INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Nembhard posted 28 points and 12 assists to lead the Pacers to a 116-105 win over the Kings on Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, helping Indiana recover after it blew a 19-point lead.
The Pacers have won four of their last six games and improved to 6-18. The Kings fell to 6-18.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 25 points, Pascal Siakam added 23 and Jarace Walker added 12. Sacramento’s Russell Westbrook posted 24 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists. DeMar DeRozan added 20.
Here are three observations.
Pacers’ Big 3 help them build big lead, bounce back
The Pacers are increasingly getting more contributions from their role players, especially as they’ve had some level of roster continuity with fewer injuries of late. However, they’ve been more competitive in games lately because they’ve more frequently been able to rely on Pascal Siakam, Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard to put on star quality numbers.
On Monday, all three cracked the 20-point mark and came through with big shot after big shot, first to help the Pacers build a 19-point lead and then to help them regain control of the game after they had squandered that edge.
Siakam, Mathurin and Nembhard combined to score 76 of the Pacers’ 116 points, and perhaps most importantly, they scored 17 of the teams’ 24 fourth-quarter points. Nembhard had 12 points in the period on his own on 4 of 7 shooting. He also hit a pair of 3-pointers and a driving layup as part of an 11-0 run that gave the Pacers a 108-101 lead after they fell behind 101-97 with 5:59 to go. Mathurin hit the other bucket in that stretch on a transition 3-pointer that ended up giving the Pacers the lead for good.
Nembhard finished with 24 points on 10 of 18 shooting including 2 of 4 from 3-point range and also dished out 12 assists. Mathurin posted 25 points on 7 of 14 shooting, 4 of 9 on 3s, and grabbed six rebounds. Siakam scored his 23 on 10 of 21 shooting and added five rebounds and four assists.
Jarace Walker responds to benching
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was clearly displeased in third-year forward Jarace Walker’s effort in Friday’s win over the Bulls and let him know it by putting him on the bench and keeping him there. Walker played 7:48 in the first half, but Carlisle saw him make a defensive mistake, took him out of the game and kept him out until the waning minutes when the Pacers were in control.
When asked about Walker in pre-game on Monday, Carlisle only said, “He’ll be ready.”
Walker was. With the second unit struggling, especially in the second half, he came through with critical rebounds and buckets and critical times. He scored 12 points on 3 of 5 shooting including 2 of 4 from 3-point range. He also grabbed three rebounds and posted a +3 plus-minus figure in 18:26 on the floor.
Garrison Mathews makes his case
With a break in the action coming for the Pacers as the NBA Cup knockout round takes the stage this week, the Pacers follow Monday’s game with three days off. That means Monday will be Garrison Mathews’ last game on his 10-day hardship exception contract, which runs out on Thursday. The Pacers might be eligible for another hardship exception, but Mathews can’t be signed to a third 10-day. They can decide to keep him, however, if they’re willing to waive someone else. Forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who himself earned a non-guaranteed deal after two 10-days, could be waived, but Mathews still has to make his case.
On Monday, Mathews helped his cause, scoring seven points on 2 of 7 shooting. In the first quarter, he hit a 3-pointer and drew a reckless closeout flagrant foul which gave him the bucket and two chances to make one free throw (he only needed one) and gave the Pacers the ball. Andrew Nembhard used that to hit a floater and the Pacers got a six-point possession that helped put them in control of the game. Mathews didn’t score in the second half, but he was +7 in his minutes. Meanwhile Robinson-Earl didn’t get on the floor and hasn’t played significant minutes in the last three games.
Ethan Thompson, a two-way contract guard signed last Sunday, got his first start and was just as productive as Mathews. He hit two 3-pointers, finished with six points, but also kept chasing down crucial loose balls. He finished with five rebounds including several critical ones in the final minutes.
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
