The Indiana Pacers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, 116-107, to take a 2-1 lead in front of their home fans on Thursday night.
The Pacers were led by stellar bench play from Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin, and TJ McConnell, who finished with 27, eight, and 10 points, respectively.
While Mathurin led all scorers in the game, Toppin got his flowers, with six much-needed rebounds and two blocks. The Pacers' bench outscored the Thunder's, 49-18, and were able to slow down the starters they matched up against.
While Mathurin was the best player off the bench for either team, Tyrese Haliburton thinks that Obi Toppin is a "perfect" player for the Pacers.
"He continues to bring that pace to the game, and he's flying up the floor, and you're hitting him ahead," praised Haliburton of Toppin. "He did a great job today of making the right play. Had a huge tip-in dunk, and those are huge energy plays for this building."
Toppin brought the house down in the fourth quarter, bringing the Pacers' lead to seven points, and they never looked back.
"He fits so perfect with what we do, and when we traded for him, I was really excited not only because of our personal relationship, but because of how well he can help this group," Haliburton continued. "He's going to continue to do that. He was really big. Our bench was really big tonight as a whole, so we need that consistently."
The Pacers traded two second-round picks to the New York Knicks for Toppin in 2023, and it's safe to say that the Knicks would have enjoyed having a depth piece of his caliber in the last two seasons.
The Pacers are two wins away from their first NBA championship and will look to take a 3-1 lead at home on Friday night.
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