Halftime Rewind: Pacers 58, Raptors 52

Wednesday, March 22 at 7:30 PM ET at Scotiabank Arena

Game Recap

As a boy, Andrew Nembhard used to sit in the rafters of the Air Canada Centre, watching his hometown Raptors play while dreaming of one day playing in the NBA himself.

On Wednesday night, the Pacers rookie guard lived out that dream. Playing his first NBA game in his home country, Nembhard put on a show in the building now called Scotiabank Arena, tallying 25 points and 10 assists to lead Indiana (33-40) to a 118-114 victory over Toronto (35-38). He even sealed the game in style, draining a stepback three in the final minute to seal the win.

It was a special night for Nembhard, who was a part of history alongside fellow rookie Bennedict Mathurin and Oshae Brissett, who became the first three Canadian teammates to start an NBA game together.

“To do it tonight in essentially his hometown, the first time he’s back here…The kid used to come to the game (in Toronto) and sit in the third level and all that,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said about Nembhard’s performance. “To be in the starting lineup and to have this kind of a game…just an amazing night for him and his family.”

Montreal native Mathurin also showed out in his first trip to Canada, tallying 15 points, going 3-for-3 from 3-point range and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

The win snapped a 15-game regular-season losing streak for Indiana in Toronto and moved the Pacers to within a game and a half of the 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings and the final spot in the Play-In Tournament with nine games remaining in the regular season.

Indiana’s Canadian trio got the Blue & Gold off to a strong start. Brissett hit a 3-pointer on the Pacers’ first possession of the night, Nembhard added a layup at the 10:22 mark, and Mathurin knocked down a trey 20 seconds later to help the visitors out to an early 10-5 start.

Nembhard in particular had it going in the opening quarter. The rookie from the Toronto suburb of Aurora put on a show in his first NBA minutes back in his hometown. Nembhard played the entire fourth quarter and racked up 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting (2-of-3 from 3-point range) and three assists.

“We knew we wanted to get to the paint, be aggressive and just attack the rim against these guys,” Nembhard said of his early focus.

The Pacers led by as many as 13 in the frame and took a 36-26 lead into the second quarter.

They continued their strong play in the second quarter, maintaining a double-digit advantage for the majority of the frame.

Indiana led 56-43 following Buddy Hield’s layup with 1:58 remaining in the first half, but Toronto closed the half with a 9-2 surge. Jakob Poeltl scored the first seven of those points before All-Star forward Pascal Siakam hit a floater in the final seconds to make it a six-point game entering the intermission.

The Pacers had pushed the margin back to double digits at 71-61 following Myles Turner’s layup with 6:41 remaining in the third quarter before the Raptors mounted another charge.

Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam alternated baskets on four straight possessions before Malachi Flynn drilled a 3-pointer at 4:09 to cap a 13-0 run that gave Toronto its first lead since midway through the first quarter.

Four straight points from Turner put Indiana back in front. Then after Flynn hit one of two free throws, T.J. McConnell knocked down back-to-back jumpers to provide the Blue & Gold with a little cushion. The Pacers held on to the lead for the remainder of the quarter, taking an 83-78 lead into the fourth.

Jordan Nwora’s three on Indiana’s first possession of the final frame pushed Indiana’s lead to 86-80, but once again the Raptors responded, this time reeling off 10 unanswered points to move back in front.

The Pacers retook the lead minutes later thanks to a massive dunk by Brissett over Poeltl off a baseline out of bounds play.

Toronto tied the game on two occasions before Mathurin knocked down a go-ahead 3-pointer that gave Indiana a 98-95 lead with 6:29 remaining. From there, the Pacers made numerous plays to preserve the lead.

After Siakam’s layup cut it to 100-99, Nembhard answered with a jumper on the other end.

When another Siakam bucket pulled Toronto within two at 104-102, Turner converted a three-point play the next trip down the floor to pad the cushion.

After a Nesmith three that would have given Indiana a seven-point lead went all the way around the rim before popping out, Siakam converted a putback on the other end to make it 107-105 with 2:25 remaining. This time it was Mathurin who stepped up, attacking the paint and drawing contact, then calmly sinking both free throws with 2:05 to play.

VanVleet drew a foul of his own and made both foul shots with 1:47 left, but Turner converted a turnaround jumper over O.G. Anunoby 14 seconds later.

Nembhard provided the dagger in the final minute, drilling a deep stepback trey with 32.5 seconds left to seal the victory.

“Just trying to stay locked in,” Nembhard told Bally Sports Indiana’s Jeremiah Johnson of his play down the stretch. “I knew I had to play-make down the stretch for myself and for others. I was just trying to stay aggressive.”

Six Pacers reached double figures in the win. Turner tallied 16 points and seven rebounds, McConnell registered 14 points and seven assists off the bench, Hield scored 13 points, and Nwora added 10.

Siakam led all scorers with 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds and seven assists, going 11-for-17 from the field and 9-for-11 from the free throw line. VanVleet also recorded a double-double with 28 points and 10 assists, while Poeltl finished with 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting and eight rebounds.

The Pacers will wrap up a four-game road trip with their final back-to-back of the season, playing in Boston on Friday and Atlanta on Saturday. Five of their final seven games to close out the regular season will be played in Indiana.

Inside the Numbers

Nembhard topped 20 points for the fourth time in his career. He also dished out double-digit assists for the fourth time and recorded his third double-double.

The Pacers started hot and stayed hot for most of the night, shooting 55.8 percent from the field to Toronto’s 43.8 percent. It was the sixth time this season that Indiana shot 55 percent or better.

Indiana went 11-for-21 from 3-point range (52.4 percent) on Wednesday. The Pacers have now made 1,006 3-pointers on the season, the first time in franchise history they have surpassed 1,000. Their third three on Wednesday broke the franchise record of 997, which was set last season.

Starting for the second time this season, Brissett tallied nine points and six rebounds. He has now been in the rotation for the past six games after not playing in seven of the previous nine contests and has averaged 8 points and 4.3 rebounds over that span.

Hield reached double figures for a team-leading 61st time this season. Mathurin (57 games) and Turner (53) are the next closest on the team.

The Pacers won despite surrendering 21 points on 18 turnovers. The Raptors committed just 10 turnovers which Indiana converted into just eight points.

You Can Quote Me On That

“Historic night for Canada basketball…For it to happen in Toronto is pretty cool. All three of those guys played well. Nembhard had a great game, Mathurin was terrific. I thought Brissett did what he does — he gave us energy, he rebounded.” -Carlisle on the three Canadians starting together

“Guys like Oshae need to be rewarded for professionalism and commitment to the team and being a constant energy-giver. That’s what this was. He’s a guy the whole team roots for and loves.” -Carlisle on giving Brissett the start in Toronto

“I talked to Aaron this morning about the fact that I was thinking of doing this because Oshae’s back in town and Benn and Drew are. And he said, ‘Oh, hey, that’s great. That’s awesome. I’ll play off the bench.'” -Carlisle on Aaron Nesmith’s willingness to give up his starting spot for Brissett

“Our team needed to have a very aggressive mindset to attack. If you get passive at all against Toronto, the way they swarm and attack and come at you in transition, it can be a very long night. From that standpoint, Andrew set the tone for the game (and) McConnell played terrific. Those two guys attacking the rim all night was a difference-maker for us.” -Carlisle on Indiana’s point guard play

Stat of the Night

Wednesday’s win was the Pacers’ first regular-season victory in Toronto in over a decade. Indiana had dropped 15 straight regular-season games at Scotiabank Arena since its last win on March 1, 2013.

The Pacers did win a road game against the Raptors during that span in Tampa, where the Raptors relocated for the 2020-21 season, and also beat the Raptors in Toronto in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series in 2016.

Noteworthy

Up Next

The Pacers travel to Boston to take on Jayson Tatum and the Celtics on Friday, March 24 at 7:00 PM ET.

Tickets

After a four-game road trip, the Pacers will return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, March 27 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>