The Pacers’ summer league run took another hit Wednesday afternoon, as Indiana dropped a 114-98 decision to the Minnesota Timberwolves in its fourth game of the schedule. It was the third loss in four outings, and once again the conversation centered less on the final score than on which players are making a real case for NBA minutes down the road.
For Indiana, that conversation keeps circling back to Jalen Slawson and Braden Smith. Both showed up again against Minnesota, even in defeat.
Slawson kept building his case with another productive outing. He finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots, though he also turned it over six times.
Across four summer league games, he’s now averaging 20 points, seven rebounds and three blocks per night. He’s been doing damage on both ends, mixing perimeter shooting with emphatic finishes at the rim in Vegas.
Braden Smith answered after a rough previous game in which he went 0-for-7 from the field. This time, the Purdue grad posted eight points, eight assists and six rebounds while shooting 3-of-6. He looked comfortable running pick-and-roll action and likely would have piled up even more assists if his teammates had converted more of the looks he created.
Smith also had the chance to go against former teammate Trey Kaufman-Renn, who scored 14 points for Minnesota in 15 minutes.
Taelon Peter added another solid showing in the Pacers’ backcourt mix, hitting three 3-pointers en route to nine points in 20 minutes. He remains one of the players with a chance to earn a spot on the Pacers roster this year.
Indiana dug itself a hole early and never fully climbed out. Minnesota led 35-24 after the first quarter, and that opening stretch proved decisive. The Pacers were more even with the Timberwolves over the final three quarters, but the early deficit was too much to overcome.
There was also a change in the rotation, as Rienk Mast did not play after averaging a double-double in his first three games. His left knee was wrapped, though it was not clear at game time whether that was the reason for the DNP.
Other notable performances included Yuki Kawamura, who finished with six points and four assists, and Keba Keita, who scored 10 points with five rebounds and three blocks.
Indiana did get a better result from long range after a slow start. The Pacers finished 12-for-32 from 3-point range, good for 38 percent, a clear step up from their 9-for-34 mark in the previous game. The summer league finale is next, with the Pacers set to face the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.
In Other News...
Pacers Fans Never Expected To Hear LeBron Linked To This Team
LeBron James next chapter suddenly has a Pacers-shaped wrinkle, and it starts with more than just offseason rumor. After his camp said he will not return to the Lakers next season, the leagues biggest name is back on the market, and Indiana has at least been mentioned among the teams that could make sense. The idea is strange on its face, but it is also the kind of star-driven possibility that gets attention in a hurry around a franchise that has spent the past year building real momentum.
There is even a local connection to keep an eye on, with LeBron set to host a live Mind the Game show with Tyrese Haliburton at Fanatics Fest. From there, the basketball fit is easy to imagine, with Haliburton and Pascal Siakam already giving Indiana a strong foundation and a theoretical LeBron addition changing the entire shape of the roster. Whether that ever moves beyond the conversation stage is still the real question, but for Pacers fans, the fact that the conversation is happening at all is enough to make this one worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Why Yuki Kawamura Is Suddenly Turning Heads With Rick Carlisle
Yuki Kawamura has been one of the more interesting names in Pacers summer league, and not just because of the box score. In a seven-point loss to Philadelphia on July 11, the guard logged 19 minutes, scored 12 points and finished plus-3, enough to draw a strong reaction from Rick Carlisle. The Pacers coach has liked what he has seen from Kawamuras pace and energy, and the rookie has given Indiana a jolt on a roster that is now 1-2 and headed out of the summer league bracket.
Carlisles praise matters because this is the kind of performance that can change the conversation around a player who arrived with little buzz. Kawamura has been active, alert and willing to push the action, which is exactly the sort of profile that can keep a coach watching even when the teams summer run is winding down. The larger question now is what this showing means once the games get more serious, and whether Indiana can find a way to keep him in the mix beyond Las Vegas. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Face A Risky Lakers Trade Question Around Haliburton's Core
The Pacers are still being sized up as a team on the rise as Tyrese Haliburton works his way back from the Achilles tear that cost him last season, and that alone keeps Indiana in the center of any bigger roster conversation. With Haliburton expected to return, the franchises outlook shifts from survival mode to something much closer to a playoff push, which is why even a hypothetical trade idea has to be judged against how it would fit the core around him.
Heavy Sports floated one of those cross-conference Lakers-Pacers scenarios that asks whether Indiana should keep leaning into its current mix or reshuffle pieces for a different kind of depth and flexibility. The broader question is less about the names involved than the direction: can the Pacers keep enough two-way stability around Haliburton while still adding the kind of supporting talent that helps them stay near the top of the East, as John Haliburton believes they can? [Read more 🡒]