The surging Indiana Pacers continue a five-game homestand on Monday when the Minnesota Timberwolves visit Indianapolis for the second meeting between the teams in a week.
Indiana (41-29) began its four-game winning streak on March 17 at the expense of Minnesota’s eight-game win streak. The Pacers won a 132-130 overtime decision behind 34 points and 10 rebounds from Obi Toppin, which set the tone for Indiana’s current stretch of success.
With a 108-103 defeat of Brooklyn on Saturday, the Pacers scored their fourth straight win by six points or fewer. Indiana held a 20-point lead entering the fourth quarter before the Nets battled back to pull within one possession.
Pascal Siakam, who finished with a game-high 26 points, helped Indiana avoid collapse with eight points down the stretch.
The win over Brooklyn — Indiana’s second against the Nets in as many games after a 105-99 overtime contest on Thursday — marked Tyrese Haliburton’s return to the lineup from lower back soreness.
Haliburton missed the first three games of Indiana’s winning streak, including last week’s visit to Minnesota. The 2023-24 All-NBA guard finished with 16 points and 12 assists on Saturday, including an alley-oop pass to Toppin that the forward flushed home on a 360.
“Felt good for the majority of the game, so I’m thankful for that,” Haliburton said. “My back’s had issues my whole life. We’ve worked really hard to try to get rid of them and do everything we can.”
Indiana hopes to have a healthy Haliburton for its final 12-game push to close the regular season. The Pacers narrowly hold fourth place in the Eastern Conference — and the final seed with homecourt advantage for a playoff series — up one game over Milwaukee and 2 1/2 games on Detroit.
Minnesota (41-31) is similarly locked in a tight closing push in the West with homecourt advantage in reach. However, the Timberwolves find themselves in eighth place through Saturday, just three games behind the fourth-place Los Angeles Lakers, 2 1/2 games behind Memphis and a half-game behind Golden State.
After Indiana snapped Minnesota’s eight-game win streak, the Timberwolves dropped a surprising 119-115 decision to sputtering New Orleans on Wednesday. The team rebounded with a 134-93 blowout of the Pelicans on Friday when Julius Randle’s 20 points led seven Minnesota scorers in double figures.
“That’s when we’re at our best, when we’re confident and sharing the ball, everybody’s getting touches, everybody’s getting involved,” Randle said in his postgame interview with FanDuel Sports Network.
The power forward averages 18.7 points and seven rebounds per game, second behind Anthony Edwards’ 27.5 points and Rudy Gobert’s 10.3 boards.
Edwards, who ranks fourth in NBA scoring this season, posted 38 points in last week’s meeting with Indiana despite shooting a dismal 1-for-11 from 3-point range. A 40 percent shooter from beyond the arc this season, Edwards has since rebounded with a combined 7-of-17 effort from 3-point range over Minnesota’s last two outings.
Edwards is the catalyst of a Timberwolves offense that shoots 38 percent on 3-point attempts, fifth in the NBA. Minnesota’s 15.2 made 3-pointers per game also rank fifth in the league.
–Field Level Media
