Indiana
Indiana Pacers Overcome Slow Start to Beat Toronto Raptors 140-123
Source: Cole Burston / Getty
(TORONTO, ON) – The Indiana Pacers (46-34) overcome early twelve-point deficit against the Toronto Raptors (25-54) in 140-123 win. Obi Toppin and T.J. McConnell combine to score 40 points off the bench to give Indiana its third straight win.
1. First Quarter
Source:Getty
Indiana has been known to follow up a good with a dud performance against a below average team. Tonight’s game started as if it was going to be another one of those frustrating losses. Toronto jumped ahead 13-2 in just over three minutes. Their main source of offense during that time was rookie Javon Freeman-Liberty with seven of those points. It took Indiana some time, but they were able to trim Toronto’s advantage to five off a Doug McDermott three. Toronto responded with a 11-2 run to go back up by a dozen before an Isiaah Jackson layup to end the quarter. Indiana trailed 35-25 after twelve minutes. Freeman-Liberty led all scorers with 14 points. Indiana’s leading scorer was Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton with 6 points.
2. Second Quarter
Source:Getty
After the slow start, Indiana responded with a forty-point second quarter. The second period started with Indiana’s bench keeping the deficit between six and eight points. Once the starters resurfaced with six minutes left in the half, it was all Pacers. With 6:07 left, it was 49-41 Toronto. Haliburton made it a two-possession game after RJ Barrett was issued a technical foul with 3:56 left, making it 53-49. Toronto pushed its lead back to six points on a Barrett layup. Indiana went on a 14-5 burst to take a 65-62 advantage off a Haliburton step back two-point shot. Bruce Brown scored on the final possession of the first half. Indiana led 65-64 over Toronto. Haliburton’s nine second quarter points put him a point behind Freeman-Liberty’s 16 points for the game leader. T.J. McConnell and Siakam were in double digits for Indiana at halftime.
3. Third Quarter
Source:Getty
Indiana’s hot shooting in the second quarter would not stop in the third. The Pacers were able to score one more point than they did in the second quarter to take command of the contest. It took the team just over two minutes to go ahead by six points after an Andrew Nembhard two-pointer that led to a Toronto timeout. The Raptors cut the Pacers lead down to four after two free throws from Kelly Olynyk. Indiana went on a 10-2 run to finally crack a double-digit lead with 7:30 left in the quarter after a Siakam layup. Indiana got five points and a block from Myles Turner during that stretch. He’d later put the team ahead a game high thirteen points and then would top that later with a layup to go up 94-79 with 5:01 left in the quarter. Obi Toppin has been such an important piece to the success for Indiana the last five games and put the Pacers ahead by a quarter high 17 points after a three-pointer. The lead for Indiana after three quarters was 106-91. Turner scored a team high 13 points, but it was Olynyk with a quarter high 13 points. He led all scorers with 22 points followed by Haliburton with 20 points.
4. Fourth Quarter
Source:Getty
Once Indiana went ahead by double figures, it just felt like the Pacers were in control of the game because the Raptors didn’t make any major runs. After a Jordan Nwora three, Rick Carlisle called a timeout because it cut Indiana’s lead to twelve points with 10:08 left in the game. His team responded with McConnell putting the Pacers ahead by a game high eighteen points for the first of five occasions. Toppin put Indiana ahead twice with dunks and Haliburton did it twice with a three and a layup. With two minutes left, the Pacers were able to empty their bench and put the reserves in with a seventeen-point lead. After forty-eight minutes of basketball, Indiana was on top 140-123.
5. Top Performers
Source:Getty
Tyrese Haliburton (30p, 5r, 5a), Obi Toppin (23p, 6r), T.J. McConnell (17p, 7a), Pascal Siakam (16p, 9r, 3a), Myles Turner (16p), and Ben Sheppard (11p). For Toronto, RJ Barrett (23p, 4r, 4a), Kelly Olynyk (22p, 5r, 4a), Javon Freeman-Liberty (20p, 8r), Gary Trent Jr. (16p, 4a, 4s, 3r), Bruce Brown (16p, 5a, 3r), and Jordan Nwora (11p). For tonight’s full box score, click here.
6. Notes
Source:Getty
- Indiana has now won three consecutive and eight of the last eleven games
- Indiana is 21-3 when scoring 130+ points
- Road team won all four contests in the series
- Tyrese Haliburton’s 30 points are the most he’s scored in a game since scoring 31 points vs Milwaukee on 1/3/24
- Haliburton scored 30+ points for the 9th time of the season
- Obi Toppin’s 23 points are the most he’s scored in a game since scoring 23 points vs Phoenix on 1/26/24
- Toppin has scored 13+ points in five straight
- This month (5 games) – 15.8 ppg, 5.8 reb, 1.8 apg | FG – 65% | 3pt – 47.8%
- Indiana is 14-4 when Toppin scores 15+ points
- Toppin has scored 13+ points in five straight
- T.J. McConnell has scored 15+ points in five straight games
- Indiana is 12-5 when McConnell scores 15+ points this season
- Indiana 6th in the Eastern Conference Standings – 2 games left (at Cleveland & vs Atlanta)
- Have 1 game lead over Philadelphia 76ers – 2 games left (vs Orlando & vs Brooklyn)
- Indiana has tiebreaker over Philadelphia
- Have 1.5 game lead over Miami Heat – 3 games left (vs Dallas & vs Toronto twice)
- Indiana has tiebreaker over Miami
- Trail Cleveland Cavaliers by .5 game – 3 games left (vs Memphis, vs Indiana, vs Charlotte)
- Indiana can own tiebreaker with win on Friday (would tie series with Cleveland win)
- Trail Orlando Magic by .5 game – 3 games left (at Milwaukee, at Philadelphia, vs Milwaukee)
- Orlando has tiebreaker over Indiana
- Trail New York Knicks by 1.5 games – 3 games left (at Boston, vs Brooklyn, vs Chicago)
- Have 1 game lead over Philadelphia 76ers – 2 games left (vs Orlando & vs Brooklyn)
7. Next Up
Source:Getty
The Indiana Pacers will have two days off before a critical road game on Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. A win will guarantee Indiana a top-six seed and the head-to-head tiebreaker over Cleveland. Pat Boylan will get things started with the Kroger Pregame Show at 6:30pm. Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play starting at 7pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.
KOSCIUSKO COUNTY, Ind. (WSBT) — It’s fair season and a new law uncorks adult beverage sales!
The new Indiana law will go into effect July 1st, making it legal to sell alcohol at county fairs.
The Kosciusko County Fair is set to kick off in just a few weeks and Indiana is officially allowing alcohol to be sold.
The law is bringing back something that’s not necessarily new to this fair.
Here’s what you need to know
The new law will go into effect on July 1st. It officially allows county fairs to apply for fee-free permits to sell alcohol.
Officials with the Kosciusko County Fair say they are participating this year. They are implementing the same guidelines they used when they sold alcohol just at grandstand events.
The difference now is, you can walk around the grounds with your drink. But strict guidelines will be in place for purchasing a drink.
“Actually, we’ve never had any issues. Because we card everybody, so we take that seriously. We also got the ID guides so we can identify the different types of IDs,” said Sheal Dirck, Treasurer of Kosciusko County Fair.
The Kosciusko County Fair already have guidelines in place, so this was an easy transition for the fair.
They will be the only vendors selling alcohol, which will make it easier to control distribution.
The sales will also bring in more revenue.
“Hopefully it allows to keep our ticket prices where they are because right now, insurance, utilities and everything else is going sky high and it’s hard to make ends meet,” said Dirck.
However, some fairs cannot participate because of the July 1st start date, like the Pulaski County Fair, which is going on right now. Pulaski County officials said it is on the agenda for next year. Whereas other fairs are choosing to sit this year out.
“We wanted not spend some time to, to see what that really means for us. It was not a decision we wanted to rush into. But we are happy for the option of it,” said Shelly Steury, GM of Elkhart County 4H Fairgrounds.
Leaders at the St. Joseph County and Elkhart County Fairs said neither of them are selling alcohol.
The Kosciusko County Fair is the only fair that will sell alcohol in our area this year.
Indiana
‘Foul play’ suspected in death investigation on Indiana-Ohio state line, Wayne County officials say
WAYNE COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — Police are investigating the death of a person who died in the emergency department of Reid Health in Richmond.
Wayne County Coroner Brent Meadows was notified of the death Wednesday evening, according to a media release. Evidence has reportedly indicated that foul play is involved.
Officials believe the incident may have occurred in the area of the Petro Travel Center in New Paris, Ohio, just across the Indiana-Ohio state line.
The coroner’s office said the deceased person has been transported to the Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, for a forensic autopsy and identification.
The office is still working the locate and identify the victim’s family.
This remains an active investigation.
News 8’s Michaela Springer contributed to this report.
Braden Smith spent four seasons with Purdue basketball proving all the power conference programs who overlooked him missed out.
Now the former Boilermaker point guard has a chance to do the same in the NBA.
Smith, a Westfield native, is headed to the Pacers after Indiana traded for him when the Chicago Bulls selected him with the 38th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, a source confirmed to IndyStar.
Smith is Purdue’s third draft pick in five years, joining lottery picks Jaden Ivey and Zach Edey among a group of now 11 NBA draft selections to play at Purdue under Matt Painter.
Here’s a look at Smith’s Purdue career and what he brings to the Pacers.
Before capping a career that includes two Big Ten regular season and two Big Ten Tournament championships, along with helping Purdue end a 44-year Final Four drought, Smith broke former Duke guard Bobby Hurley’s all-time NCAA assists record.
Along the way, Smith took home the 2025 Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard in a season where he also was the Big Ten Player of the Year. A two-time consensus first-team All-American, Smith finished his Purdue career eighth in career points (1,932), third in steals (249) and has the top three assist seasons in school history that helped add to his NCAA record total of 1,103.
Smith’s knock is his 5-foot-10 1/2 height measurement, but that didn’t deter him from being one of college basketball’s top players.
What Smith lacked in height, he made up for in basketball IQ. He’s lethal with a midrange jump shot and showcased an unblockable fadeaway that allowed him to shoot over lengthier defenders. He mastered manipulating defenses while playing with marquee big men the last four seasons.
His role in the NBA likely will be not require him to be the team’s primary playmaker immediately. Smith’s awareness of that fact pushed a more defensive-minded approach in preparation for the next level. At the NBA Draft Combine in May, Smith showed he’s capable of defending elite guards.
Smith is an elite competitor who never showed to shy away from the dirty work, which is something that can help him earn NBA minutes as a rookie while trying to find his footing in an unfamiliar backup role.
Nathan Baird and Sam King have the best Purdue sports coverage, and sign up for IndyStar’s Boilermakers newsletter.
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