Indiana

Pacers

Nesmith didn’t have the best night as a three-point shooter, making one of his seven attempts. However, he finished the series 13-of-29 from deep and recorded his first double-double in Tuesday’s clincher. While he had a limited defensive impact on Donovan Mitchell (he shot well over 50 percent when Nesmith was his primary defender), the Pacers’ wing has been a valuable contributor on both ends of the floor. Next up for Indiana is New York or Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Nembhard was one of Indiana’s unsung heroes in this round, thanks mainly to his solid play on both ends of the floor. In addition to being a factor defensively, Nembhard reached double figures in four of the five games. While he may not be one of the stars, Nembhard’s value is not overlooked within the Pacers’ locker room. Whether it’s New York or Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers will need similar performances from Nembhard to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.

While Siakam shot just 40 percent from the field, his fingerprints were all over Indiana’s Game 5 victory. The complete stat line was his first of the series, with the veteran forward matching his series-high in points. Siakam also recorded series-high numbers in rebounds, assists and blocked shots in helping the Pacers reach the Eastern Conference Finals for a second straight year. Indiana will face New York or Boston in the next round, and they’ll start the series on the road regardless of which team advances.

Despite getting into early foul trouble, Haliburton was outstanding in helping the Pacers seal a second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance. Whistled for three first-quarter fouls, Haliburton only attempted one shot in the period. He made up for that by shooting 5-of-5 from three in the second quarter, pulling Indiana to within four at the half. Haliburton had plenty of help in the second half, with Indiana completing its rally to end the series. While the Pacers don’t know their opponent in the next round, they know they’ll begin on the road in either New York or Boston.

Toppin has been a solid reserve for Indiana all season, but he hadn’t been as productive in the postseason until Game 4. This was the second-highest scoring playoff game of Toppin’s career, narrowly finishing behind his 21-point game against the Bucks last season. Toppin will continue to play a large role off the bench, but the odds of him reaching 20 points again are slim.

For the fourth time in Indiana’s last six games, Turner scored 20 points. This time, it only took him 22 minutes. Turner has been a big part of the offense recently, and the strategy is working; they are 4-0 when he scores at least 20 points during this postseason, and they’re 17-2 over the course of the entire season when he reaches 20 points. Turner will continue to feature heavily in the offense in Game 5 as the Pacers look to close out this series.

What a night it was for Siakam, who only missed one shot in the blowout win. He only played 21 minutes, but that was more than enough for Indiana to take complete control of this game. His dominant night has them just one win away from returning to the conference finals for a second straight season. Siakam hadn’t been a significant part of the offense in this series, but the strategy to get him going paid off on Sunday. He’ll look to stay hot in Game 5 on Tuesday with a chance to close out the series.

Mathurin has been getting into it with De’Andre Hunter all series, and more of the same resulted in an early departure for Mathurin, who scored 23 points in Game 3. Mathurin gave Hunter a shot to the chest, and Hunter retaliated by pushing Mathurin on the ground. Myles Turner gave Hunter a shoulder to defend Mathurin, and both Hunter and Turner were assessed technicals. However, Mathurin, who stood over Hunter after he dislocated his thumb in Game 1, was assessed a Flagrant 2. Ben Sheppard will likely take on extra minutes after Mathurin’s night lasted only one minute.

On Friday, Mathurin was Indiana’s most effective scorer, shooting over 50 percent from the field and reaching double figures for the third straight game. The negative for those viewing his performance through a fantasy lens is that Mathurin did not provide much beyond points, three-pointers and percentages. That was an issue for him in previous seasons, but Mathurin was slightly better during this past regular season. His production will be key in this series regardless of the fantasy implications. Game 4 is on Sunday, with the Pacers holding a 2-1 lead.

After playing well in the Pacers’ two wins in Cleveland, there’s no sugarcoating that Haliburton was ineffective on Friday. Pestered by Max Strus for most of Game 3, the Pacers’ point guard shot 25 percent from the field and committed three turnovers. While Indiana won’t be too concerned about Haliburton, given the overall body of work, he’ll need to be much better in Sunday’s Game 4, especially with the Cavaliers back to full strength.