10 thoughts on the Pacers win over the Heat without Tyrese Haliburton
A gritty performance from the Pacers without their all-star guard leads them to a much-needed victory in South Beach.
Things were not looking good for the Pacers at the halfway point of the 1st quarter, but the bench unit came in and provided a spark that the team needed. McConnell helped push the pace, Jackson got out and ran the floor and the duo of Mathurin and Nesmith put some much-needed points on the board.
Then, when Pacers starters rejoined the game, they played with a much more energetic spirit that carried on through the entirety of the game. This was a terrific team effort that got the job done.
I apologize in advance for no film breakdown in this recap, but here are my 10 thoughts on the Pacers big time road victory:
1). Obi Toppin was the MVP
While the first 6-minutes were a bit worrisome, the starters found a groove once they returned back into the game. Obi Toppin proved tonight against Miami why the Pacers traded for him this off-season. The chemistry that Toppin has with Haliburton is a real thing, but tonight Toppin showed how impactful he can be without being a beneficiary of Haliburton’s excellence.
Toppin was assigned to defend Jimmy Butler and he did a tremendous job. Coach Carlisle matched Obi Toppin’s minutes with Jimmy Butler’s and Toppin had a career night holding Butler to just 4-11 shooting when he was the primary defender.
One thing Butler is infamous for, is being a foul merchant and using his pump fake to get defenders out of position. However, Toppin showed discipline the entire game and made it difficult for Butler to get clean looks or draw fouls. Toppin’s defense overall was great, as he led the team in blocks with a career high 4, and he secured 2 of them in one possession in the 3rd quarter that led to a shot clock violation. An overall great defensive game from Toppin.
In addition to that, Toppin was efficient offensively. He went 7-8 from the field, 4-5 from three and 4-4 from the free throw line for 22-points. Overall, this might have been Toppin’s most impressive game as a member of the Pacers.
2). T.J. McConnell was the X-Factor
Enough can’t be said about how huge T.J. was in this game. Indiana’s pace was lethargic before McConnell was substituted in, and he brought an energy that was desperately needed. He pushed the ball up and down the floor and got the Pacers into the rhythm they like to play with.
After not playing in the previous game against Miami, McConnell was called upon with Haliburton being sidelined with a sickness. This was a great opportunity for T.J. and he took advantage of the extended playing time. He dished out 11-assists, had 20-points on an outrageous 10-11 shooting, committed only 1-turnover and picked up his first double-double of the season. Rick Carlisle rewarded T.J. for his efforts and let him close the game out by playing him the entire 4th quarter.
Tonight was a perfect example of how to be a professional and always stay ready. McConnell’s minutes have been up and down this season, and he’s received multiple DNP-coach’s decisions. Instead of sulking about his lack of playing time, he’s been a great supporter and encourager on the bench and delivered the goods when called upon. I was so happy for McConnell’s success, and I am glad that all the faithful McConnell stans of Pacers Nation got to witness a special performance from the 2nd longest tenured Pacer.
3). Best game of Bruce Brown’s Pacers tenure
In 36-minutes and 45-seconds of play, Bruce Brown led the Pacers in not only minutes, but also in scoring, for just the second time this season (Brown had 24-points on opening night against Washington). Brown had his first 30-point game of the year, which is ironically only the 2nd time in his entire career that he has scored 30 or more points. His career high is 31-points, which he accomplished last season against the Phoenix Suns.
The 2nd half was when Brown was most productive. He had 20-points on 7-10 shooting and was a +16 in the minutes he was on the floor. With 8:37 left in the 4th, Brown hit a three to give Indiana a 115-103 lead. Miami called a timeout and Brown turned to the crowd and loudly let them know that he was feeling it. T.J. McConnell joined in on the fun banter with the crowd and you could feel the positive energy they had.
Bruce Brown played his college basketball at the University of Miami under coach Jim Larrañaga, who was in attendance for the game Saturday evening. Larrañaga has been the head coach of Miami since 2011 and just led the Hurricanes to their only Final 4 appearance last year. Pacers 2-way guard, Isaiah Wong, was a part of that team. Coach Larrañaga has meant a lot to Bruce Brown and having a big night in front of him was extra special.
4). Solid play all-around from Bennedict Mathurin
Without Tyrese Haliburton spearheading the offense, the Pacers struggled out of the gate but found some momentum when Benn Mathurin was subbed into the game. He provided Indiana with 8-points on 3-4 shooting and made it difficult for Miami to defend him.
He finished the game with 16-points on 6-10 shooting while dishing out 4-assists and grabbing 5-rebounds. Mathurin did commit 4 of Indiana’s 9-turnovers, but his aggressiveness and assertiveness were pivotal in getting Indiana back into this game.
Mathurin had the 3rd most minutes from the wing/guard position in Saturday’s game, as Rick Carlilse depended on his scoring threat/ability. Mathurin was solid defensively for the majority of the game, which helped him stay on the court for a longer period of time as well. There were a few miscues here and there, but mostly, Mathurin had an all-around good game and hopefully this helps his confidence moving forward.
5). Second half dominance
The Pacers shot 30-38 from the field for the entire 2nd half. They had 19-assists and only committed 5-turnovers. Indiana was also able to play Duncan Robinson off the floor, as he fouled out of the game and was charged with 5-fouls in the second half.
Indiana scored 41-points in the 3rd quarter and 38-points in the 4th quarter. They went 6-7 from three in the 3rd quarter and 5-7 from three in the 4th quarter. The looks they missed on Thursday were falling on Saturday and then some. Indiana blew Miami out of the water in the 4th quarter and had a lead as high as 17-points. Truly a strong performance from a motivated team to win without their all-star point guard.
6). Pacers hold Butler to just 9 free throw attempts!
In Thursday’s game, Jimmy Butler was a foul merchant king, finding himself on the free-throw line for 20-attempts. The Pacers were double teaming him all game long on Thursday and he was able to manipulate the coverage and get Indiana into serious foul trouble, while also scoring exactly half his points at the free throw line.
Indiana could not afford to get into foul trouble with their rotation already impacted by the injuries of Haliburton and Smith. Toppin deserves a ton of credit for his defensive impact of Butler, but Nesmith, Mathurin, Nembhard and Brown all also deserve credit for keeping him off the foul line when switched onto him.
The Pacers continued to double-team Butler in this game as well, but they were able to do so without fouling. Butler still finished the game with 33-points, but it took him 23 shots to get there. He is a great player that had an even bigger load to carry with Bam Adebayo sidelined with an injury.
Rick Carlilse mentioned to Jeremiah Johnson pregame that Bam’s absence meant Butler would get more touches offensively. Indiana knew they would have their hands full, and they were able to defend Butler as effectively as could hope for.
7). Indiana holds Miami to ZERO fast break points
The Pacers are best when they get out and run, but they are even more dangerous when they do that, plus hold their opponents to zero fast break points. Believe it or not, Indiana won the fast break points battle 20-0. Indiana’s defense was much better in this tilt then they were on Thursday, and they were able to play the majority of their defense in a halfcourt setting.
Fast break points usually come off steals and long rebounds, but Indiana only had the ball stolen from them 3-times and they shot 50% from three. The higher 3-point-percentage limited the amount of long rebounding opportunities Miami would have to get out in transition, and protecting the ball as well as the Pacers did prevented Miami from having more chances to get out in the open court after a successful swipe away.
8). The Pacers improve to 6-0 when Aaron Nesmith scores in double-digits
It’s only right we give Aaron Nesmith his flowers for how well he played in this game. Facci and I talked about Nesmith being due for a breakout game on “Setting The Pace” and Facci dropped a nugget that Indiana was undefeated when Nesmith scored in double-digits.
26 points vs. Cleveland
13 points vs. Cleveland
15 points vs. San Antonio
24 points vs. Utah
17 points vs. Atlanta
Well, I think Aaron Nesmith must have been tuning into the podcast, because he came out and delivered. He went 7-9 from the field for 20-points, he also had 4-rebounds, 1-assist and 1-block. This was a much-needed game for Nesmith, who has now scored in double-digits 6 times in the 15-games he has played this year.
9). Miami’s 4th quarter zone had no effect on the Pacers’ offensive success
At the beginning of the 4th quarter, Miami changed from their man-to-man defense to a zone defense to try and slow Indiana down. On the first offensive possession for Indiana, Mathurin turned the ball over and Miami was able to score to and the lead was now 106-100.
Things could have gotten dicey here if Indiana didn’t find success against the zone, but not only did they find success, they were able to torch Miami with their zone offense.
Indiana sent Myles Turner into the middle of the Heat zone, about 10-feet from the basket and he connected on back-to-back jumpers. Adjusting to Turner’s presence in that area, McConnell sliced right through the middle of the zone defense and hit a 5-foot pullup jumper.
This caused Miami to evacuate their zone defense and get back into their man-to-man coverage. Coach Carlisle mentioned a few weeks ago that he expects more teams to throw zone at them and that he was looking forward to seeing more of them. The Pacers executed the zone offense to perfection and made the Heat pay.
10). Poor shooting night from Nembhard, but he still positively impacted the game
With Tyrese Haliburton out, Andrew Nembhard was given the opportunity to start. While he struggled to score the basketball, he found success as a facilitator, dishing out 11-assists and committing 0-turnovers in 23-minutes of play.
McConnell’s play kept Nembhard from reentering the game in the 4th quarter, but anyone who tries to diminish the impact Nembhard had on this particular game is only looking at the 4-points he scored and the 1-9 shooting from the field. Nembhard finished the game with a +10 in the plus-minus and defended his butt off, as he normally does.
Nembhard’s shot has not been reliable this season, and Chris and Quinn discussed how he hasn’t looked 100% himself since the injury he suffered to his back a few weeks ago. As the season progresses, the Pacers will need Nembhard’s shooting splits to improve from .449/.243/.714. However, he still has a positive net rating of 4.9 this season in the 15-games he’s played, showing his impact on the floor, despite the underwhelming scoring production.