Siakam Leads Injury-Hit Pacers to First Win

Pascal Siakam hit a crucial three-pointer in the closing seconds, leading the injury-plagued Indiana Pacers to their first win of the NBA season, overcoming the Golden State Warriors 114-109 on Saturday.

The Cameroonian guard contributed 27 points, while Aaron Nesmith delivered a game-high and personal-best 31 points, and Quenton Jackson added a career-high 25 points to end Indiana’s five-game losing streak to begin the season.

After trailing 104-93 midway through the fourth quarter, following a three-pointer from Stephen Curry, who finished with 24 points for Golden State, the Pacers finished strong with a 21-5 run to secure the victory over the Warriors (4-3).

“We just played hard-nosed basketball,” Siakam said. “We’ve got to get back to being us. We’ve got to play hard. It has got to be tough on teams to play us. For those minutes, we made it tough on them.”

Siakam, a member of the 2019 NBA championship team with Toronto, put Indiana ahead 112-109 with a three-pointer with 37 seconds left on the clock.

Siakam Leads Injury-Hit Pacers to First Win. AFP

“Just trying to play hard, be in position to help my team,” Siakam said. “Everybody fought for the rebound. I got an open shot. You’ve just got to shoot it.”

Jackson hit a clinching basket with 5.2 seconds to play.

Last June, the Pacers lost to Oklahoma City in a seven-game series in the NBA Finals, during which star guard Tyrese Haliburton ruptured his right Achilles tendon, sidelining him for the entire season.

In addition, the Pacers have also been affected by injuries to forward Obi Toppin (broken right foot), guard T.J. McConnell (hamstring injury), guard Kam Jones (back injury), guard Bennedict Mathurin (toe injury), and guard Andrew Nembhard (shoulder injury).

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Tope Oke

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