Pacers Forever wrote:Great finish. Gutsy play by Nesmith second half guarding stud Booker. 22 points and 7 rebounds
Nembhard playing well and filling in very well for Tyrese. 22 points and 8 assists.
Siakam 31 points 7 rebounds steady stud.
Toppin 23 points 11 rebounds playing inspired.
Smith 13 points 10 rebounds.
Myles and Buddy rough night and smartly Carlisle benched both in favor of Toppin and Smith. That’s huge in my opinion. I Jax no run which is ok tonight.
Now that my heart has calmed down, wanted to add on-
Nesmith's effort all game (season!) on both ends. Wonder when NBA media will stop disrespecting him? But tonight, 3 incredible defensive plays which were mainly caused by determination and EFFORT- block on Booker's 3, on the foul on Grayson Allen and of course the defending on Booker at the end. Incredible.
Nembhard talk about clutch. Three what looked like easy buckets when Pacers needed it most late in the 4th.
I loved that coach Carlisle kept Mathurin in and i know he missed the last layup, but thought he also played some very good defense and showed great effort. He may never be a shutdown defender but he's way better on the defensive end today then he was even 2 months ago. Clutch mid-4Q catch-n-shoot 3 as well to keep the Pacers in it when the Suns were trying to pull away.
Last note, i thought it was super interesting how into it Jenny Boucek was tonight. She was doing more yelling on the sidelines then coach Carlisle at times. I don't think ive seen her that engaged during a game unless i just didnt notice it, obviously shes always really into it during timeouts when shes coaching players but today felt bit more. Was cool to see.