by Raegan Walsh
The Pacers were on fire at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as they defeated the third-best team in the East, the Philadelphia 76ers, 134-122, Thursday night.
The newest Pacer, Pascal Siakam, took the spotlight as he recorded his first triple-double of the season and sixth of his career with 26 points, a season-high 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.
But Siakam did not completely steal the show, as six others in Indiana uniforms totaled double digits on the night. Myles Turner’s 20 points and nine rebounds were followed by Andrew Nembhard’s 19 points, Aaron Nesmith’s 16 points, Bennedict Mathurin and Obi Toppin’s 13 points apiece and Buddy Hield’s 11 points.
“We had a great attitude toward this game and we made it our kind of game. And I think that made a big difference,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “Siakam was obviously tremendous – sixth triple-double of his career, first obviously as a Pacer. When you get a power forward with a triple double it’s pretty special.”
FIRST QUARTER
Though losing the tipoff, Indiana quickly earned the ball back after Turner intercepted a pass and put Indiana on the board with two made free throws after he was fouled on an attempted layup. After Philadelphia failed to convert in both of their next two possessions, Indiana took a 6-0 lead just one minute into the game as each turnover resulted in a layup from Nembhard on the other end of the floor.
Indiana took advantage of Philadelphia making only three field goals on their first nine attempts as they propelled themselves to a 15-6 lead with a dunk from Turner at the eight-minute mark.
The Pacers took a 17-6 lead with 7:20 remaining in the first frame, but Philadelphia responded with a 7-2 scoring run that cut the deficit to six points roughly three minutes later. The Sixers’ momentum quickly subsided as the Blue and Gold raced ahead again to a 13-point advantage off of a layup from T.J. McConnell.
McConnell, stationed behind the arc, found Toppin under the basket and threw him a lob pass that resulted in a dunk, giving Indiana a nine-point lead, 34-25, with 14.2 seconds remaining in the frame. Directly after this sequence, Jalen Smith’s block on an attempted dunk from KJ Martin kept Philadelphia from scoring before the clock sounded to signal the end of the first frame.
Indiana racked up five blocks in the first quarter, with Turner accounting for four of them. Siakam was the leading scorer in the frame as he totaled eight points, with Turner following behind with seven points.
“Both of those guys were significant pluses in this game, so it tells you that they’re working well together,” Carlisle said about the chemistry between Turner and Siakam. “One of Myles’ best 3-point shots tonight came on a play where the ball moved, Pascal got it, penetrated in and made a late pass out. There aren’t many 6-9 guys that make that play…Those kinds of plays are special.”
SECOND QUARTER
Bennedict Mathurin caught fire for Indiana to open the second quarter as the sole scoring contributor for the first three and a half minutes, racking up 10 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting clip. Toppin was the second Pacer to put himself in the second-quarter scoring column when he drained a 3-pointer at the 8:20 minute mark, and then notched another four points for Indiana within the next two minutes.
Both teams shot 50 percent from the floor in the first six minutes of the frame, with Mathurin and Toppin being the only scorers for the Blue and Gold. At 5:05, Siakam joined them when he drilled a 3-pointer to put Indiana ahead, 54-44. Indiana would score five more uncontested points in the next minute and a half.
A 3-pointer from Nesmith, who racked up all 11 of his first-half points in the frame on his first four shot attempts from the floor, capped off a 16-6 Pacers scoring run and extended their lead to 67-50 with a little over two minutes remaining to play in the first half. Indiana would maintain a 12-point lead going into the locker room after an 11-6 scoring run by the Sixers was capped off with two free throws from Tyrese Maxey to close out the half.
Indiana closed out the first half shooting 55.1 percent from the floor (27-of-49), including 50 percent (8-of-16) from beyond the arc. Siakam led all Indiana scorers with 13 points, while Nesmith and Toppin followed behind with 11 points apiece.
THIRD QUARTER
The Pacers hit the ground running to start the third frame as a 9-0 scoring run in the first two minutes of play earned them a, 83-61, lead. Indiana did not miss a bucket on its first six attempts throughout the first four minutes, while Philadelphia made only two of their shots on six attempts.
Indiana’s ninth completed shot on 12 attempts was a slam dunk from Siakam assisted by Nembhard, which gave Indiana a 25-point lead, 95-70, at 6:02.
In the midst of a 17-6 scoring run, Indiana took its largest advantage of the game when Siakam found Turner under a basket and sent him a lob pass from half court, resulting in a layup that put Indiana ahead, 100-73, at 3:38. The Blue and Gold shot 4-of-7 from the floor through the remainder of the third frame, though slowing their offensive pace slightly to total just 10 points in those roughly four minutes.
While shooting 60 percent (15-of-25) from the floor in the third quarter, Indiana outscored Philadelphia, 37-28, as they held the Sixers to 49.2 percent (31-of-63) shooting. Turner and Siakam led the way in scoring, with 10 and seven points respectively.
Philadelphia extended a scoring run started in the third quarter to 12-4 with its first bucket of the final frame as they brought the deficit to 18 points at 11:20. However, both teams went cold during the brief intermission, as Indiana made only one shot on its first six attempts and Philadelphia converted just one of its first seven attempts in the fourth quarter.
After a made McConnell jump shot twenty seconds later, both teams entered a scoring drought for two minutes. After the Sixers had brought the deficit back to 18-points, McConnell ran the length of the court to speed past the defense and complete a layup to put Indiana ahead, 116-96, at 7:29. A Smith dunk assisted by Mathurin gave the Blue and Gold a 118-96 lead.
FOURTH QUARTER
An 11-2 scoring run over the course of two minutes brought Philadelphia within 13 points of the lead, which was the smallest deficit since the start of the third quarter.
Siakam secured his first triple-double of the season by dishing out his 10th assist of the night to Nembhard for a layup to put Indiana ahead, 128-109, at 3:23. At 2:52, Siakam’s made pull-up jumper got all of Gainbridge Fieldhouse on their feet as he finished off Indiana’s 10-2 scoring run with his 24th point of the night.
Though the Sixers finished off the matchup with a 13-4 scoring run and ultimately outscored Indiana in the final frame, 33-24, Indiana maintained a 12-point lead as the final horn sounded.
For Philadelphia, the Sixers were led by Joel Embiid’s 31 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the floor to go along with seven rebounds. Maxey followed behind with 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the floor, while Ricky Council IV and Martin totaled 11 points apiece.
Inside the Numbers
Indiana pulled down a season-high 55 rebounds to outrebound Philadelphia, 55-31.
The Pacers recorded eight blocked shots, with five of them being recorded in the first frame alone.
The Blue and Gold dished out 35 assists, led by Siakam’s 10 and Nembhard’s eight, while Philadelphia recorded 24 assists.
Indiana shot 57 percent (53-of-93) and held Philadelphia to 48.3 percent (42-of-87) from the floor. Indiana also racked up 12 3-pointers on 28 attempts; Nesmith, Turner, and Hield each recorded three 3-pointers apiece.
The Pacers outscored the Sixers, 68-52, in the paint.
You Can Quote Me On That
“I’m pretty sure our players are pretty aware of the many ways he can help us…Pascal just has such a great vibe as a player. He’s a player that you’re drawn to as fan just because of how he carries himself on how much joy he plays with.” -Carlisle on Siakam
“He’s shown what he can do. He’s a great iso player. He sees the floor well — obviously he had a triple-double tonight — sees the floor well, plays with a lot of passion and energy. He fits right into our mold.” -Turner on Siakam
“The more I get out there with those guys, the more they’re going to understand what I can do best and I’m also going to see what they do…I thought that practice was crucial just to get out there, run some of the things that we do, and I’ve just got to find a way to get more and more comfortable.” -Siakam on feeling more comfortable with his new teammates
“Being named a starter is a big deal. It just puts you in another class, another category. It’s an enormous honor, and the fact that it’s three different groups—fans, media and players—it makes it even more meaningful.” -Carlisle on Haliburton being named an All-Star starter
“There’s always going to be external noise…The truth is, when Myles Turner plays within himself to his skillset, he’s a top center in the league. There’s no disputing that. And this year, he’s done that.” -Carlisle on Turner having the right mindset
“I’m going to go try to get rebounds. That’s like my mindset. The assists (are) going to come, sometimes you’ll have them, sometimes you won’t. But I’m putting an emphasis on rebounding. I want to get better as a rebounder. This team needs it and that’s one of the challenges that I have coming in here.” -Siakam on his triple-double
“He’s going to score his points, but it’s just making it hard on him. I think it was just by committee tonight. I think we had a great game plan. Everybody was committed. Everybody had my back.” -Turner on the defense on Embiid
“I love the team. Talking to Ty…all those guys have just been awesome. The front office has been awesome. That’s all you can really ask for as a player. To go to a place where from the fanbase to the equipment manager, it’s just so much respect and love and appreciation. It just feels good.” -Siakam on what he loves about the Pacers so far
Stat of the Night
Pascal Siakam recorded his first triple-double of the season and sixth of his career tonight in just his fourth game with the Pacers. Siakam notched 26 points, pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds and dished out 10 assists in the win.
Noteworthy
With the win tonight, the Pacers won the regular season series with Philadelphia, 2-1. The Sixers won in Philadelphia on Nov. 12, but the Pacers prevailed two nights later in an In-Season Tournament contest.
Just before tipoff, Tyrese Haliburton was named a starter for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game. This is Haliburton’s second All-Star recognition after participating in the 2023 NBA All-Star Game as a reserve.
Haliburton sat out for the third straight game as he recovers from a left hamstring strain.
TJ McConnell recorded his 3,000th career assist tonight as he dished out five assists.
Originally posted on pacers.com