Throughout a powerful first quarter in opposition to the mighty Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, the Indiana Pacers misplaced one in all their most sturdy gamers to a regarding harm.
Reserve ahead Obi Toppin, changing two-time defensive finish Pascal Siakam, suffered what was formally dominated a sprained left ankle in opposition to the Thunder and needed to be helped off the hardwood and into the locker room from Indiana. He was listed as uncertain to return to competitors, in response to the membership’s house broadcast.
Toppin appeared in all 83 video games Indiana performed through the 2024-25 common season – the additional competitors accounted for the group’s NBA Cup ultimate loss to the Los Angeles Lakers – along with all the group’s efforts. membership within the playoffs. He is solely missed one recreation out of 30 for the 15-15 Pacers to this point.
On the finish of the primary quarter, Indiana leads Western Convention No. 1 seed Oklahoma Metropolis for a second straight season (to this point) with a glowing 23-5 document on the yr, by a major margin of 29-19. The Pacers led by 15 factors in that preliminary interval to open the sport.
Toppin returned to the bench firstly of the second quarter, however his return remained questionable.
Indiana is 15-15 on the yr, however that quantity belies how good the Pacers have been these days. The group has gained 5 matches in a row.
Toppin, who like his group has been red-hot on the bench throughout this successful streak, appeared in simply 2:46 earlier than taking place. However on this window, he scored 5 factors on 2-of-2 taking pictures from the ground (1-of-1 from deep) and grabbed one rebound.
General, Toppin is averaging 10.7 factors with .550/.352/.861 taking pictures splits, 4.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.8 steals in 20.4 minutes for the Indiana this season. Over his final 5 video games, he has actually improved his scoring, averaging 13.6 factors with taking pictures splits of .625/.450/.818, 5.6 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1, 8 assists per match.
This summer season, Toppin, 26, signed a four-year, $58 million restricted free agent contract to stay with Indiana, for whom he has performed since being traded from the New York Knicks through the The 2023 offseason. A high-flying dunk machine, the 6-foot-9 veteran was initially drafted by New York with the eighth general decide within the 2020 NBA Draft in Dayton.
UPDATE:
Toppin returned to the courtroom for the Pacers late within the second quarter.
Extra Pacers: Indiana may face Celtics in opposition to a number of starters in second straight recreation
