There are JWB* games and then there are JWB games. THIS was a JWB game.
The Pacers rallied late, surviving a scare from the ‘Ghost of Bulls’ games past’ to beat the Kings, 111-109. The Pacers appeared ready to roll early, jumping out to a 16-6 lead to start the game, but Domas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan went to work the Kings lead 28-27 to end the quarter.
The Pacers were playing without Myles Turner and using Thomas Bryant and Tony Bradley in normal big lineups proved pretty comfy for Domas. The Kings extended the lead to six at the half and it resembled some Bulls games from a couple of years ago with Zach LaVine (14 points at half) joining DeRozan (12 points at half) to hit the Pacers from all over the court.
Following the break, the Pacers altered their approach leaning more heavily on small lineups with Obi Toppin at center and Jarace Walker adding his size to the reserve lineup. Forcing Sabonis to guard all over the court shook up his game, as DeRozan became the primary offensive threat. Aaron Nesmith spent much of his time defending DeRozan who finished with 31 points on 24 shots, but most of those shot were earned as mid-range, contested pull-ups.
The Kings pushed the lead to 16 points midway through the third quarter when the reserve group went small and the Pacers started gaining some traction. The teams seemed to swap runs the rest of the way and in the fourth quarter it felt like the Pacers deficit would go down to four and back to nine several times.
The Pacers were getting good looks to close the gap further but kept clanking open threes that would tie the game or give the Pacers the lead. Haliburton, Siakam, Nesmith, Nembhard, you name ‘em, they missed ‘em. In the final four minutes, Tyrese Haliburton made a couple of twos, the draw the Pacers within one point twice. Then finally, with 1:17 left, Haliburton set up Domas for a step back three, and splashed it home to give the Pacers a 100-98 lead and light the Fieldhouse on fire.
After a defensive stop, Pascal Siakam knocked down another 3-ball to give the Pacers a five-point lead with 36 seconds to go. As the game went to a timeout, Siakam and Toppin shared a little celebration dance at mid-court and the win was within Pacers grasp. They just had to make free throws in order to close out the game.
Easier said than done since the Kings kept hitting deep, quick threes to make the free throws critical. Tyrese Haliburton hit the first two, then Aaron Nesmith made six consecutive on three trips to the line to keep the Kings at Bay and make a LaVine three at the buzzer meaningless, except to a swath of bettors taking a bad beat or miraculous win.
The actual win for the Pacers wasn’t as miraculous as some of their other recent wins of late, but it did provide another opportunity for the Pacers, playing without Turner and Bennedict Mathurin, to dig deep, not give in and find a way to win. Toppin and Walker had a huge impact on the win off the bench with their versatile play in the small lineups. Toppin finished with 19 points and 7 rebounds, making 5 threes to keep the Pacers hanging around. Walker made three 3-balls and finished with 15 points and two steals. Perfect playoff prep.
Speaking of the playoffs, the Pacers have seven games remaining starting with the Hornets at the Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. The Pacers clinched a top six spot in the East on their off day thanks to the Blazers win over the Hawks. The Pacers remain two games (plus the tiebreaker) ahead of the Pistons for the fourth spot and home court advantage in the first round. It is the heart of scoreboard and standings watch season. No time to exhale or lose focus against a very short-handed Hornets team.
*- Jus win, baby!
Pacers vs. Hornets
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
When: Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2025, 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers -5.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Thomas Bryant
Hornets: KJ Simpson, Seth Curry, Josh Green, Miles Bridges, Mark Williams
Injuries
Pacers: Myles Turner (illness) - questionable, Bennedict Mathurin (calf) - questionable, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out
Hornets: Josh Okogie (hamstring) - questionable, LaMelo Ball (ankle) - out, Tre Mann (back) - out, Brandon Miller (wrist) - out, Grant Williams (knee) - out
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Indy Cornrows with Tom Lewis
Indy Cornrows with Tom Lewis