The Pacers and Bucks didn’t exactly let the temperature cool off in Indianapolis, even with Giannis Antetokounmpo gone from the picture. The building had plenty of edge from the jump, and Myles Turner’s introduction with Milwaukee’s starting lineup was met with a wall of boos that kept coming whenever he touched the ball, grabbed a rebound or scored.
That noise matched the early tone on the floor. Less than three minutes into the game, Bucks guard Ryan Rollins came flying in from the three-point line and hit Tyrese Haliburton from behind with a forearm while the ball was being rebounded. Haliburton answered by clapping sarcastically from the floor before getting up and telling him "you're a b***h".
The bad blood didn’t stop there. Rollins later got tangled with Andrew Nembhard on a screen, and the two exchanged words.
Before halftime, Rollins picked up his third foul while trying to keep Haliburton from receiving the in-bounds pass. Haliburton had the final word there, too, shouting "sub" multiple times toward Milwaukee’s bench as Rollins walked off.
For all the chirping, the basketball itself was the louder story for Indiana in the first half. The Pacers’ starters were excellent, with Kelly Oubre Jr. the only one shooting below 50% from the field after going 2-for-5 for four points.
The real engine was a four-man surge from Haliburton, Nembhard, Siakam and Zubac. In 20 minutes of first-half play, they piled up 63 of Indiana’s 71 points while shooting 25-for-40. They were in rhythm, they were connected, and Milwaukee had no answer.
Pascal Siakam shook off a rough start, opening 0-for-2 before catching fire in the second quarter. He made all eight of his shots in that period, with five coming from beyond the arc. By the end of the burst, he looked completely in control.
Zubac was just as imposing on the glass. He finished the first half with 11 rebounds, including eight defensive boards and three offensive ones, while also turning in a handful of strong possessions alongside Haliburton, Nembhard and Siakam.
Haliburton added his own highlights to go with 17 points and six assists. He knocked down a top-of-the-key three in the first quarter to help Indiana set up a two-for-one chance at the end of the period, then later drove hard to the right, collapsed the defense and found Zubac for an easy dunk on the weak side.
Nembhard may have sparked the whole thing. His first-quarter stretch helped jump-start Indiana, and he went on a personal 7-0 run to widen the lead while also handing out four assists. On the other end, he was assigned to Tyler Herro and kept him quiet, holding him to nine points on 3-for-7 shooting.
The game also offered another look at how the Pacers might handle their backup center spot. Through four preseason games, the answer wasn’t obvious. Jay Huff didn’t see the floor until the second half in each game, while Larry Nance Jr. - after missing the preseason opener - worked as the backup center against Atlanta and Oklahoma City before checking in after Huff in the finale.
Obi Toppin was the one reserve big who consistently ran with the second unit. Right now, it appears Indiana will mostly use Toppin at the backup five or switch things up depending on the matchup.
There was also a promising note in the way Indiana’s main pieces functioned together. The Pacers won the minutes with Haliburton, Zubac and Siakam on the floor in the last two games, and after the game Haliburton spoke about the chemistry continuing to build and more plays being added to the offense little by little.
Indiana now gets five days to get ready for its season opener Wednesday evening in New Orleans.
In Other News...
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Obi Toppin Is Putting His Pacers Role Under Serious Pressure
Obi Toppin arrived in Indiana with a chance to reset his career after things never fully clicked the way the Knicks had hoped following his strong run at Dayton. The Pacers gave him a clearer lane as a bench weapon, and he has settled into a useful role off the bench, giving the second unit some energy and scoring punch when it has needed it.
But this preseason has also put a brighter spotlight on the parts of his game that still have to hold up if that role is going to last. His defense and rebounding have already drawn concern, and for a Pacers team that values fit and reliability, those are not small issues. If those shortcomings continue, the conversation around Toppin could shift quickly from how he fits to whether Indiana eventually decides it needs a different answer. [Read more 🡒]