair with neither team ever reaching a lead of double digits and until the fourth quarter neither team led by more than six points. Both teams couldn’t miss and had impressive shot making. There were posterizations, deep threes, tempers flaring, and it came between two teams that may be developing a fun rivalry that will be fascinating to watch over the next few years.
In case you haven’t been here before, welcome to PacersrecaP where every column ends the way it began much like a Christopher Nolan film. Think of it like Tenet, confusing at first, no one knows what I’m talking about but slowly it starts to make more sense as time goes on. Or maybe I just like palindromes and couldn’t resist being clever for the sake of being clever … like a Christopher Nolan film.
Let’s get to it.
Aaron Nesmith murdered a man in front of over 17,000 people
Pacers dunk of the year. Maybe Pacers dunk of the decade to this point. I’ve watched this play a thousand times with no end in sight.
With the Pacers behind 118-119 (but unaware of that because a Buddy Hield 3-pointer had not yet been changed to a 2), Aaron Nesmith received the ball in the corner. With Evan Mobley closing out, Nesmith attacked the closeout with his left hand and took two dribbles along the baseline. Suddenly with Jarrett Allen waiting at the rim, Nesmith launched upward like he knew a secret spot on the floor that was actually a trampoline and with his head even with the rim threw it down over the arms and on the head of Allen.
Both Myles Turner and Tyrese Haliburton immediately put their hands on their heads in disbelief of what Nesmith against the Cavs best defenders with Haliburton calling it the best dunk that he’s ever seen in person.
Bennedict Mathurin’s jaw dropped in pure joy and both he and Buddy Hield were hopping with posterization-fueled hype as they waited for the Cavaliers to bring the ball up. On the bench, Goga Bitadze lost his mind and Oshae Brissett looked like he was in shock.
With renewed spirit and an energized crowd, the Pacers outscored the Cavaliers 15-7 for the last 4:26 of the game with Nesmith scoring 6 points down the stretch after the dunk including a euro step layup and a tough make over the outstretched arms of Mobley on another drive to the basket.
Nicknamed Double A by his teammates for his first name, it’s fitting for the energy he plays with and provides the team. The human AA battery sent a jolt through the fieldhouse and played tremendously all game scoring 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting continuing his stellar play throughout the month of December.
Nesmith said that his teammates were on him to dunk the ball after he turned it over on a pocket pass in the lane in the first half and my goodness did Nesmith make amends and take those words to heart.
After his worst game of the month where he missed all six of his shots, Nesmith bounced back with the second-highest scoring performance of his career. He’s averaging 11.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in just 23 minutes per game with a true-shooting percentage of 62.8%.
Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield explode from deep
The entire Pacers team shot it lights out in this game literally from the tip as Buddy Hield set a record for fastest 3-pointer in NBA history by catching the tip and immediately turning around and shooting the 3. The previous record was also held by a Pacers player: the goat, Reggie Miller.
the two fastest three-pointers to start a game in @NBA history:
Hield has been a human flamethrower throughout the month of December while shooting 52.5% from deep. He’s 11 for 13 in the last two games including 5 for 6 in this one. A big bounce back month after he made just 33% of his attempts from deep in November.
Much has been made of Hield’s tireless work ethic that gets him in trouble with his family because of how much time he spends in the gym. Oshae Brissett shared that he’s started to join Hield on his early trips to the arena on road trips. If his work ethic can continue to rub off on these young guys, that’s a win for a young team developing habits at the start of their careers.
He had one stretch in the third quarter where he hit three straight triples before he handed off the hot-shooting torch to Tyrese Haliburton, who ended the quarter by making four straight attempts from deep in the last four and a half minutes. Two of the threes came in transition with pump fake passes to Hield beside him and the final coming from 30 feet to put the Pacers ahead by 3 at the start of the fourth where Haliburton pulled up before the defender could complete the switch onto him after a good screen from Bennedict Mathurin.
All told the Pacers shot 61.3% from deep with their hot shooting backcourt duo making 11 of their 14 and every starter making at least 50% of their 3-pointers. It was an outrageous shooting display.
Bennedict Mathurin put the team on his back to start the fourth quarter
The Cavaliers scored 10 straight points to start the final quarter to reach their biggest lead of the game at 7. Lloyd Pierce called a timeout with Rick Carlisle having been ejected for arguing a missed travel late in the previous quarter and didn’t rush to make any substitutions after having played most of the starters the entire third. Instead he drew up a play for rookie Bennedict Mathurin.
Last night, @BennMathurin recorded his 14th 20-pt game off the bench this season, which tied him with Cliff Robinson for 3rd-most by a first-year player since starters were tracked in 1970-71 (Ben Gordon – 24, Jeff Ruland – 19), per @ESPNStatsInfo.
Mathurin scored a layup on the ensuing play after the timeout to stem the tide and continued attacking the basket on the next three possessions: drawing two fouls and missing a layup that was then tipped in by Brissett. His aggressiveness to the basket cut the Cleveland lead to 4 and forced a timeout, allowing enough breathing room for the starters to rest long to finish the fourth strong.
He ended up playing the entire fourth quarter and scored 12 of his 23 points in the quarter. Most impressive though was the leadership he showed in not only his actions but calling the team together for a huddle after drawing one of his fouls and encouraging the team to let go of a call and focus on the next play (which is a little funny coming from Mathurin who often has something to say on drives where he doesn’t earn a call but still). It was an encouraging game for the rookie beyond his efficient box score.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter tonight.💪
Mathurin’s numbers slumped over this last month of 2022 with shooting splits of 39.1/22.6/83.8 but he’s flashed some fun passes on drives as opportunities have come of late. You wonder if part of the struggle with his shot of late is if he is thinking more about whether he should be looking to pass the ball but developing more as a playmaker will be important. He’s still got a long way to go and has a tendency to try and make the passes fancier than they need to be but encouraging to see some of these plays happen.
Bennedict Mathurin had a terrific game against the Cavaliers: 23 points 3 rebounds 7-for-14 shooting
The Pacers got themselves one of the best scorers in the draft class. If he's able to improve defensively, you're looking at a future multiple All-Star. pic.twitter.com/WrxJon8z3g
Myles Turner, who has opened extension negotiations with the front office according to Shams, had a season-high six blocks against the Cavaliers and had a 14/12 double double. He’s been terrific during this 4-1 stretch. The one game where he struggled against the Heat and scored just 5 points, he had a fantastic fourth quarter with great defense and scored all of his points.
Tyrese Haliburton has been a fantastic closer lately after the team struggled to close out games in the prior week. He scored 7 straight points in the Hawks game to put them away late. He talked about how he and the coaching staff discussed what type of actions the team needs to get into during the closing possessions of games and it’s paying dividends so far.
Oshae Brissett, the lone big wing on the roster, continues to show his importance to the group. He was +28 against the Hawks and in December he’s made 39.5% of his 3s. His extra work with Hield paying off.
The year from hell continues for Chris Duarte, who started off the season on a major slump, finally broke through with a 30-point explosion, immediately injured his ankle in the next game, and now just a few games after returning he suffered a head injury after getting an elbow to the head against the Cavaliers and looked dazed. Hopefully, it’s not a concussion for Duarte and he can get his sophomore season on track.
I still have rotation questions when everyone is healthy on this team and wonder how long it will be until Andrew Nembhard gets the backup point guard minutes over TJ McConnell. And while Jalen Smith is likely better served as a center, letting Isaiah Jackson rot on the bench is not great.
I have to give a quick shout-out to NBA Top Shot again. I recently won my fourth pair of tickets of the season simply by owning a complete Pacers series set thanks to Top Shot’s team captain program and the Boom Baby Collectors group while being a local fan that can go to games. Looking forward to owning that Nesmith dunk as a digital collectible whenever it gets minted. If you’re someone that enjoys/enjoyed collecting cards, it’s a good time. Buy a starter pack for $9 (or wait for a new $10 Hot Pack drop) after signing up with this link and we’ll both get $15 in site credit. For $15, you can start your collection off with a handful of fun Pacers moments including Nembhard and Duarte rookie debuts.
The Indiana Pacers (15-16) are under .500 for the first time since early in the season after winning just 1 of their last 5 games. They are 4-9 over their last 13 contests and have fallen to 9th in the Eastern conference.
If you haven’t been here before, welcome to PacersrecaP where every column ends the way it began much like a Christopher Nolan film. Think of it like Tenet, confusing at first, no one knows what I’m talking about but slowly it starts to make more sense as time goes on. Or maybe I just like palindromes and couldn’t resist being clever for the sake of being clever … like a Christopher Nolan film.
Quick Summaryof the Week’s Games:
The Pacers and the Heat played in a game that felt like it was from 20 years ago with a final score of 87-82. While it was good to see the Pacers have a tremendous defensive mindset following their lack of effort on defense and the glass against the Nets backups, they couldn’t overcome a late flurry of scoring by Jimmy Butler and an incredibly off-night from their star Tyrese Haliburton, who scored just 1 point and went 0 for 9 from the floor.
The Pacers swept the season series against the Golden State Warriors, which if I’m not mistaken makes them the NBA Champions now, with a 125-119 win. The Pacers scored 47 points in the second quarter and built a 20-point halftime lead and survived the Warriors comeback attempt as Steph Curry injured his shoulder and Draymond Green got ejected after complaining about an obvious foul call, though Green may have been an addition by subtraction in the Warriors comeback attempt as he scored just 1 point and had 3 assists and 6 turnovers.
The Pacers and the Cleveland Cavaliers faced off in the battle of teams without wings. The Pacers built a double-digit lead heading into the fourth but the offense struggled in the clutch scoring just 2 points in the final five minutes and Donovan Mitchell scored 18 of his 41 points in the fourth, leading the Cavs to a 118-112 win.
The Pacers had a 6-point lead with under two minutes to go but couldn’t close out the New York Knicks who won by a final score of 109-106. Aaron Nesmith had a career high 23 points and 10 rebounds but not enough shot making from the rest of the roster as the clutch-time offense failed the team again.
Tyrese Haliburton still finding the right balance between aggression and passivity
Haliburton started off the week with the worst game of his Pacers career, scoring just 1 point and missing all nine of his shots as he was flummoxed by the defense of Bam Adebayo who repeatedly ended up guarding him after switches. The problem, however, was less than he missed all nine of his shots but that he quit looking to take his shot and only had one attempt in the fourth quarter. There were a couple of possessions where Haliburton had a chance to take an open shot but hesistated and his window quickly closed.
In a game where the Pacers scored just 82 points, they needed more looks for their leader and couldn’t afford him to pass any up. Haliburton recognized that saying after the game that he has to do a better job understanding how quickly you can turnaround an 0-for-9 game. That’s why the most encouraging Haliburton game this week was not the next game against the Warriors where he dazzled with 29 points but the Cavaliers game where he missed all 8 of his 3-pointers but stayed aggressive all night and finished with 17 points and 14 assists by making all five of his 2-point attempts and making all seven of his free throws. Continue reading PacersrecaP #28: On Haliburton’s aggression, rotation questions as the Pacers fall below .500→
So, it may not be the best plan to fall behind by a ton of points and try to make comebacks for nearly all of your team’s wins. Who knew?
The Wolves were up 23 early in the second quarter. The Pacers came all the way back to be up 8 in the third quarter. Then, in a back and forth fourth quarter, the Pacers fell apart in the final minute and lost by a final score of 121-115.
There were plenty of positives to take away from this one. Perhaps the most important of them all: the West coast road trip is over. Rejoice all ye EST fans and respect to ye international watchers that watch these games live no matter the timezone; I seriously have no idea how you do it.
“This team is as likable of a group of guys, and a lovable group of guys to coach as I’ve ever had.”
1. Tyrese Haliburton is back and back to his All-Star hopeful ways
Haliburton returned from his sore groin injury that caused him to miss two games and was back to immediately doing things that have never been done before. He had 26 points and 15 assists which is the first time any Pacers player has ever put up 25/15 in a game in franchise history. He also added three steals including a pair of fantastic free safety interceptions that stopped transition opportunities.
Haliburton struggled dealing with the length of Jaden McDaniels in the first game against the Wolves two weeks ago as he shot just 4 for 15 and scored only 10 points in one of the first games that teams tried to match him up with a longer wing this season. He made the necessary adjustments in the second chance against them tonight as he went 9 for 14 to break out of a little shooting slump of late. Continue reading PacersrecaP #25: Pacers fall behind early, fall apart late in loss to Timberwolves→
The Indiana Pacers were down by 17 with 9:59 remaining in the fourth quarter. Many people likely decided it was no longer worth staying up late to watch and went to bed. Those weary faithful few, however, were rewarded with the best Pacers comeback victory yet that culminated with an Andrew Nembhard buzzer beating 3-pointer over LeBron James to give the Pacers a 116-115 win on the second night of their LA back-to-back.
It felt like the Pacers would keep climbing up to the peak but come up just short when a previous possession the Pacers had missed 3 straight chances at the rim with Nembhard missing a nifty reverse layup, Buddy Hield missing a tip in chance, and then Bennedict Mathurin also missing one. Each teetering on the rim more the last but each one falling off. To add insult to injury, the Pacers were called for a foul after the final miss and sent Anthony Davis to the free-throw line where he made just one of two and left the door open for the Pacers game winner.
a 17-point fourth quarter comeback.🔥
take in every moment leading up to Andrew Nembhard’s game-winning buzzer beater, and the reaction after a huge win over the Lakers.📽️ pic.twitter.com/QcolUD1nQp
With those 10 minutes left, the Pacers played hard until the buzzer sounded and the clock matched their young backcourt duo’s jersey numbers at 0:00 as Nembhard’s triple splashed through the net with the red lights on and the entire team plus Kevin Pritchard came rushing onto the court to celebrate. 8 of the Pacers 12 wins have been games that they have come back from double-digit deficits.
Kevin Pritchard storming the court in LA. Epic. Is there anything *not* to love about this team? pic.twitter.com/7B0WsfD1ny
It was the Pacers first buzzer beater game winner since Solomon Hill had a tip in winner in Lance Stephenson’s first game in Indiana as a member of the Charlotte Hornets in 2014.
1. Welcome back, Andrew Nembhard. May you never leave us again.
What a way to return from a 5-game absence. The game winning triple will be one of the top highlights of his rookie season and perhaps his likely to be long career but he was making plays throughout the game on both ends. His quirky, yet ultra fast release to even allow him to get the shot off was a feat in itself but to splash it in, nothing but net, on the road was a thing of beauty. The most impressive aspect of his game was his defense. He spent a lot of time guarding LeBron James and even while giving up size to the all-time great, Nembhard made things tough for James, who started off with a quick 10 points but finished with just 21 points on 22 shots after he seemed less mobile once he hurt his ankle in the first quarter. Caitlin Cooper did a fantastic job as always of covering the nuances of what makes Nembhard special on the defensive end.
There's not another player on the roster with the read and execution to front LeBron in the post, post peel onto the 45 drive, and closeout on the kick-out to the opposite corner.
The Indiana Pacers cannot stop winning games after being down by double digits. After tonight’s 114-113 win against the Orlando Magic after being down by as many as 10 in the first half, the Pacers completed their fourth straight comeback win and five of their nine wins have been from games in which they trailed by at least 10.
At 9-6, the Pacers now are tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for 4th in the Eastern Conference and so continues the continuously surprising, exciting start to the Pacers rebuild. They’ve now won eight of their last 10 games after their 1-4 start. Their chemistry continues to be discussed as the reason they’ve been so successful in this stretch.
“these guys have fun together and they pull for each other, and we have very good locker room chemistry."
“We’re growing together as a group, getting better every day,” said Tyrese Haliburton after the game, “becoming closer on and off the floor. That’s allowed us to have trust in each other to play these games.”
On Aaron Nesmith, the latest Pacers bench player to step up when it was necessary: https://t.co/YGY2yJlmGb
Aaron Nesmith was scoreless in three of his last four games. Tonight, he made his first four 3-pointers and scored the last 5 points for the Pacers with a clutch 3-pointer with 1:37 left that immediately matched a stepback triple from Franz Wagner that gave the Magic a brief 4-point lead and a huge contested offensive rebound with less than 10 seconds left that ended up with Nesmith earning a trip to the foul line where he buried both free throws to give the Pacers the lead for good. To cap it all off, it was Nesmith on the final play of the game who earned the stop on Wagner and clinched the game once and for all.
Aaron Nesmith got this game-winning rebound over three Magic players. An impressive play in the game’s biggest moment on a career-high night. pic.twitter.com/7v0JIuobgh
Before last night, Nesmith had only made 9 of 32 from deep (28%). He boosted his season average to a number closer to league average at 35% after going 5 of 8.
Over the last 10 games the Indiana Pacers are:
-6th in offensive rating (114.8) -7th in defensive rating (109.5) -3rd in Net Rating (+5.2) -5th in Pace (101.6) -5th in TS% (60.2%) -3rd in 3PM (15.7) -2nd in ASTS (28.5) -4th in BLKS (6.2)
He finished with a career-high 19 points (previously 18 with the Celtics) and his 5 3-pointers were also a personal best. His active defense and hot shooting were the difference in this game as the Pacers outscored the Magic by 17 in his 25 minutes. The Pacers celebrated by nearly taking out his ACL as he slipped from the surprise water bottle pouring during the post-game interview. Fortunately, he was fine and laughing about it.
Haliburton avoided missing any time at all after the injury scare the previous night. The team repeatedly asked him over and over to make sure he was comfortable with playing tonight after they found no red flags to be concerned about with the ankle. Haliburton didn’t want to take the night off.
“In an NBA world where it’s pretty cool these days to sit out games, he did not want to hear about sitting out tonight,” Carlisle said after the game. “… He insisted on playing … All of his testing stuff was that both legs and ankles were identical. There were no red flags about him playing, but on the second night of a back-to-back, a lot of players in this league would have readily taken it off. He did not. It’s another indicator of the culture we’re building. It’s not just the staff that’s preaching it. It’s the best players. It’s a very positive thing for us.”
it’s this kind of pass that Tyrese Haliburton makes look easy but that Pacers guards haven’t been able to make in decades for me pic.twitter.com/gUbhTNBrjm
Based on his play, you’d never guess that he was down the previous night in clear pain, yelling expletives, and then limping to the locker room. Haliburton scored 22 points, dished out 14 assists, and had numerous big plays on defense with 3 blocks and 2 steals. There was no doubt that he was feeling just fine from the start of the game where he scored or assisted on 11 straight points for the team to get the Pacers going after starting down 10-1. By the time Haliburton hit a half-court buzzer beater at the end of the first half, he had already erased any concerns anyone may have had.
He had 10 of his 14 assists in the second half including 7 during the key run of the game where the Pacers went from down 63-70 to up 87-77 in the third quarter. Haliburton just dominated during this stretch by consistently finding holes in the defense inside or moving it to open shooters at the right time to transition trailers like when he found Nesmith for his 4th triple, a classic drive and kick like the plays he found Myles Turner and Jalen Smith, or just simply trusting his teammates like when he passed up a pull-up 2 for a Buddy Hield 3. He scored or assisted on all but 3 points in this Pacers run. The highlight of them all probably his perfectly placed alley oop to Bennedict Mathurin.
Haliburton walked into the building in this one like his detective character was going undercover with the mafia. No short film script this time but maybe Detective Tyrese II comes out soon. In the meantime, enjoy this bad photoshop.
3. Terry Taylor, small-ball 5, returns in all its glory
Also happening amidst the Pacers big 3rd quarter run was this situation. Bol Bol was making play after play and giving the Pacers defense problems, the Magic have height and length all over the floor even without Paolo Banchero, and the Pacers down three with 5:22 left in the third quarter had consistently been battling back to being within one possession but never quite getting over that hump like they were Shadow trying to climb out of that mud pit at the end of Homeward Bound just without the tears pouring out of my eyes.
Don’t give up, Shadow! Peter needs you. 😭
The solution to the Magic’s gargantuan length? Terry Taylor, 6’5” center. After Taylor entered the game, the Pacers went on a 16-3 run to get their first lead of the game and push it all the way to 10 points before the Magic started a comeback of their own. The only points not assisted by Haliburton in that stretch mentioned in the previous section? A classic Taylor offensive rebound and putback and-1. In his 5 minutes, the Pacers were +8 and went from down 3 to up 5 at the end of the third quarter. It came at the expense of Isaiah Jackson minutes but with Oshae Brissett as the tallest player on the floor for the Pacers, but Carlisle’s move to go super small worked. It was good to see him and Brissett contribute to a positive stretch when Taylor–and Brissett until recently–have struggled to find consistent playing time.
4. 20 and 10 starting to feel like a normal game for Myles Turner
Myles Turner continued his hot play with 20 points (8 of 13), 11 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block. It was Turner’s fifth double double in the last six games and the first game of the year where he didn’t have more than one block. The Pacers are now 7-0 when Myles Turner plays at least 26 minutes and 7-3 overall in his 10 games. 6-0 in he makes a 3-pointer. The games that the Pacers have lost since Turner returned his ankle sprain: his first game of the season where he played 24 minutes against the Bulls and struggled to find his rhythm, the post Woj Pod game against the Nets that may have been the worst game in his career, and the loss against the Nuggets were Turner sat out almost all of the third quarter with foul trouble.
In November over seven games, he’s averaged 20.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.7 blocks with shooting splits of 62.3/47.4/82.6. This is the Myles Turner that fans have been hoping to see since those bright flashes in his rookie season. Caitlin Cooper with some key statistics in his improvement to begin the year:
Myles Turner conversion rate on hook shots:
2021-22: 3-10 in 42 games 2022-23: 7-9 in 10 games
Myles Turner FTr:
career: 30.3% 2022-23: 61.3%
Myles Turner roll frequency on plays he finishes as the screener:
2018-19 (when he last started at solo five): 29% 2022-23: 60%
The Pacers two-most used lineups this season are now the starting lineups of Haliburton, Turner, Hield, Smith, and one of Nembhard or Nesmith. It’s still a very small sample size but the net ratings of those groups are +15 over 80 minutes with Nembhard and +25.9 over 37 minutes with Nesmith. No one has benefited from playing with Haliburton more than Turner and that’ll likely be especially true once he gets paid this summer. He’s getting passes inside that he could only dream about over his first seven seasons with the team. It’s one thing to finally have consistent trust from his teammates and them having the ability to get him the ball in the right spots but he’s also taking major advantage of those opportunities he’s getting by finishing over mismatches, drawing fouls inside, and going up with force and dunking it when he can.
This November has been Turner’s version of Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy where you see all the lessons he’s learned over the years and putting it all together to masterful effect. His driving against closeouts and spacing the floor appropriately when needed that became a skill while playing on the perimeter the past two seasons like West’s use of autotune in Runaway and Lost in the World that never happens without 808s and Heartbreak. His quick, no-time wasted, catch and put it up over the mismatch that was reminiscent of his rookie quick turnaround days in the post like Devil in a New Dress emitting that classic soul sample vibes of the early Kanye days. His blocks at the rim that lead to transition opportunities the Kanye at his best with Power and All of the Lights. 89.7% of Turner’s buckets have been assisted this year like the producers and featured artist that helped elevate West to new heights in this album.
There’s a lot of games left in this season for Turner to prove he can both stay healthy and be this good consistently. There’s still the cloud of Turner’s free agency this summer hanging over this fantastic stretch that make it unclear how long he will remain in Indiana, but it has been very satisfying to see Turner do all the things that many have been waiting, hoping, craving to see from him for a long time.
The Magic’s Bol Bol and Franz Wagner were super impressive. Wagner, who finished with 29 points, hit a couple of step-back threes late that as ridiculous as it sounds reminded me of LeBron’s overtime performance in the Fieldhouse last season where he just hit three after three to finish the Pacers off. Wagner hit one over Turner that had him shaking his head in disbelief. Magic already got their thinner version of Wemby with Bol, no need for them to win the lottery yet again.
Jalen Smith struggled with his 3-point shot (1 for 6) but he made some really nice cuts to the basket in this one and finished a couple post-ups inside to get to 14 points.
If you look at the team stats for this one they are nearly identical in many categories (all shooting percentages, field goal attempts, blocks, fouls, largest lead), but the one that decided it all: rebounding. The Pacers won the battle of the boards 42-41, the difference maker that Nesmith game-winning offensive rebound.
"to win that game on two effort plays…and to win the game on a stop, that's big time."
The Indiana Pacers are over .500. The Indiana Pacers have a winning record. The Indiana Pacers have won six of their last eight games and sit at 6th in the Eastern Conference standings. These are not things that I expected to write this season.
The Pacers (7-6) ended a 6-game losing streak in Charlotte in the regular season and made their second straight double-digit comeback to win by a final score of 125-113. The Pacers are set up to have every opportunity to continue their hot start as they have the Rockets on Friday and the Magic for two straight games after that.
The Indiana Pacers are back to .500 after a dominate fourth quarter to beat the Toronto Raptors by a final score of 118-104.
It was a tale of two halves for the Pacers who found themselves down by 13 at halftime but in the final frame they outscored the Raptors 36-14 and cruised to a victory.
The Pacers continue to have good scheduling luck as they finished up a 4-game home stand and on two days rest while the Raptors were playing their 5th game in 7 nights and without Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet. It didn’t matter much in the first half though as the Raptors collection of large wings destroyed the Pacers on both ends in the second quarter to push to their 13-point halftime lead.
PacersrecaP #12
The roller coaster ride of inconsistency with Jalen Smith and how comparing Myles Turner’s numbers to another big man makes me wonder about his desired salaryhttps://t.co/etJdbDHKQE
Don’t look now but the Pacers remain tied for 6th in the Eastern conference and their next four games are against the Hornets, Rockets, and Magic twice. Winning streak on the way?
Woah, the Pacers know how to win games?
1. Detective Tyrese Haliburton and the case of the many wing Raptors
Haliburton arrived at the scene prepared to investigate Toronto’s rare collection of these players called wings that have been so rare in Indiana these last few seasons. But in the first half, the detective’s probing resulted in little offense for himself as the Raptors length bothered into a 1 for 8 start with just two points Continue reading PacersrecaP #11.1: Detective Tyrese Haliburton and the case of the many wing Raptors→
If you look at Jokic’s overall numbers for the game, you might not think Myles Turner had the best defensive night against the 2-time MVP. 24 points (10 of 20) in 21 minutes with 6 rebounds and 4 assists, but Turner played fantastic defense down the stretch to give the Pacers a chance to salvage a win after blowing their big lead.
The Indiana Pacers beat the New Orleans Pelicans and I decided to break it all down in two parts. If you missed part one on the excellent vibes of this group and a dive into the rollercoaster of Myles Turner’s first five games, check that out right here.
#9 PacersrecaP 9#
Wait are the Pacers actually … good? & a dive into the career night for Myles Turner.
Bet you weren’t expecting a jumping TJ Leaf to show up in this one. Me either; I don’t know what to tell you. This caption is too long, my gif choice is bad, let’s just move on.
#2 Tyrese Haliburton is too fun, man.
In what has become a classic Tyrese formula in the team’s first 10 games, Haliburton started off this one slowly offensively, taking only four shots in the first half, focusing on getting his teammates going, and then he just took over in the second half. In this one, the slow start for his own point total came at least partially due to the coverages he was seeing from the Pelicans defense, but he came out in the third quarter and just drained 3-pointer after 3-pointer with the briefest windows as the Pelicans switched on Hield’s ghosted screens or pulling up on a big in drop coverage. Continue reading PacersrecaP #9.2: A glimpse into the Pacers future and eye-popping stats through 10 games→
The Indiana Pacers (5-5) have won four of their last five games and are tied for 6th in the Eastern Conference after beating the New Orleans Pelicans by a final score of 129-122.
So are the Pacers actually … good?
“We’re not going to get carried away,” Rick Carlisle said after the game in an attempt to temper any expectations from this nice stretch.
Speak for yourself, Rick! All aboard the playoffs hype train!
“We’re going to keep working every day,” Carlisle continued in his wise, non-reactionary way. “We’ll come back and get ready for Denver. But tonight was a great night. I was impressed with every player that stepped on the court, and every player that did not step on the court. We had a real spirited effort.”
The wild thing about the start to this season is when you compare it to last year’s start with a team full of veterans that were supposed to be pushing for the postseason. The Pacers never reached .500 over the course of last season, nor did they ever win 4 of 5 games. The closest they ever came to doing so was when they were 6-8 and had won 5 of 7.
The difference in the vibes of these two teams is immense. Some of that is the no expectations and the still fresh newness of the roster but it’s much easier to buy into the hope of this group than the staleness of praying for the health of the last iteration.
The @Pacers are the first team in NBA history to have their entire starting lineup score 15+ points and make 3+ threes in a game.
This hot stretch may not last forever, veterans like Hield and Turner may eventually be traded as the team shifts it’s focus to the future (you do have to wonder if the Pacers are hovering around .500 how into trading these guys Pacers owner Herb Simon will be), but if they continue to be this fun, it’s going to be a great ride no matter what happens.
1. Speaking of rides, the Myles Turner roller coaster reaches a new peak in a dominate performance
The Indiana Pacers (4-5) returned home to the fieldhouse after three days off with a win over the Miami Heat (4-6) by a final score of 101-99.
The Pacers defense played well as they held the Heat to shooting just 38.3% overall and 28.2% from deep. It was a schedule win if there ever was one with the Pacers well-rested and the Heat coming off of a tight win the previous night against the Sacramento Kings and sitting Jimmy Butler out. As was said in ages past: Beat the Heat.
The offensive attack was well spread out: Buddy Hield with 25, Bennedict Mathurin with 23, Tyrese Haliburton with 22, and Myles Turner with 16 led the way. A balance even Thanos would be proud of.
1. Bennedict Mathurin lives at the free-throw line
As a rookie, Mathurin is shooting 6.2 free throws per game and looks like he may end up as the best foul drawer / free-throw earner that the Pacers have ever had. His 8 free throws per 36 minutes and his free throw rate of .448 rank highly among the Pacers best players’ best free throw seasons over the last 30+ years: Continue reading PacersrecaP #8: Bennedict’s Simple Math, Pacers balanced attack beats Heat→
The Indiana Pacers (3-4) are on a winning streak after hitting a franchise-record 23 3-point shots as they beat the Brooklyn Nets (1-5) by a final score of 125-116.
The backcourt dynamic duo of Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin led the way in this one as they gave everyone an enticing glimpse into the Pacers future while combining for 58 points and twelve 3-pointers. They dominated the Nets to the point of their head coach Steve Nash calling his team’s performance a “disaster.” That’s what happens when you don’t play Edmond Sumner, Steve.
#1 Bennedict. Mathurin. Wow.
32 points off the bench for the Pacers rookie sensation. After a so-so performance the previous night in D.C. where he wasn’t his usual ultra-aggressive self, Mathurin made his impact immediately and efficiently after entering the game with 4:19 left in the first quarter. Over four straight possessions, Mathurin drawed a foul, hit a layup on a drive, found Goga Bitadze inside for an assist, and hit a 3-pointer quickly cutting the Nets lead from 19-11 to 22-20 in the process.
The Pacers offense started off a little timid like they had a hint of stage fright with the stage lights in Brooklyn. Mathurin, never afraid of a challenge and already seems to be the kind of guy that rises to the occasion, was the perfect antidote to wake the team up from its back-to-back slumber. Continue reading PacersrecaP #6: Haliburton and Mathurin put on a show→
The Indiana Pacers didn’t lay an egg on national television! It felt necessary to start there. They beat the Washington Wizards as they played well throughout the game on their way to a 127-117 win in what is their only scheduled game on ESPN or TNT this season.
In what was a reverse game script of the first five games, the Pacers were the ones that blitzed their opponent to start the game as a 22-2 run turned an 8-13 deficit into a 30-15 advantage and the Wizards were suddenly the ones trying to put together runs and constantly working uphill. Much like the Pacers in their losses, the Wizards also kept fighting but couldn’t get it any closer than 6 points as Indiana was able to consistently hit timely 3-pointers (15 of 29) or get to the foul line (30 of 33). Every Pacers starter scored at least 15 points and played over 30 minutes in this one.
#1 Tyrese Haliburton puts on a show for the national audience.
Tyrese Haliburton has repeated his personal goals on a few outlets in the last few months:
PACERSRECAP #3: The Indiana Pacers (1-3) couldn’t overcome a shooting drought in the first half or find enough stops against the Philadelphia 76ers’ (1-3) duo of Joel Embiid and James Harden and lost by a final score of 120-106.
With the contending-hopeful Sixers entering the game at 0-3 and the rebuilding Pacers fresh off their first win of the season, this was a game that met expectations much like a Michael Bay blockbuster. We got what we knew we would get. With Bay, you get fast cuts and explosions. With Embiid and Harden, you get flailing arms and free throws. Like Bay, this game had story beats that made little sense when inspected with the tiniest bit of scrutiny (no, it would not be harder to make astronauts become oil drillers than the other way around, Michael). For the Pacers, it was the play where James Harden simply stood in the same place on the wing for ~5 seconds and ended up with a wide-open three as a defensive communication saw Tyrese Haliburton who expected a switch and another defender both leave Harden to go with an offensive player that ghosted a screen.
The Indiana Pacers are 0-2 after a valiant effort to comeback came up short against the San Antonio Spurs as they lost 137-134.
Welcome to PacersrecaP where every column ends the way it began like a Christopher Nolan film. Think of it like Tenet, confusing at first, no one knows what I’m talking about but slowly it starts to make more sense as time goes on. Or maybe I just like palindromes and couldn’t resist being clever for the sake of being clever … like a Christopher Nolan film.
Alright, this article is already more off the rails than the Pacers defense over the first two games of the season or that train in Inception. I promise that’s the last Nolan reference—until I think of another one.
The Indiana Pacers lost the season opener to the Washington Wizards by a final score of 114-107 but the loss doesn’t mean there were no positives to takeaway from the start of the 2022-23 season.
In fact, in the same spirit of the latest Locked On Pacers episode, it’s a great time for overreacting. And in this season of no expectations, there’s no reason to not think brightly about at least few pieces of the Pacers future.
New pod! @TEastNBA is joined by ex-host Adam Friedman to overreact to the Pacers opening night loss to the Wizards:
-Turner's sudden injury -Mathurin and Haliburton shine -Big men struggles -Bench impact -Balancing shot totals
#1 Bennedict Mathurin will be the greatest shooting guard for the Indiana Pacers since Reggie Miller.
Forget all of the potential rookie-related overreactions: Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie First Team, MVP of the Rookies / Sophomores game, etc. I’m diving straight into predicting Mathurin’s whole career based on his first very game and really just the final sixty seconds. Continue reading PacersrecaP #00: Three Overreactions to the Indiana Pacers season opener→
iPacers 