Pascal Siakam scored 37 points, grabbed six rebounds, two steals and two blocks — including one on Orlando’s Paolo Banchero’s attempt at a driving layup just before the buzzer to preserve a 128-126 win for the Pacers over the Magic at the Kia Center.
The Pacers snapped a franchise-record 16-game losing streak, claiming their first win since Feb. 11 before the All-Star break. They improved to 16-56 but still have the worst record in the NBA. The Magic fell to 38-33 and slipped from seventh to eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.
Forward Jarace Walker added 20 points for the Pacers. Swingman Aaron Nesmith had 19 points on five 3-pointers, all in the second half. Starting point guard Andrew Nembhard posted 13 points and 14 assists. Backup point guard T.J. McConnell had 13 points and six assists. Banchero led the Magic with 39 points. Forward Tristan da Silva added 21. Center Wendell Carter Jr. and guard Desmond Bane scored 17 each.
Here are three observations
Pascal Siakam posts season scoring high, saves game
Siakam didn’t show a lot of rust in his return from a knee sprain in Saturday’s loss to the Spurs, but he only had 14 points. Monday night he truly returned to form with his 12th 30-plus point performance of the season.
Siakam had nine points in the first quarter alone on 3 of 4 shooting and then scored 11 more in the second to post 20 points at the break. He contributed seven points in the third to contribute to the 44-point period, then scored six points in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter to go over the 30-point mark. He added a driving layup with 4:20 to go and then two free throws with 3:36 to go to put the Pacers up 12 points. He finished 13 of 26 from the floor and 2 of 5 from 3-point range and made all nine of his free throws. He was excellent from the mid-point and mid-range as usual, but was at his best going to the bucket both out of half-court sets and in transition, making a point to attack the Magic defense when it wasn’t set.
“Siakam was spectacular,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said in a post-game press conference broadcast on Fan Duel Sports Network Indiana. “Thirty-three minutes, 37 points. The guy’s a great, great player.”
That 12-point lead with 3:36 remaining almost didn’t hold up, though, as the Magic outscored the Pacers 13-3 from that point. Siakam missed a jumper with eight seconds to go that would’ve given the Pacers a four-point lead. Forward Aaron Nesmith grabbed an offense rebound, but Banchero got his hands on the ball to force a jump ball, then won the jump ball and the Magic called timeout to advance the ball with five seconds to go. Banchero drove around Siakam on the baseline, but center Jay Huff met Banchero at the rim, Siakam recovered and got his hands on the ball from behind just before Banchero could dunk it or lay it in and preserved the win.
The constant losing the Pacers have endured this season has seemed to wear on Siakam more than anyone else. He still earned his fourth All-Star nod and he still leads the Pacers with 24.0 points per game, cracking double figures in all 57 games he’s played in and scoring at least 20 points in 45 of those games. He embraced his trade to the Pacers from the Raptors in January of 2024 because he thought it would lead to winning and it did until this season, so this year he’s tried to hold the team to a standard of play even as the season has ultimately become hopeless.
“We gotta get the win, man,” Siakam said in a post-game sideline interview with FanDuel Sports Network’s Jeremiah Johnson. “We gotta keep building as a team. It’s been tough. It’s been a tough year for us, man. It shows your character. You know it’s going to test you, But that’s life. We’re not gonna back down. We’re going to keep fighting for each other. Keep working. We’re just hopeful that good things are going to happen by continuing to work and not giving up. … It’s just continuing to focus on the basics. I’m going to keep saying it’s been a hard year for us. Try not to lose the identity of who we are, Pacers basketball.”
Aaron Nesmith leads 44-point third quarter
Monday’s game was defined by big swings. The Pacers had one of their sturdiest defensive quarters in recent weeks to start the game, outscoring the Magic 34-24 in the first quarter, but promptly fell apart on that end in the second when the Magic scored 40 points on 15 of 22 shooting with Banchero scoring 17 points in that period alone to give the Magic a 64-59 lead at the break.
Quarters like that have often broken the Pacers this season, but this time they responded with a fantastic third quarter. They made 13 of 22 field goals in the period including a remarkable 9 of 13 3-pointers to post 1.67 points per possession. Nesmith was particularly brilliant. After a scoreless first half, he was 5 of 5 from the floor including 4 of 4 from 3-point range, for 16 points in that quarter alone. He hit another 3 in the fourth to finish with 19 points.
Nesmith was +17 in 9:28 in the third quarter.
“Nesmith’s third quarter was tremendous,” Carlisle said. “We really rode his playmaking and shot-making.
The Pacers also caused seven Orlando turnovers in the period and turned those into 14 points. They won the period 44-31 which allowed them to enter the fourth with a 103-95 lead in the fourth. Though they were outscored 31-25 in the fourth, they managed to hold on.
“We had been allowing too much paint penetration in the second quarter,” Carlisle said. “… I told the guys we’re still in good position. Here are the two or three things we have to do better.”
Pacers point guards keep ball moving
The Pacers’ offense has scored 110 points or more in five straight games and better than 120 in their last two, and improved point guard play has had a lot to do with that.
Veterans Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell were both excellent on Monday. Nembhard scored eight first-quarter points and hit a critical step-back 3-pointer down the stretch for the Paces’ only field goal in the last 3:36 that ended up being the difference. He finished with 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out 14 assists against just two turnovers. McConnell scored 13 points on a perfect 6 of 6 shooting, even hitting a 3-pointer and dished out six assists against zero turnovers. He had two steals including one in the backcourt for an easy layup and he did all that in just 20 minutes.
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers snap 16-game losing streak behind Pascal Siakam’s 37 points, last-second block
Reporting by Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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