Taking inspiration from the Pacers 6 effort against the Hawks on Wednesday, a much healthier lineup (including the Pacers 6) put together a solid 48-minute effort, including a closing stretch with enough winning plays to hold off the Grizz, 107-103.
With Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith back from their night off Monday, and Ivica Zubac returning from his ankle sprain, the Pacers had a full 12-man roster ready to play and all 12 DID play and contribute along the way which put the Pacers in position to win down the stretch.
And that’s just what they did in the final five minutes of the game which started with the Pacers trailing 91-90. But a defensive stop and rebound by Jarace Walker lead to a transition dunk by Obi Toppin. A second consecutive stop and Walker rebound (I know!) created another run out dunk for Toppin, to put the Pacers up 94-91 with a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
Was it easy to rest of the way? Of course not, and after an egregious non-call of a foul, when Ty Jerome pulled down Aaron Nesmith during a jump ball and then scored through the chaos, the Grizz pulled within 104-103 with less than 30 seconds to play.
The Grizz pressured the Pacers all over the floor until Siakam worked out of a triple-team trap near half court to find Nesmith in the corner where he drilled a 3-ball like it was Madison Square Garden in the spring. From there, the Grizz desperately tried to make a 3-ball, despite needing four points, but Cedric Coward missed twice with Walker contesting and then Walker deflected a pass for a third attempt which ran out the clock.
Hell of a win on the road, where the Pacers have won all three of their games so far this season. Check out the full final five minutes here.
After reading about the close, you may think Jarace Walker was the star of the game, but he wasn’t all that impactful until winning time, just one of 12 giving a boost throughout the 48 minute game. Walker did earn those closing minutes with his effort earlier in the fourth quarter after being the 11th man off the bench in the first half. With Kelly Oubre Jr. out, Walker may have help boost himself up the rotation pecking order. Hopefully that’s not a temporary boost.
Nembhard (22 points) and Siakam (20 points) were their usual lead dog selves, showing up rested and ready to lead in this one. The main negative from an individual standpoint was the return of Zubac who really struggled trying to do anything offensively against Zach Edey, finishing with 1 point and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes, showing plenty of rust in his return after being out a couple of weeks.
Braden Smith was a surprise starter which allowed the Pacers to play a preferred two-point guard lineup more minutes. Smith’s confidence switch appears to have flipped after that 42 minute effort against the Hawks because he came out ready to roll with the rest of the starting lineup. He started the scoring with a steal and run out layup, then scored again on a layup in traffic. A pair of assists to Siakam, including a classic Haliburton-style long pass after a Grizz make to Pascal for a layup, and Smith had his hand in the first 9 points of the game. He ended up playing 24 minutes with 10 points, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Smith’s spot in the rotation freed up Quenton Jackson to assume his normal role and do QJack things and kept him in the game late into the fourth quarter. His 13 points, 7 rebounds and a pair of steals continued to play as a good complement to Smith’s game on the floor.
The league kindly gave the Pacers two days off between their win in Memphis and the game on Saturday evening against the Nuggets in Mexico City. Of course, no favors with the opponent considering Mexico City is at a higher elevation than Denver and the Nuggs are more fit for the thin air. Alas, the Pacers will likely be using all 12 players again, which should help with any fatigue factor.
The Pacers are the home team for the matchup with the Nuggets, so hopefully being on the road for the home game will help the Pacers win their first home game. Or something like that.
Pacers vs. Nuggets
Where: Arena CDMX, Mexico City, MX
When: Saturday, November 7, 2026 - 5:00 p.m. ET
TV: DAZN, NBA TV
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +6.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Kelly Oubre Jr., Pascal Siakam, Ivica Zubac
Nuggets: Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson, Nikola Jokic
Injuries
Pacers: Kelly Oubre Jr. (calf) - questionable, Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) - out, Johnny Furphy (knee) - out, TJ McConnell (hamstring) - out, Ben Sheppard (knee) - out
Nuggets: DeMar DeRozan (back) - questionable, Spencer Jones (hamstring) - out, Julian Strawther (knee) - out