Pacers Beat Grizzlies 107-103 to Snap 5-Game Losing Streak

Aaron Nesmith hit a corner 3-pointer off a Pascal Siakam pass with 14.6 seconds left Wednesday night, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 107-103 at FedExForum.

Ty Jerome’s floater had cut Indiana’s lead to 104-103 with 28.2 seconds to go. Memphis trapped on the next possession, and Siakam found Nesmith in the corner. Cam Spencer fouled Nesmith on the shot, and Nesmith missed the free throw. Cedric Coward missed two 3-point tries in the final 8.2 seconds.

The win ended a five-game losing streak. Indiana (3-6) had not won since an Oct. 25 victory at Brooklyn, and two nights earlier it lost 108-104 to the Atlanta Hawks with six players available.

Andrew Nembhard led Indiana with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Siakam scored 20 on 8-of-13, and Nesmith finished with 16 points and 3 steals. Quenton Jackson added 13 off the bench, Obi Toppin had 11, and Braden Smith scored 10 with 5 assists in his second straight start.

Coward and Jerome scored 23 apiece for Memphis (6-2), which entered the night 6-1.

Twelve Pacers checked in. Jalen Slawson logged the fewest minutes, 6:00, with 5:39 of them in the third quarter, and finished plus-1.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Slawson’s six minutes mattered.

“Well, everyone played at least six minutes,” Carlisle said. “Slawson was the last guy that got in, but his six minutes were pretty important in the third quarter. There were some ups and downs, but he made some good things happen, and he ended up on the plus side of things. And these games are all going to be tight. They’re all gonna be possession type games. Memphis is a very good team. And they’ve got a lot of weapons and they got a lot of athletes out there. And it took everybody, there was no two ways about that.”

Slawson made two free throws, grabbed two offensive rebounds, and assisted on Toppin’s 3 that gave Indiana a 72-70 lead with 4:14 left in the third. He also blocked Coward on a fast-break layup.

Indiana led 32-24 after the first quarter and 54-52 at halftime. Memphis went on a 12-2 run early in the third and led 66-58, its biggest lead of the night. Nembhard scored 12 in the third, including the last 4 points of the quarter, and the Pacers trailed only 82-80 going into the fourth.

Coward’s step-back 3 put Memphis up 91-86 with 6:17 left. Jackson’s pull-up and 6 straight points from Toppin, on two free throws and two dunks, made it 94-91 Indiana, and Jackson’s 3 off a Nembhard pass made it 97-93 with 3:47 to play.

Nembhard stole a Cameron Boozer pass at 3:01, and Larry Nance Jr. dunked off Nembhard’s feed for a 99-95 lead. Siakam then scored Indiana’s next 5 points.

Both of Siakam’s steals came on Boozer turnovers, one in the first quarter and one 25 seconds into the second half. It was Boozer’s first matchup with him, and the Memphis rookie said it pointed out things he can improve.

“It was a fun matchup,” Boozer said. “For me, it pointed out some things I could get better at. Obviously, he’s someone who’s been in the league for a long time. He’s won championships, and he’s been a huge contributor to winning teams. So it was great to match up with him, and there’s a lot of fun out there.”

Indiana forced 19 Memphis turnovers and scored 24 points off them. The Pacers had 10 steals.

Being in the right spots on defense makes the difference over a full game, in Carlisle’s view, and his team was in them more than it had been.

“Well, we’d always like to turn the opponent over as much as we can,” Carlisle explained. “Tonight we were just in better position initially on possessions, and when we had to rotate, we were more in the correct positions than we have been in recent games. And over the course of 48 minutes and over 100 possessions on offense and defense, that makes a difference.”

“And there’s, the basketball gods are a little friendlier to you when you’re doing the little dirty things that really make the difference in the margins,” Carlisle continued. “And our guys just, they stayed steadfast to that commitment.”

Memphis made 12 of its 44 3-point attempts. Indiana went 12-of-37.

Ivica Zubac returned from a left ankle sprain that had cost him five games and started at center. Toppin also returned after a lumbar strain. Indiana’s pregame injury report had listed 10 players. Tyrese Haliburton (left hamstring strain), T.J. McConnell (right hamstring strain), and Kelly Oubre Jr. (left calf contusion) did not play.

The Pacers host the Denver Nuggets on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. They visit the Dallas Mavericks on Monday at 8 p.m. ET and host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.