<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-bennedict-mathurin-obi-toppin-worrisome-injury-updates');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin get worrisome injury updates');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Mathurin-shoots.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin get worrisome injury updates</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-28T15:27:44-07:00">October 28th, 3:27pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-28T15:27:44-07:00">October 28th, 3:27pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University alum from Atlanta who graduated with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Indiana Pacers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Monday, the Indiana Pacers dropped to 0-3 on the young 2025 NBA season with a narrow road loss <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-bennedict-mathurin-out-timberwolves-toe-injury">against the Minnesota Timberwolves.</a> The Pacers have been finding ways to keep things competitive in the first three games of the season but are clearly feeling the effects of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-fiancee-jade-start-season-injury">not having Tyrese Haliburton</a> in the lineup so far.</p><p>Making matters worse is the fact that two of Indiana’s key players for this year, Bennedict Mathurin and Obi Toppin, have both already gone down with injury, and on Tuesday, the team got an update on both players that <a href="https://x.com/DustinDopirak/status/1983226189738086607" rel="noopener">wasn’t exactly encouraging.</a></p><p>“Rick Carlisle says Benn Mathurin is going to be ‘week to week.’ Said he’ll have more imaging in Indy. Said Obi Toppin is out at least a month,” reported Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>Mathurin was thought by many to be a most improved player candidate coming into this year, and he got off to a hot start in the Pacers’ first game of the year against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but will now have to spend some time on the sidelines due to the injury.</p><h2><b>A transitional year for the Pacers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/PAcers-Bennedict-Mathurin-.jpg"><figcaption>Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin get worrisome injury updates

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-obi-tobbin-leaves-game-vs-timberwolves-leg-soreness');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pacers’ Obi Toppin leaves Sunday’s game vs Timberwolves with leg soreness');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Mike-Conley-Obi-Toppin.jpg"><figcaption>Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Pacers’ Obi Toppin leaves Sunday’s game vs Timberwolves with leg soreness</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-26T18:23:35-07:00">October 26th, 6:23pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-26T18:25:16-07:00">October 26th, 6:25pm</time><address><a>Allan Binoy</a>Allan Binoy is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NCAA Football, and NBA for ClutchPoints. With a deep passion for storytelling and analysis, he brings fans closer to the action by breaking down the biggest moments and storylines across the world of sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Indiana Pacers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Obi Toppin left Sunday’s Indiana Pacers game against the Minnesota Timberwolves with right-leg soreness and did not return, the Pacers announced on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>Toppin exited with 3:11 remaining in the third quarter and finished with nine points, six rebounds, and a steal in 17 minutes, per the ESPN box score. The Pacers were already thin; Indiana opened the night with multiple players sidelined, and Toppin’s departure <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-rick-carlisle-tough-admission-andrew-nembhard-injury">forced coach Rick Carlisle to reshuffle rotation minutes</a>.  </p><p>Through three quarters, Pascal Siakam paced the Pacers with 21 points and seven rebounds as Indiana tried to keep pace in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves held an 86-77 edge late in the third, according to the ESPN box score and gamecast.  </p><p>This isn’t the kind of hit the Pacers want so early in the season. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-bennedict-mathurin-out-timberwolves-toe-injury">Indiana has already battled a crowded injury report</a>, and Toppin, who has provided energy, spacing, and occasional scoring pops off the bench, represents one of the few dependable frontcourt options when available. The team labeled the issue as “right leg soreness” and ruled him out for the remainder of tonight’s game.  </p><p>Carlisle will likely lean on Tony Bradley, Jarace Walker, and occasional small-ball lineups to pick up minutes if Toppin requires extra rest. For now, the Pacers will monitor him closely; with Indiana juggling several injuries, even a short absence would force another adjustment to a still-fragile rotation.  </p><p>We’ll keep an eye on updates from the team and medical staff, but tonight’s scoreboard and the injury report already underscore a simple reality for Indiana, which can’t afford more attrition if it wants to stabilize its early-season identity.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pacers’ Obi Toppin leaves Sunday’s game vs Timberwolves with leg soreness

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-obi-toppin-assigns-blame-indianas-crushing-game-7-loss-thunder');   ga('set', 'title', 'Obi Toppin assigns blame for Pacers’ crushing Game 7 loss to Thunder');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Pacers-forward-Obi-Toppin.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Obi Toppin assigns blame for Pacers’ crushing Game 7 loss to Thunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-23T07:35:44-07:00">June 23rd, 7:35am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-23T15:55:57-07:00">June 23rd, 3:55pm</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints, who also covers the NBA and MLB. He received his Masters in Business Administration Bachelor's degree in Sports Management from Nichols College. Previously, ran his own website, and had bylines at FanSided, Basketball Network, Athlon Sports, and The Sporting News. In addition to his work at ClutchPoints, Owen is also a Breaking News Writer at Heavy and a Content Producer for More Views Media.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Indiana Pacers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Indiana Pacers came up a game short of winning the NBA Finals for the first time in their franchise history, as they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/pacers-news-myles-turner-miss-heartbreaking-end-finals">suffered a 103-91 loss</a> to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 on Sunday night.</p><p>After the game, Obi Toppin placed the blame for the defeat on himself, citing his inability to get over <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-teammate-who-carried-him-off-the-floor-sounds-off-on-injury">Tyrese Haliburton being forced out of the game with an Achilles injury</a> after just seven minutes.</p><p>Haliburton, who was playing through a calf strain, crumpled to the ground in serious pain midway through the first quarter, dealing Indiana a shock to their core that they ultimately proved to be unable to overcome.</p><p>Toppin admitted that it was tough for him to move past seeing his teammate go down like that and that it had a <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1937144905647669649" rel="noopener">negative impact on his performance</a> throughout the rest of the game.</p><p>“We needed Ty out there,” Toppin said after the game. “He’s been good for us all year, and for him to go down, beginning a game like that, that s*** sucked the soul out of us … I don’t feel like I played good because I was thinking about it the whole day and I felt like it was my fault.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"For him to go down, beginning a game like that, that sh*t sucked the soul out of us. … I don't feel like I played good because I was thinking about it the whole day and I felt like it was my fault."</p><p>Obi Toppin on Tyrese Haliburton 🗣</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/WISHNews8?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WISHNews8</a>)<a href="https://t.co/cPwl12NTin">pic.twitter.com/cPwl12NTin</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1937144905647669649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Obi Toppin, Pacers looking to turn page after coming up short vs. Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Obi-Toppin-1.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>With a championship on the line, Toppin certainly didn’t have his best game, as he failed to score a point, missing all four of his shots, while hauling in a pair of rebounds and dishing out an assist. Ultimately, though, you win as a team and lose as a team, so while Toppin didn’t play particularly well, the loss can’t fall solely on his shoulders.</p><p>It was always going to be tough for Indiana to overcome losing their best player moments into the game, and they fought valiantly the rest of the way. The Thunder proved to be too much to handle, though, and it resulted in a crushing defeat for Indiana. Now, they will head into an offseason full of questions with all eyes on Haliburton as fans wait to find out the severity of his injury.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Obi Toppin assigns blame for Pacers’ crushing Game 7 loss to Thunder

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-obi-toppin-message-game-1-comeback');   ga('set', 'title', 'Obi Toppin sends confident message after miracle Game 1 comeback');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_1636.jpeg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Obi Toppin sends confident message after miracle Game 1 comeback</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-06T17:04:49-07:00">June 6th, 5:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-06T17:21:50-07:00">June 6th, 5:21pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Indiana Pacers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Indiana Pacers continued their run of miracle comebacks in the playoffs following their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-breaks-silence-game-1-loss-to-pacers">stunning, 111-110 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1</a> of the NBA Finals. After trailing by 15 points, the Pacers rallied back, capped off by a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/pacers-news-listen-tyrese-haliburton-game-1-game-winner-around-world">Tyrese Haliburton game-winner, to steal Game 1</a> and take a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals. Following the win, Pacers wing Obi Toppin <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1931120215896519040" rel="noopener">spoke about the confidence</a> the team has.</p><p>“I never say think. I feel like we can win every single game. If we lose, it’s really our fault and our mistakes. We’re living in the moment. We won a game in the Finals, and we got three more to go,” Toppin said. “We’ve been in positions like this throughout the whole season, not just in the playoffs. . .We know what we got to do, who we got to give the ball to, and just watch magic happen.”</p><p>While Haliburton’s game-winner was certainly the talk of Game 1, Obi Toppin also came through in big way for the Pacers as they made their comeback against the Thunder. He finished with 17 points, five rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes off the bench. He shot 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-8 from the 3-point line.</p><p>Toppin has been a key player for the Pacers during the regular season and through their playoff run to the NBA Finals. During the Eastern Conference Finals, he got the opportunity to help eliminate the New York Knicks, the team that traded him to the Pacers.</p><p>In 17 playoff games to this point, Toppin has played a little over 17 minutes per game and has taken around six shot attempts per game. He’s been averaging 9.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists with splits of 51.7% shooting from the field, 34% shooting from the 3-point line and 79.2% shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>With the Pacers stealing homecourt advantage momentarily from the Thunder in Game 1, they will look to continue shocking the NBA world in Game 2 on Sunday, June 8.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Obi Toppin sends confident message after miracle Game 1 comeback

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-roasts-obi-toppin-after-clinching-nba-finals-trip');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton roasts Obi Toppin after clinching NBA Finals trip');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Pacers-i.jpg"></figure><h1>Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton roasts Obi Toppin after clinching NBA Finals trip</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-01T08:14:17-07:00">June 1st, 8:14am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-01T08:14:17-07:00">June 1st, 8:14am</time><address><a>Dylan Fine</a>Dylan Fine focuses on the NFL and NCAA Football for ClutchPoints, in addition to working on the meme team. Dylan is a graduate of Georgetown University and has covered various topics ranging from local politics in the DMV region with DC Voter For Animals to live sporting events in the Long Island and Rochester areas with The Southampton Press and Pickin’Splinters. When he isn't working, he's usually running in preparation for the next annual Turkey Trot.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Indiana Pacers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton roasted Obi Toppin after clinching a trip to the NBA Finals. It was another group effort for the Eastern Conference’s No. 4 seed on Saturday in this 125-108 <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-fans-erupt-after-indiana-routs-knicks">Game 6 win over the New York Knicks</a>. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-indiana-message-winning-ecf-first-time-25-years">Pacers have won the Eastern Conference</a> crown for the first time since 2000, and a former Knick played a critical role in that accomplishment. Obi Toppin was phenomenal on both ends against his former team.</p><p>The 27-year-old went 7/11 from the field with 18 points, six rebounds, and three huge blocks. It was that defensive performance that caught Haliburton’s eye, and he <a href="https://x.com/ohnohedidnt24/status/1929032005502517461" rel="noopener">gave a hilarious statement</a> on Toppin’s efforts.</p><p>“He had three blocks? Wow. We are always messing with him cuz he’s got all that athleticism, but just doesn’t use it on the defensive end sometimes.”</p><h2><b>The Pacers got what they deserved in this series</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Pacers-ii.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Indiana was the more consistent, cohesive, and disciplined team between these two historic rivals. Saturday night was the culmination of that reality. The Pacers consistently used their depth, pace, and relentless ball pressure to overwhelm the Knicks, causing 17 turnovers and scoring 34 points off those giveaways. Indiana additionally outscored New York by 15 on fast-break points. In addition to Toppin, there were plenty of other heroes for head coach Rick Carlisle’s team.</p><p>Pascal Siakam set the tone in the first half. The three-time All-Star is playing the best basketball of his life and was subsequently <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-pascal-siakam-wins-ecf-mvp-masterful-game-6-win-knicks">named Eastern Conference Finals MVP</a> for his efforts. Tyrese Haliburton continued to show why he is one of the best closers in the NBA, scoring eleven critical points in the fourth quarter to put the Knicks away. The superstar point guard additionally had 13 assists, keeping the team in rhythm throughout the contest. Meanwhile, on the other end, Andrew Nembhard gave Jalen Brunson fits in Game 6, holding the All-NBA point guard to just 19 points and five turnovers.</p><p>In addition to Toppin and the starters, Thomas Bryant played his best game of the postseason, putting up eleven points. Seven players scored in double figures, a trend that will need to continue for the Pacers to bring the franchise its first-ever championship. The Oklahoma City Thunder are a relentless defensive team that will do everything they can to disrupt Haliburton at the point of attack while also throwing several physical bodies at Siakam. Indiana must stay as unpredictable and versatile as ever to pull this upset.</p><p>Overall, this group has been underestimated the entire postseason. That trend will likely continue heading into this series, but that’s squarely within the Pacers’ comfort zone. Even after winning the Eastern Conference, Indiana still has a huge chip on its shoulder.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton roasts Obi Toppin after clinching NBA Finals trip

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-obi-toppins-warning-to-fan-goes-viral-after-game-1-win-vs-knicks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Obi Toppin’s warning to fan goes viral after Game 1 win vs. Knicks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Obi-Toppin-celebrates-a-dunk.jpg"><figcaption>Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Obi Toppin’s warning to fan goes viral after Game 1 win vs. Knicks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-22T17:37:24-07:00">May 22nd, 5:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-23T15:28:11-07:00">May 23rd, 3:28pm</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his free time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter and Instagram for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Indiana Pacers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Obi Toppin and the Indiana <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-obi-toppin-gets-real-about-what-hurt-knicks-game-1">Pacers earned a big win over the New York Knicks</a> in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The incredible victory was due to the Pacers overcoming a 14-point deficit with about 2:45 remaining in the fourth quarter.</p><p>Knicks fans were understandably upset after the win, but one fan may have taken it too far.</p><p>Obi Toppin finished Game 1 with a team-high 10 rebounds off the bench to go along with his eight points and one steal. No play was bigger than the dunk he threw down late in the overtime period to put the Pacers up three with 15.3 seconds remaining.</p><p>After the contest, Pacers players stopped before their walk into the tunnel to sign some autographs. When Toppin did so, one fan decided to yell at him.</p><p>“You suck Obi,” the fan yelled. “We got rid of you for a reason! Yeah, you got lucky!”</p><p>To which <a href="https://x.com/nba_newyork/status/1925674415527768408?s=46" rel="noopener">Obi Toppin heard</a> and replied, “Hey, I’m at the Ritz Nomad. Pull up.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Fan: "You suck Obi. We got rid of you for a reason…You got lucky…"</p><p>Obi: "Ay I'm at the Ritz…pull up…"<a href="https://t.co/eEfqZBvcMD">pic.twitter.com/eEfqZBvcMD</a></p><p>— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA_NewYork/status/1925674415527768408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Dramatic comeback lifts Pacers over Knicks in Game 1</b></h2><p>Clearly, New York fans were upset after watching Tyrese Haliburton bury their team in a game everyone thought the Knicks had won. Haliburton finished with 31 points, four rebounds, and 11 assists. Aaron Nesmith poured in 30 points and two blocks with eight three-pointers, including an NBA playoff record six in the fourth quarter.</p><p>After the game, Obi Toppin explained what hurt the Knicks.</p><p>“I feel like we’re just super resilient,” <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-obi-toppin-gets-real-about-what-hurt-knicks-game-1">Obi Toppin said</a> after the game. “With us, you gotta play until the last buzzer goes off. I feel like everybody on this team is going to work 110% every single game until that last buzzer, and I feel like that’s what happened. I feel like they slowed down a little bit, and we just kept it going.”</p><p>Six Pacers players scored in double-figures with Bennedict Mathurin scoring nine points and Toppin scoring eight.</p><p>For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson recorded 43 points with five assists, while Karl-Anthony Towns scored 35 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Game 1.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Obi Toppin’s warning to fan goes viral after Game 1 win vs. Knicks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-obi-toppin-gets-real-about-what-hurt-knicks-game-1');   ga('set', 'title', 'Obi Toppin gets 100% real about what hurt Knicks in Game 1');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Obi-Toppin.jpg"><figcaption>© Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Obi Toppin gets 100% real about what hurt Knicks in Game 1</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-21T21:49:45-07:00">May 21st, 9:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-21T21:49:45-07:00">May 21st, 9:49pm</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020. He has covered athletics at the University of Michigan and is now serving as an Associate Editor, Chicago Bulls beat writer, and Michigan football reporter at ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Indiana Pacers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-fans-go-crazy-after-insane-ending-vs-knicks">Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals</a> did not disappoint as 48 minutes was not enough time to settle this thrilling matchup between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. The Knicks pulled away in the fourth quarter to go up by as many as 17 points, and they led by 14 with under three minutes to go. However, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-choke-sign-game-1-knicks">Pacers shockingly managed to force overtime</a>, and then they won 138-135. Obi Toppin <a href="https://x.com/sny_knicks/status/1925396749058777187" rel="noopener">thinks that</a> the Pacers just wanted it more in the end.</p><p>“I feel like we’re just super resilient,” Obi Toppin said after the game, according to a post from Knicks Videos. “With us, you gotta play until the last buzzer goes off. I feel like everybody on this team is going to work 110% every single game until that last buzzer, and I feel like that’s what happened. I feel like they slowed down a little bit and we just kept it going.”</p><p>Everything did change after Jalen Brunson hit a big three to make it 119-105 with a little under three minutes to go. After that shot, it seemed like the game was over. That looked like the dagger. The Knicks looked like they thought they had a win wrapped up, and so did the fans. Everyone thought that it was over… except for the Pacers.</p><p>Everyone stepped up down the stretch as Indiana quickly trimmed the lead down and made things interesting in the final minute. Still, if the Knicks hit their free throws, they would’ve won the game.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-choke-sign-game-1-knicks">Pacers found themselves with the ball in the final seconds</a> down by only two points. Tyrese Haliburton shook his defender and thought that he was going for the win, but his buzzer beater at the end of regulation was only a two. Still, it capped off an insane comeback and forced overtime.</p><p>Overtime was as intense as could be, and the Pacers made the winning plays in the final minutes. Indiana now holds a 1-0 advantage over the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Obi Toppin gets 100% real about what hurt Knicks in Game 1

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-obi-toppin-insane-dunk-brook-lopez');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pacers’ Obi Toppin throws down insane dunk on Brook Lopez');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Pacers-news-Obi-Toppin-throws-down-insane-dunk-on-Brook-Lopez.jpg"></figure><h1>Pacers’ Obi Toppin throws down insane dunk on Brook Lopez</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-11T19:24:16-07:00">March 11th, 7:24pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-11T19:24:16-07:00">March 11th, 7:24pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor and College Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Indiana Pacers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/bucks-news-giannis-antetokounmpo-damian-lillard-injury-updates-pacers-game">Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks went at it in a spirited battle</a> during the latest chapter of one of the newer rivalries in the NBA on Tuesday night. Last season, the two squads had a few high-profile battles in both the NBA Cup and the first round of the playoffs.</p><p>The Pacers got the better of that first round series last year in six games against a banged-up Bucks squad, and they continued that reign in this one. The Bucks looked like they were going to come out on top, but an improbable four-point play by Tyrese Halliburton with just three seconds left gave the Pacers a 115-114 win.</p><p>Halliburton wasn’t the only Pacers player to have a moment. During the third quarter, Indiana forward Obi Toppin cut through the lane, received the pass and <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1899629556958441960" rel="noopener">threw down a monster dunk</a> over Bucks center Brook Lopez.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">OBI TOPPIN SLAMS IT DOWN OVER BROOK LOPEZ 🍿😳<a href="https://t.co/77Rt0A8Y2L">pic.twitter.com/77Rt0A8Y2L</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1899629556958441960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>That was Toppin’s only field goal of the night, so he certainly made it count. The highlight slam gave the Pacers a lot of momentum that allowed them to stay close in this tight contest.</p><p>The Bucks had a chance to win it even after Haliburton’s heroics. Giannis Antetokounmpo raced up the court and pulled up for 3 at the buzzer, but the shot fell short and the Pacers escaped with a win that had to feel like it was stolen.</p><p>Not only is this a big win for the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/pacers-news-rick-carlisle-young-star-3-game-losing-streak">Pacers to get some momentum after a three-game losing streak</a>, it is a massive victory in terms of the Eastern Conference standings. Indiana is now tied for fourth place in the conference with the Bucks as they try to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.</p><p>As the season winds down, it’s possible that this result and that shot by Haliburton plays a huge role in the way the postseason shakes out. Regardless of who ends up as the higher seed, there’s no question that there will be plenty of fireworks from Haliburton, Toppin, Antetokounmpo and others if these two rivals square off in the first round again.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pacers’ Obi Toppin throws down insane dunk on Brook Lopez

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/fever-obi-toppin-stephen-curry-praise-indiana-star-storm-win');   ga('set', 'title', 'Obi Toppin drops Stephen Curry-level praise for Fever star after Storm win');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Fever-news-Obi-Toppin-drops-Stephen-Curry-level-praise-for-Indiana-star-after-Storm-win.jpg"></figure><h1>Obi Toppin drops Stephen Curry-level praise for Fever star after Storm win</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-18T18:06:06-07:00">August 18th, 6:06pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-18T18:08:21-07:00">August 18th, 6:08pm</time><address><a>Michael Aaron Gomez</a>Michael Aaron Gomez is a creative writer and longtime NBA fan. He has been a fan of the Lakers since the three-peat but believes LeBron James is the greatest player of all time.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">WNBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/christie-sides-noelle-quinn-get-heated-during-fever-storm-clash">Indiana Fever defeated the Seattle Storm</a> 92-75 on Sunday thanks to the concerted efforts of WNBA star Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Lexi Hull. Clark scored 23 points and dished nine assists, while Mitchell led the team with 27 points. Meanwhile, Hull came off the bench and contributed with 22 points to help lead the Fever to a wall-to-wall victory.</p><p>Fever center Aliyah Boston also grabbed 15 boards in the victory.</p><p>Pacers forward Obi Toppin was courtside at the game, too, and he had nothing but praise for the Fever trio. However, he saved his highest praise for Mitchell, with an amazing comparison to Warriors star Stephen Curry.</p><p>“It was lit today,” Toppin said on an Instagram post shared by the Pacers official account. “Caitlin [Clark] was going crazy. Lexie, Lexie [Hull] was going crazy. She was looking like Steph Curry out there. Kelsey [Mitchell] was going crazy. Yeah, shout out to them. They was doing their thing today, for sure.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="instagram-media"><div style="padding: 16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-1I488M15A/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> <div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div><p></p></a><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-1I488M15A/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Indiana Pacers (@pacers)</a></p></div></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2>The Fever in the standings</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Caitlin-Clark-passes-the-ball-through-a-double-team.jpg"><figcaption>© Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK</figcaption></figure><p>With this victory over the Storm, the Fever climb to a 13-15 record to secure third place in the Eastern conference and seventh in the WNBA. Their 13 wins have already tied their record last season, where they finished at tenth place and did not qualify for the postseason. Now, with only over a month left until the playoffs, the Fever look poised to make a splash on the big stage, especially with their No. 1 picks Aliyah Boston and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/fever-news-indiana-record-breaking-caitlin-clark-effect">Caitlin Clark, who popularized women’s basketball</a> thanks in part to her legendary college career.</p><p>Moreover, in her rookie WNBA season, Clark simply picked up where she left off. During the Storm game, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/fevers-news-caitlin-clark-breaks-rookie-assist-record-with-slick-pass-to-lexie-hull">Clark broke the single-season rookie assists record</a>, her nine assists adding to her 225 for the season, and counting. Former Sacramento Monarchs star Ticha Penicheiro once set the record during her own rookie season in 1998.</p><p>These <a href="https://apnews.com/article/storm-fever-score-clark-620c088bf4d2524736bf00ed46bd7908" rel="noopener">types of performances</a> have most likely made the WNBA Rookie of the Year a lock for Caitlin Clark. She is currently averaging 18 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 8.3 assists, leading her team in points and assists per game. If this play continues, the team has as good a chance as any to sneak into the postseason. They had started the season losing six of their first seven games, too, so they are starting to put things together at the right time.</p><p>The WNBA may have also found their newest face, as Clark and Chicago Sky star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wnba-news-sky-angel-reese-fever-cailtin-clark-first-looks-nba-2k25">Angel Reese have drawn ratings</a> for the league. With their rise, the association has never been in a better spot.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Obi Toppin drops Stephen Curry-level praise for Fever star after Storm win

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pacers-news-indiana-re-signs-obi-toppin-60-million-deal');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pacers to re-sign Obi Toppin to $60 million deal');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Indiana-re-signs-Obi-Toppin-to-60-million-deal.jpg"></figure><h1>Pacers to re-sign Obi Toppin to $60 million deal</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-30T11:02:20-07:00">June 30th, 11:02am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-30T11:43:17-07:00">June 30th, 11:43am</time><address><a>Tim Crean</a>Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined ClutchPoints in 2022. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL, NBA, soccer, sports media, and more. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie, it is a dream to write about sports professionally. He’s a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York and when he’s not enjoying a round of golf he's probably coaching youth soccer or flag football. You can catch all of his sports-related musings on Twitter at @twcrean.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Indiana Pacers are starting NBA free agency with a bang, handing 26-year-old <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pacers-news-obi-toppins-ridiculous-reverse-halfcourt-alley-oop-from-tyrese-haliburton-almost-breaks-the-internet">forward Obi Toppin</a> a four-year, $60 million contract extension.</p><p>“ESPN Sources: Restricted free agent F Obi Toppin intends to sign a four-year, $60 million contract to stay with the Indiana Pacers,” ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski <a href="https://x.com/wojespn/status/1807470215145370089">reported on Sunday</a>. “Toppin emerged as a top bench contributor for the Eastern Conference finalists.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">ESPN Sources: Restricted free agent F Obi Toppin intends to sign a four-year, $60 million contract to stay with the Indiana Pacers. Toppin emerged as a top bench contributor for the Eastern Conference finalists. <a href="https://t.co/sJP8q5prJe">pic.twitter.com/sJP8q5prJe</a></p><p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1807470215145370089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Toppin, in his first season with the Pacers, averaged 21.1 minutes, 10.3 points, and 3.1 rebounds per game, which were all career highs. The forward was a restricted free agent this offseason, and the Pacers gave him a qualifying offer before agreeing to this long-term deal.</p><p>Born in Brooklyn and attending (at least part of) high school just north of New York City, Obi Toppin was a huge fan-favorite when he was drafted by his hometown New York Knicks out of Dayton with the No. 8 pick of the 2020 NBA Draft. However, the uber-athletic 6-foot-9 forward struggled to find playing time in Madison Square Garden with a glut of forwards on the roster that included Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and others through the years.</p><p>That is why the Knicks dealt Toppin to the Pacers in the 2023 NBA offseason for two future second-round picks as the franchise tried to clear cap space and accumulate assets to create a more balanced roster.</p><p>Once in Indiana, Toppin became the ninth man in the Pacers’ deep rotation, averaging the most minutes of his career. He also played in all 82 games for the team and started 28 games when other players missed time. Toppin’s athleticism fits perfectly with the Pacers’ run-and-gun style, and the team proved that by giving him this new contract.</p><h2>What’s next for the Pacers in NBA free agency?</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Obi-Toppin-of-the-Pacers.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Now that the Pacers have given out this Obi Toppin contract extension, it’s fair to ask what’s next for the franchise that exceeded expectations this year, making it to the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the eventual champion Boston Celtics in a sweep.</p><p>With Toppin back following a massive Pascal Siakam extension, the Pacers’ attention now turns to its other free agents, especially 24-year-old center Jalen Smith, who opted out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.</p><p>It remains to be seen whether the team will try hard to keep Smith, as they already have Myles Turner and promising youngster Isaiah Jackson at the center position.</p><p>Other Pacers unrestricted free agents include Doug McDermott, James Johnson, Isaiah Wong, and Gabe York. Of this group, McDermott is likely out, while if the 37-year-old Johnson wants to continue his NBA career, he could come back on a minimum one-year deal. Wong had some nice time in the G League last year, so he could be back on a minimum deal as well, while the 31-year-old York is probably out.</p><p>If the Pacers do decide to bring in players from outside the organization in NBA free agency this offseason, it will likely be mid-level, not star players. Names that have been floated as potential targets include De’Anthony Melton, Gordon Hayward, and Royce O’Neale.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pacers to re-sign Obi Toppin to $60 million deal

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pacers-news-obi-toppin-delivers-savage-message-brother-better-dunker-claim');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pacers’ Obi Toppin delivers savage message to his brother after ‘better dunker’ claim');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pacers-news-obi-toppin-delivers-savage-message-to-his-brother-after-better-dunker-claim.webp"></figure><h1>Pacers’ Obi Toppin delivers savage message to his brother after ‘better dunker’ claim</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-17T16:28:46-08:00">February 17th, 4:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-17T16:29:39-08:00">February 17th, 4:29pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/how-to-watch-att-slam-dunk-contest-on-tv-date-time-contestants" rel="noopener">Saturday night’s 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest</a> may be lacking in star power, but not intrigue. It also has a little bit of drama added to it before the event, with Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin and his brother, Jacob Toppin of the New York Knicks, having some good old sibling trash talk.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jacob and Obi Toppin going back and forth before the dunk contest 😅</p><p>Jacob: “He can’t give me any advice. I’m the better dunker”</p><p>Obi: “Hold up. I’m the champ already. You still gotta become a champ."</p><p>Jacob: “I’m the better dunker.”</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAAllStar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBAAllStar</a>)<a href="https://t.co/eqoMXgNDmP">pic.twitter.com/eqoMXgNDmP</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1758974438698074159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The high-leaping Pacers forward has the advantage in bragging rights (for now) since he had already <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/2022-att-slam-dunk" rel="noopener">won the event before</a>. Obi, who was still with the Knicks at the time, won the slam dunk title back in 2022 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland. (He was traded by the Knicks to the Pacers in 2023 for some picks). He bested Golden State Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson, Houston Rockets youngster Jalen Green, and Orland Magic guard Anthony Cole Anthony.</p><p>This time, Jacob will look to add dunk prestige to the Knicks — and Toppin family, Jacob, who is on a two-way contract with the Knicks, will be battling against Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, Jaime Jaquez Jr. of th Miami Heat, and the reining dunk contest champion and G Leaguer MacMcClung.</p><p>Although the NBA Slam Dunk Contest has seemingly lost significant luster over the past several years, it remains to be one of the most anticipated events in NBA All-Star breaks. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-jaylen-brown-drops-extremely-bold-claim-dunk-contest" rel="noopener">Brown’s inclusion</a> on the list of participants in the dunk contest adds a much-needed star power to the event, but his popularity isn’t going to be much of a factor here where athleticism, creativity, showmanship, and crazy leaping abilities are kings.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pacers’ Obi Toppin delivers savage message to his brother after ‘better dunker’ claim

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pacers-news-jalen-smith-obi-toppin-all-star');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pacers star Obi Toppin heroics vs. Suns sparks All-Star question from Jalen Smith');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Obi_Toppin_heroics_vs._Suns_sparks_All-Star_question_from_Jalen_Smith.webp"></figure><h1>Pacers star Obi Toppin heroics vs. Suns sparks All-Star question from Jalen Smith</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-01-27T08:39:49-08:00">January 27th, 8:39am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-01-27T08:39:49-08:00">January 27th, 8:39am</time><address><a>Max Escarpio</a>Max Escarpio has experience covering multiple leagues, including the NBA, NCAA, NFL, and FIBA. He has most recently carried titles as an expert analyst for football and basketball for Bleacher Report and SB Nation.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Indiana Pacers role player Jalen Smith gave his Obi Toppin All-Star case following the Pacers’ win over the Phoenix Suns. Toppin scored the go-ahead basket in the matchup versus the Suns, totaling 23 points and three assists. He’s had a career resurgence after struggling with the New York Knicks early in his career. Toppin has turned into a vital piece for a Pacers squad that stands at No. 6 in the Eastern Conference standings.</p><p>“Why isn’t Obi Toppin an <a href="https://twitter.com/iPacersblog/status/1751077210490867813" rel="noopener">All-Star?</a> We need these answers now. Why is Obi Toppin not an All-Star,” said Smith, via Pacers Blog on X.</p><p>Toppin and the Pacers <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pacers-news-rick-carlisle-epic-message-on-slowing-down-suns-despite-devin-bookers-big-game" rel="noopener">stunned the Suns</a> with Devin Booker’s 62-point performance. This was a tremendous win for the Pacers in a game where star guard Tyrese Haliburton was sidelined. The former first-round pick is averaging 11.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in his first with the Pacers. Indiana has produced one of the best-scoring offenses in the league with an extremely young roster and Toppin has been a beneficiary.</p><p>He’s having a career year with the Pacers, posting career-high numbers across the board, including points, rebounds, assists, and field goal percentage. Toppin’s usage has always been relatively high, but the role he’s played under Rick Carlise seems to fit his skillset. He may be an All-Star candidate, but making the game this year may be pushing it.</p><p>While Toppin has <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-emotional-reaction-to-being-named-all-star-starter" rel="noopener">had a great year</a> with the Pacers, All-Star weekend is still levels away. Smith may be vouching for his teammate a bit too early in his Pacers tenure. Toppin has the talent to keep improving and he’s in the best place to do so.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pacers star Obi Toppin heroics vs. Suns sparks All-Star question from Jalen Smith

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pacers-news-obi-toppin-spoils-devin-bookers-monster-62-point-masterclass-epic-game-winner');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pacers’ Obi Toppin spoils Devin Booker’s 62-point masterclass with epic game-winner');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Pacers_news_Obi_Toppin_spoils_Devin_Booker_s_monster_62-point_masterclass_with_epic_game-winner.webp"></figure><h1>Pacers’ Obi Toppin spoils Devin Booker’s 62-point masterclass with epic game-winner</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-01-26T19:23:22-08:00">January 26th, 7:23pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-01-26T21:45:26-08:00">January 26th, 9:45pm</time><address><a>Brian Buyawe</a>Brian Buyawe is a sports aficionado with a passion for basketball, football and Formula One. His hobbies include running, reading and playing in recreational leagues. Back when he was a kid, Brian stumbled upon an old Larry Bird documentary among his family's collection of movies, which made him a lifelong Celtics fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Fresh off his 46-point outing against the Dallas Mavericks just days ago, Devin Booker once again put on a scoring clinic, going for 62 points <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-pacers-prediction-odds-pick-how-to-watch-1-26-2024" rel="noopener">against the Indiana Pacers </a>on Friday. Unfortunately for him, Obi Toppin’s <a href="https://twitter.com/clutchpoints/status/1751069599062511899?s=46" rel="noopener">heroics played spoiler</a>.</p><p>The game was tied at 131 apiece during the closing moments of regulation. With 11 seconds left, Pacers guard Benedict Mathurin drove to the rim but his layup attempt missed. Pascal Siakam then tried to follow with a putback, but it wouldn’t fall in as well. Luckily for the Pacers, the ball found itself in the hands of Toppin, who was able to successfully lay it in with 3.4 seconds remaining. (clip via ClutchPoints)</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">OBI TOPPIN REBOUND AND GAME WINNER!</p><p>Pacers come back from down 17 to beat the Suns despite 62 points from Devin Booker!<a href="https://t.co/my7vK3jY03">pic.twitter.com/my7vK3jY03</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1751069599062511899?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Obi Toppin finished the game with a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 10-of-15 from the field. Additionally, the Pacers have just halted Phoenix’s seven-game win streak from expanding any further.</p><p>And as mentioned, Devin Booker’s season-high 62 points was all in vain. The Suns superstar shot 22-of-37 from the floor, which included six 3-pointers. He also added five rebounds and four assists for Phoenix. However, the Suns’ squandered fourth-quarter lead would be their downfall.</p><p>Entering the final period, Phoenix held on to a nine-point advantage. However, behind a run sparked by Mathurin, the Pacers would rally back, eventually tying the game late in the quarter. Then, of course, Obi Toppin came in clutch.</p><p>For the Pacers, Pascal Siakam finished with 31 points. All in all, six Indiana players managed to tally double figures in the absence of their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-emotional-reaction-to-being-named-all-star-starter" rel="noopener">All-Star player Tyrese Haliburton</a>. The team is currently sixth in the Eastern Conference and looks to continue its momentum against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pacers’ Obi Toppin spoils Devin Booker’s 62-point masterclass with epic game-winner

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pacers-news-obi-toppins-ridiculous-reverse-halfcourt-alley-oop-from-tyrese-haliburton-almost-breaks-the-internet');   ga('set', 'title', 'Obi Toppin’s ridiculous reverse halfcourt alley-oop from Tyrese Haliburton almost breaks the internet');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Toppin.webp"></figure><h1>Obi Toppin’s ridiculous reverse halfcourt alley-oop from Tyrese Haliburton almost breaks the internet</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-12-07T16:43:37-08:00">December 7th, 4:43pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-12-07T16:43:37-08:00">December 7th, 4:43pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is based in Los Angeles and currently covers basketball at every level from NBA/WNBA to men/women college and boys/girls high school.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The NBA In-Season Tournament <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-news-damian-lillard-in-season-tournament-mvp-favorite-over-giannis-antetokounmpo" rel="noopener">continues this week</a> with the semifinal matchups. In the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Indiana Pacers are looking to keep their hot streak going against their next opponent, the Milwaukee Bucks. The Pacers had used a strong third quarter to take a commanding lead at the half, but as of publication, they were holding on to a slim lead against the Bucks in the fourth quarter. Pacers wing Obi Toppin had one of the <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1732917114908864559" rel="noopener">highlights of the game</a> though that regained the lead for the Pacers off a Tyrese Haliburton alley-oop. Predictably, social media exploded in awe.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">THAT HALI VISION IS CRAZY 🔥</p><p>— Lost Tribe Sports (@LostTribeSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/LostTribeSports/status/1732917592627544393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Superman taken flight</p><p>— Emmanuel. (@T_ee_mex) <a href="https://twitter.com/T_ee_mex/status/1732917567235166482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Boy threw the no look alley ..yeah he the one!</p><p>— JackPollard 🇻🇨 (@Mr_Jack_Pollard) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mr_Jack_Pollard/status/1732917650802589699?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Haliburton unstoppable as always</p><p>— sury (@Surya_Raven) <a href="https://twitter.com/Surya_Raven/status/1732917761611821393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">These are not your grandpas Pacers team. We fast and flying to the basket.</p><p>— Uncle Buck (@DBuck76) <a href="https://twitter.com/DBuck76/status/1732917408057163898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">SHOWTIME PACERS</p><p>— Ac (@kidfromindy) <a href="https://twitter.com/kidfromindy/status/1732917248208085300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>With the Pacers trailing, 100-99 in the NBA In-Season Tournament against the Bucks, Tyrese Haliburton threw a lob pass from halfcourt to Obi Toppin who proceeded to throw down a reverse dunk. Both the Pacers and Bucks came into the tournament sporting impressive 4-0 records during pool play.</p><p>The Pacers have looked incredibly impressive during their tournament games. Overall, Haliburton has been playing like an MVP candidate. He’s been averaging a career high 26.9 points per game, 4.0 rebounds, 11.9 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 52.1 percent shooting from the field, 44.7 percent shooting from the three-point line and 88.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>Toppin has also been enjoying a career year since joining the Pacers via trade in the offseason. He’s been averaging a career high 12.9 points per game, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists with splits of 60.5 percent shooting from the field, 36.9 percent shooting from the three-point line and 81.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Obi Toppin’s ridiculous reverse halfcourt alley-oop from Tyrese Haliburton almost breaks the internet

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pacers-news-is-obi-toppin-playing-vs-celtics-nba-in-season-tournament-injury-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'Is Pacers’ Obi Toppin playing vs. Celtics? Latest NBA In-Season Tournament injury update');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Pacers-news-Is-Obi-Toppin-playing-vs-Celtics-Latest-NBA-In-Season-Tournament-injury-update.jpg"></figure><h1>Is Pacers’ Obi Toppin playing vs. Celtics? Latest NBA In-Season Tournament injury update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-12-04T10:50:26-08:00">December 4th, 10:50am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-12-04T10:52:13-08:00">December 4th, 10:52am</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics will square off in the first NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinals game on Monday night with a trip to Las Vegas on the line. Going a perfect 4-0 in group play, the Pacers have proven to be a young team that can step up in big games. Well, they are going to need to do so again on Monday against the Celtics to keep their hopes of winning the first-ever NBA Cup alive, but Indiana may be without key starting power forward Obi Toppin in this one. Toppin, who is dealing with a left ankle sprain, has appeared on the team’s injury report, leaving his status for this in-season tournament game up in the air. This has led to the question of: If Obi Toppin playing tonight vs. the Celtics?</p><h2><b>Obi Toppin injury status vs. Celtics</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/knicks-news-new-york-trading-obi-toppin-to-pacers-for-draft-compensation.jpg"></figure><p>The Pacers are one of the best offensive teams in the NBA this season. Eight different players are averaging at least 10 points per game for them early on this season, and Obi Toppin is one of these players, averaging 13.1 points per game while shooting 61.0 percent from the floor. While Toppin is not the Pacers’ most important player, he has helped them win a handful of their games this season.</p><p>Toppin currently finds himself on the Pacers’ <a href="https://ak-static.cms.nba.com/referee/injury/Injury-Report_2023-12-04_01PM.pdf" rel="noopener">injury report</a> as questionable ahead of Monday night’s in-season tournament game against the Celtics due to a left ankle sprain. In their last game against the Miami Heat, Toppin appeared to tweak his ankle, which has led to his name popping up on this injury report.</p><p>One of the team’s most efficient finishers and a player who can help push the pace in transition, Toppin has been a prefect fit at the power forward position for the Pacers this season. He is not only shooting a career-best 61.0 percent from the floor, but Toppin is also shooting a casreer-high 36.1 percent from three-point range with most of his shots coming from the corner.</p><p>Should Toppin be unable to play in Monday night’s NBA In-Season Tournament game due to his ankle injury, Aaron Nesmith, Jalen Smith, and Jordan Nwora would figure to see their roles possibly increase.</p><p>So, when it comes to the question of if Obi Toppin is playing tonight vs. the Celtics, the answer has yet to be determined. It is possible that the Pacers look to make a final decision on Toppin’s status based on how he looks during pregame warmups.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
14.0	6.7	1.7	-	1.0

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
14.0	6.7	1.7	-	1.0

Obi Toppin news

Obi
Toppin news