by Jordan Morey
In a Sunday matinee featuring plenty of twists and turns, the Indiana Pacers outlasted the Memphis Grizzlies in the final seconds to extend their winning streak to three straight games.
The Pacers (27-20) turned a two-point halftime deficit into a double-digit third-quarter lead before holding off a late charge by the visitors for a 116-110 win over the Grizzlies (18-28) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Indiana snapped a five-game losing streak to Memphis with the win, and finished its four-game homestead 3-1.
Six players scored in double figures for the Pacers, led by 24 points by Bennedict Mathurin. Also for Indiana, Pascal Siakam logged 19 points, six rebounds, and six assists, and Jalen Smith posted 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Center Jaren Jackson Jr. topped the Grizzlies’ box score with 25 points, and Vince Williams Jr. scored 20.
Overall, the Pacers outshot the Grizzlies 48.9 to 46.3 percent and outscored the visitors 54-48 in the paint.
“Very tough game, obviously. Very physical,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “… As much as you try to prepare your group for how physical it’s going to be, words don’t do justice to it. We got knocked around in the first quarter some, did better in the second quarter, a little better in the third, and then in the fourth we were able to close it out.”
FIRST QUARTER
The Grizzlies came into the matchup extremely short-handed, missing eight players due to injuries. Indiana was also without a trio of key contributors, as Tyrese Haliburton (left hamstring strain management), Myles Turner (mid-back spasms) and T.J. McConnell (personal reasons) all didn’t suit up.
SECOND QUARTER
Indiana trailed by five points after the first quarter before using a 13-0 scoring spree midway through the second quarter to take the lead. The Grizzlies then responded with a big run of their own to lead 53-51 at intermission.
Mathurin got off to an outstanding start, accounting for 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting through 24 minutes of action, while Jackson Jr. and Williams Jr. each scored 12 points for the visitors.
Despite 12 first-quarter points by Mathurin, the Pacers shot 41 percent as a team and trailed 28-23 at the end of the frame.
The Grizzlies established a 14-6 lead five minutes into the game on 5-for-10 shooting, capped by a 3-pointer by Santi Aldama, and didn’t trail the rest of the period.
In the final 3:34 of the first quarter, Mathurin scored 10 straight points for the Blue & Gold on 4-for-4 shooting.
“The main thing for me was just to keep the game simple, just try to come out there and have an impact,” Mathurin said. “It was working. I wanted to get my teammates involved.”
Memphis stayed ahead until a 13-0 Indiana scoring spree, where Mathurin scored seven points, put the Pacers ahead 40-33 with 6:55 left in the half.
The Grizzlies responded with a 12-3 run, on five points by Williams Jr., and held the Pacers to eight points in the final 3:45 of the half to lead by two points at the break.
THIRD QUARTER
The Pacers scored 41 points in the third quarter, including 11 points from Smith, to take a 92-82 going into the final frame.
Out of halftime, the teams tied the score three times before a trio of Pacers 3-pointers – one each from Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith and Buddy Hield – gave the Pacers a 66-61 lead with 8:19 on the clock.
An 8-2 run, where Smith scored five points punctuated by a coast-to-coast dunk, extended the Pacers lead to 81-74, before a 9-1 run later extended the Pacers lead to 10.
In the final 19 seconds of the third frame, Mathurin threw down a posterizing dunk, and Obi Toppin converted an and-one off a steal to fire up the home crowd.
FOURTH QUARTER
Memphis put together a 13-2 run from 10:22 to 6:04 – with John Konchar scoring a trio of layups – to make it a one-point game before an and-one conversion by Jackson Jr. tied the game at 107 with 3:27 remaining.
While the game stayed close late in the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies never went ahead.
Smith hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession before Nesmith finished a sidewinding layup to give the Pacers a 112-108 advantage.
After GG Jackson sank two free throws to make it 112-109 with 49 seconds left, Smith flushed a dunk through contact to make it 114-110 with 35 ticks left.
Indiana got a stop on the ensuing possession before Nembhard drained free throws to make it 116-110 with 14.2 seconds left.
Memphis couldn’t make the comeback from there.
On Tuesday, the Pacers hit the road for their next game, taking on the Eastern Conference-first-place Celtics (35-11) at TD Garden.
Inside the Numbers
The Pacers are 24-7 when six or more players score in double digits.
Indiana has a record of 8-2 when Bennedict Mathurin scores 20+ points.
The Grizzlies shot 23-for-31 from the free throw line while the Pacers made 15-of-16 from the charity stripe.
Aaron Nesmith recorded a career-high six assists.
Indiana’s bench outscored Memphis’ reserves 54-43.
The Pacers made 13 3-pointers and the Grizzlies made 11.
Indiana had 13 turnovers while Memphis gave up 10.
You Can Quote Me On That
“I thought (Bennedict) Mathurin was tremendous. In the first half when we couldn’t get anything going, he was making the right play every time. The right drive, the right pull-up, the right read. He gave us a lot of life in the first and second quarters. Tremendous growth by him this year with those things.” – Pacers head coach Bennedict Carlisle on Mathurin
“He made key plays down the stretch again. His numbers don’t look super gaudy. 16 and nine, those are good numbers. But he scored in traffic one time, he made the pass to Stix for a dunk one time, and he was tough defensively the whole game.” – Carlisle on Andrew Nembhard
“The last play of the game for them was one of the reasons we traded for Pascal. Put him on a playmaking big like Jackson. They ran a keeper, he smelled it out, was able to stay in front, force a difficult shot, then rebound, and then the game was basically over…He plays an all-around game that really compliments our roster.” – Carlisle on Siakam
“Stix played great, he really did. As the game went along, he adjusted better and better to (Jaren) Jackson and his tendencies. He hit enormous shots in the game. I mean, the three he hit in front of our bench in the fourth quarter was a monster shot for us.” – Carlisle on Jalen Smith
“Knowing what the defense gives me. They were giving me drives early and I was applying pressure, going to the rim.” – Mathurin on his mindset on Sunday
“Mainly it was transition. Applying pressure at the rim, I feel like it opened up a lot of things — drives, kick-outs, stuff like that.” – Mathurin on the Pacers’ success in the paint
Stat of the Night
Indiana’s Jalen Smith scored a season-high 19 points while recording 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of 2023-2024. The Pacers are 4-0 when Smith has a double-double.
Noteworthy
- Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton missed a fifth straight game due to left hamstring strain management. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said Haliburton will be considered day-to-day next week after being evaluated over the weekend.
- Pacers second-year guard Andrew Nembhard eclipsed 1,000 career points on Sunday. He came into the game with 998 and scored 16 against the Grizzlies.
- Newest Pacer Pascal Siakam reached 9,000 career points on Sunday. He needed 16 points to hit the mark and had 19.
- The Pacers are 8-2 when wearing their CITY EDITION jerseys this season.
- The Grizzlies’ roster features four players who played high school or college basketball in Indiana: Jackson (La Lumiere/Park Tudor), Desmond Bane (Seton Catholic School), John Konchar (Purdue Fort Wayne), and Jake LaRavia (Lawrence Central).
Up Next
The Pacers travel to Boston to take on Jayson Tatum and the East-leading Celtics on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 PM ET.
Originally posted on pacers.com