'This is a team game': Big plays, small moments fuel Pacers in Game 4 win

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Pacers are one win away from their second NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.




The Blue and Gold took a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals on the back of a triple-double from Tyrese Haliburton, a 30-point night from Pascal Siakam and a gritty performance from Aaron Nesmith.




Add in a heaping helping of Bennedict Mathurin and a clutch shot from Obi Toppin, and you have the ingredients for a crucial win in Game 4 against the New York Knicks, 130-121.




Haliburton tormented the Knicks with another signature playoff performance, finishing with 32 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds. He added four steals and, despite his many touches on offense, didn't have a single turnover.

The numbers are glitzy-even historic. But veteran coach Rick Carlisle was quick to point out that basketball is a team game. Getting the win means looking beyond the box score.




"This is a team game. It's not about the numbers. It's about being ready and, a lot of times, defining plays in the playoffs have nothing to do with statistical things, they're loose ball plays, they're charges taken, stuff like that," Carlisle said. "Celebrate that. Talk about that. Those are the kinds of things that are truly important."




He means things like Haliburton stealing the ball from Knicks star Jalen Brunson in the corner. Mathurin keeping an offensive possession alive by tipping the rebound to a teammate. Nesmith, on a hobbled ankle, taking a charge from OG Anunoby with 2:30 left.




Those types of winning plays typified the Pacers in Game 4. Every player made a contribution. Perhaps no shot was bigger than Toppin's dagger from the elbow.




The Knicks had knocked the ball away from Andrew Nembhard as the Pacers tried to extend their lead. Coming up empty on the possession could've allowed the Knicks to draw closer. Instead, Toppin slammed the door.

The shot came with 45 seconds left and put the Pacers up by ten; Haliburton found Toppin on an inbounds pass from the baseline with 2.7 seconds left on the shot clock.




Toppin finished with five points. He attempted just three shots, including two three-pointers, in his 18 minutes on the court. He had a negative plus/minus (-1) and had a so-so stat line that included a pair of steals, a pair of assists, a pair of steals and three personal fouls.




But when the moment arrived, Toppin met it, burying the shot that finally put the pesky Knicks away in Game 4.

Nesmith's gutsy performance

When Aaron Nesmith went down with an ankle injury in Game 3, the Pacers seemed to lose their focus. They let the Knicks outplay and outhustle them, especially in the fourth quarter, and while Nesmith returned with about seven minutes left, the Pacers simply couldn't find their footing.




They ended up losing 106-100, squandering a 20-point advantage and a chance to take a 3-0 series lead.




Carlisle said Nesmith would be a game-time decision for Tuesday. In Nesmith's mind, there was no way he was missing it.




"I got hurt and they came to me and said, 'We want to see how you feel,' and I was like, 'I don't care how I feel.' This is what we all live for. We prepare for this all year long, our entire lives, and these moments-I can't miss these moments," Nesmith said.




He and the training staff tried just about everything when it came to treatment.




"Right after the game, treatment started. Red light therapy, game readies, stem machines, hyperbaric chamber-anything that you could think of, I was doing it pretty much from the buzzer of last game to tipoff today," he said. "It was a long 24-36 hours."

Nesmith's injury alarmed Carlisle.




"I was really concerned after Game 3 what today was going to feel like for him," Carlisle said. "He got a lot of treatment yesterday. Fortunately, we didn't have to travel. You get in a plane with an ankle, you know, the thing has a tendency to blow up."




The coach revealed Nesmith's mother even played a role in his recovery.




"He's done a lot of treatment, he's got all kinds of electronic devices hooked up to him," Carlisle said. "His mom's in town helping him with ice and stuff like that. He was determined to be in this game. Very meaningful that he was able to do it. Hopefully he can bounce back from tonight."




"Anything she can do, she can," Nesmith said of his mother.




It was worth it. Nesmith played 32 minutes and finished with a plus/minus of +20. He finished with 16 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal. He ignited the crowd with a vicious dunk in the first quarter. The ankle looked fine.




And while his scoring trailed off in the second half, he hounded Brunson and took that late-game charge from Anunoby. At the time, the score was 121-114 and the Knicks never drew any closer.

Mathurin's emergence

The postseason marks the first playoff experience for Bennedict Mathurin, the Pacers' third-year guard. The Pacers didn't make the playoffs in his rookie season and Mathurin missed last year's postseason run with an injury.




It's safe to say he's had a rough series against the Knicks, finding it hard to be productive in limited minutes off the bench.




He had a breakout game in the Eastern Conference Finals, scoring 20 points off the bench and bullying his way to the free throw line, where he made 10 of 11 attempts. He harassed the Knicks and drew a pair of key fouls in the fourth quarter. He did it all in about 12 minutes on the floor.




 "Everybody wants to win a championship, but you have to be willing to the right things and I feel tonight was a great step in the right direction," Mathurin said.

Carlisle and Mathurin's teammates were effusive in their praise.




"Proud of Benn Mathurin. The guy has stayed ready. Came in yesterday, worked on shooting and some simulated game shots. I've just been encouraging him to stay ready, that we need him and that the playoffs are just a different animal," Carlisle said. "Tonight, he was great. Really gave us a huge lift and some really timely buckets."




Carlisle described Mathurin as a "confident" and "tough" player.




"In a tough playoff series against a tough opponent like this, he fits into this. In games this year where you're playing against physical opponents and it becomes a ratty game, he goes in there and he's going to come out of there with 15 points and seven free throws," the coach said. "This is a great moment for him, but he can't exhale."




"He's a big part of why we won today," said Pascal Siakam, who finished with 30 points. "He's been having a tough go, maybe not getting minutes or whatever's happening, his resiliency and the way he came out so aggressive was huge for us. Playing defense, he looked free out there. Just playing the way that Benn does out there. I just loved his energy overall and the force he played with."




"It's really about what I can do to help my team win," Mathurin said. "Tonight, I was pretty good to help my team win."

Game 5 Thursday

The series shifts back to Madison Square Garden on Thursday. The Pacers have a chance to close out the Knicks and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since the Reggie Miller days.




Tip is set for 8 p.m. TNT will again have the TV broadcast.



via: https://fox59.com/sports/pacers/this-is-a-team-game-big-plays-small-moments-fuel-pacers-in-game-4-win/