Benedict Mathurin, the short-handed Pacers beat the even shorter-handed Grizzlies.

Benedict Mathurin, the short-handed Pacers beat the even shorter-handed Grizzlies.

The Pacers held off the even shorter-handed but always-tough Memphis Grizzlies 116–110 in a Sunday afternoon game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Pacers are now 27-20 and in sixth place within the Eastern Conference. They have won three games in a row. The Grizzlies lost their third straight game and are now 18-28.

The Grizzlies have a total of eight players listed as out on Sunday, including forwards Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Marcus Smart.

They have more injuries than any other team in the NBA. All of them will be out for a long time, with All-Star Morant being out for the whole year.

Even though the Grizzlies lost some players, they are still very dangerous because they have two tough centers, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Charles Tillman, who play tough defense and block the lane. Before Sunday’s game, they were seventh in the league in paint goals allowed.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies didn’t have their sharpshooting guard Luke Hilliard on Sunday, so they started 6-4, 255-pound David Roddy, who made them even bigger and stronger even though they were lacking in speed and skill.

“When Kennard wasn’t able to play, they put Roddy into the lineup, so it was sending a signal that it was going to be an intense battle,” Pacers leader Rick Carlisle stated.

“They’re already rough, but having him in the starting lineup sent an even stronger message about that.” You try to tell your group how physically intense it will be, but words can’t describe it.

To get past this kind of defense, you need a player who isn’t afraid of anything and is good at finishing.

Benedict Mathurin has both of those attributes, and his outside shot was also working, so he was kind of the perfect answer to what the Grizzlies had been doing.

As All-Star forward Tyrese Haliburton and center Myles Turner were out, the Pacers needed someone to step up and score points in addition to Pascal Siakam. Mathurin did just that.

Before 7:23 in the first quarter, Mathurin didn’t check in. When he did, he went straight for the basket.

The first time he touched the ball, he drove directly from the baseline to the basket for a dunk.

After that, he kept getting after the basket. Mathurin scored 14 of the Pacers’ first 28 points or 17 of their first 33 points.

He said, “The most important thing for me was to keep the game easy.” “Just go out there and make a difference.” It did its job.

Things were going well; I was scoring goals and getting others involved. It was because I knew what the defense said. They let me drive early. I put pressure on it as I went to the rim.”

He made 7 of 9 baskets, or 3 of 3 3-pointers, in the first half to score 19 points. Seven boards, a steal, and a block were also his.

He didn’t have as many chances in the second half, but he still scored 24 points by making 9 of 14 shots and 3 of 5 from 3-point range.

The drives made other options possible and generally made the Grizzly’s wall around the lane less solid.

In their loss to the Grizzlies in Memphis on December 21, the Pacers only scored 32 points within the paint. On Sunday, they beat them 54–48 in the lane.

Carlisle said, “I thought Mathurin proved great.” “What a great guy. He always made the right play in the first half, when we were unable to get going.

The right read, the right pull-up, and the right drive. From the first to the second quarter, he gave us a lot of life. He’s grown a lot this year due to these things.”

The Pacers required Pascal Siakam to play inside. The Grizzlies make it hard to move through the paint, and even players who have strong handles have trouble because Memphis is so big there.

It’s very helpful to have a 6-8 player who has a 7-3 wingspan and can keep dribbling and jump up to score. That player is Siakam.

The Pacers just bought a two-time All-NBA powerful forward who scored 19 points on 8-in-13 shooting and was able to get his teammates open.

In the end, he had six assists and one turnover. He also had six rebounds as well as two steals.

Carlisle said, “It was hard to get good shots all night.” Paul’s great screening and footwork got us rolling in the third quarter.

I was able to get away. We hit him three or four times. It gave us a boost to be in the quarter.

That was very important. He has both an inside and an outside. At the fourth spot, he will give us a lot of different options.

When Siakam guarded Jaren Jackson Jr., he also excelled on defense. Jackson received 25 points, but he only made 7 of 17 shots from the field and only scored 5 points in the fourth quarter, making 1 of 3 shots.