Indiana Pacers 132 – Minnesota Timberwolves 130 (Mar. 18th, 2025)

Source: David Berding / Getty

(MINNEAPOLIS, MN) – The shorthanded Indiana Pacers (39-29) defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves (40-30) behind Obi Toppin’s Pacers career high 34 points and game-winning three.

1. First Quarter

For the first time this season, the Indiana Pacers were without Pascal Siakam. They were also without Tyrese Haliburton, Aaron Nesmith, and Myles Turner. Tonight’s starting lineup consisted of Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Jarace Walker, Obi Toppin, and Thomas Bryant. Minnesota got the scoring started with four points before the Indiana scored its first field goal by Nembhard. Indiana would come back and tie the game at eight when Toppin got the rim for a layup. The first advantage for the Pacers come off a Bryant three-point play on the following possession. Neither team would lead by more than three points in the final 6:48 of play in the first quarter. After twelve minutes of play, the two teams were tied at 30. Julius Randle paced all scorers early with 9 points. Indiana’s leading scorer was Tony Bradley with 8 points. Indiana’s reserves struggled from deep, only converting one of its five attempts

2. Second Quarter

Despite playing without four of its five starters, Indiana was able to dominate the hottest team in the NBA. Just over three minutes into the quarter, Naz Reid pushed Minnesota’s advantage to 39-35 with a hook shot. Indiana countered with a 14-0 run to take the first double digit lead in the game after a Nembhard triple. During that run, Indiana got points from Mathurin, Toppin, Bryant, and Nembhard. With 2:08 left in the first half, Indiana’s advantage was 58-54 and they wouldn’t allow Minnesota to go on a run to have momentum going into halftime. The Timberwolves only outscored the Pacers by a point the rest of the way. At halftime, Indiana’s advantage was 60-46. Leading all scorers with 8 points in the quarter was Toppin. Minnesota was led in scoring by Naz Reid with 7 points. Indiana held Minnesota to 16 points on 6/24 shooting. Anthony Edwards was limited to 9 points on 3/11 shooting in the first half. Minnesota shot 4/10 (21.1%) beyond the arc in the first half. Indiana’s leading scorer was Toppin at halftime with 13 points. Reid led all scorers at intermission with 14 points.

3. Third Quarter

It felt like it was only going to be a matter of time before the Minnesota Timberwolves played like a forty-win team. They started the second half with 9-2 run to cut the Pacers lead to seven points off a Randle fadeaway jumper. Indiana would counter with four points to go back on top by eleven points. Moments later, Andrew Nembhard and Rudy Gobert were ejected. Nembhard for picking up his second technical foul, and Gobert for picking up a flagrant two foul. Donte DiVincenzo then took over for Minnesota, scoring eight of the next nine points for Minnesota, resulting in Minnesota drawing within four points. Two free throws from Edwards made it 68-66 with 6:10 left in the game. Indiana would push the advantage back to five points, and then Edwards countered with four straight points to make it a one-point game. Minnesota would take the lead off a Jaylen Clark layup with 3:57 left in the quarter. Indiana would not let Minnesota’s lead grow beyond three points. After three quarters, Indiana was clinging onto an 89-87 advantage. Edwards erupted for 15 points in the quarter followed by DiVincenzo and Mathurin with 11 points each. The Timberwolves shot 15/24 (62.5%) from the floor in the period and 4/6 from three-point range. Leading all scorers after three quarters was Edwards with 24 points. Indiana’s leading scorer remained Toppin with 18 points.

4. Fourth Quarter

The fourth quarter was one of the most eventful, and hectic, quarters of the season. Minnesota started the final period of play with a 10-0 run to go up 97-89 after Mike Conley drained a triple with 10:22 left in regulation. Despite having all the momentum, Indiana did not back down. A Quenton Jackson layup made it 101-99 with 7:05 left in the game, and then he tied the game ninety seconds later with two free throws. Minnesota then went back up by four points with another triple from DiVincenzo. With 3:19 left in regulation, a three-point play from Edwards pushed the Timberwolves lead to 110-105. Mathurin fouled out on the play, meaning the Pacers were without Haliburton, Siakam, Turner, Nesmith, Nembhard, and Mathurin against a team that has won eight straight games. With under a minute left in regulation, Toppin converted a difficult layup to put Indiana on top 115-112. Jaden McDaniels tied the game on the following possession with a three-pointer. Indiana would foul Edwards with 30.1 seconds left, and he would convert both freebies. Toppin missed a three on the following possession, but the ball went out of bounds with 14 seconds left off Minnesota. Indiana had one final crack at it, and T.J. McConnell delivered with a layup to tie the game with 4.6 seconds left. Indiana would force Edwards into taking a highly contested and fading three with the time expiring, and he missed. The two teams were tied at 117 at the end of regulation. Quenton Jackson scored the most points in the quarter with nine. Minnesota’s leading scorer was McDaniels with seven points. Pacing all scorers after forty-eight minutes was Edwards with 30 points. Indiana’s leading scorers were Toppin and Mathurin with 22 points.

5. Overtime

With Indiana’s rotations being so tight, the Pacers minutes were starting to add up for some players, but Minnesota was on the second night of a back-to-back. Overtime began with Minnesota converting all four free throws to take an early four-point lead. With 2:25 left in overtime, Toppin tied the game at 123 after back-to-back threes. Conley would break the tie with a banked in three-ball with 2:00 left in the contest. With 1:06 left in overtime, Minnesota was leading 128-123 after two free throws from Edwards. Indiana scored back-to-back threes to take a 129-128 lead. One three came from Thomas Bryant, and the other came from Toppin. Indiana would foul Edwards on the following possession, and he would convert his eighteenth and nineteenth free throws in the game. With 18.5 seconds left, Indiana was down 130-129. Even though the Pacers only needed two points, they got three from Toppin as he hit a three like Haliburton did last week against the Milwaukee Bucks. It put Indiana on top for good with 3.5 seconds left. Minnesota did have a chance to tie the game, but Randle’s hook shot hit the front of the rim and fell off. Indiana wins it in miraculous fashion, 132-130. Toppin scored 12 of Indiana’s 15 points in overtime. Edwards added eight more to his tally in overtime for Minnesota.

6. Top Performers

Obi Toppin (34p, 10r, 1s, 1b), Bennedict Mathurin (22p, 3r), Jarace Walker (13p, 5r, 2s), Quenton Jackson (13p), Andrew Nembhard (12p, 3a, 2r), Tony Bradley (12p, 9r), T.J. McConnell (11p, 13a, 4r), and Thomas Bryant (10p, 7r). For Minnesota, Anthony Edwards (38p, 5a, 3r, 2s, 2b), Naz Reid (21p, 4r), Donte DiVincenzo (19p, 3r, 3a, 2s), Julius Randle (17p, 6r, 4a), and Jaden McDaniels (13p, 7r, 4a, 1s, 1b). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

7. Notes

Indiana is now 38-29 and 17-19 away
- Indiana is 22-11 in 2025
- Indiana is 8-6 after the All-Star break
Indiana snaps 6-game losing streak to Minnesota
Indiana snaps Minnesota’s 8-game winning streak
Indiana and Milwaukee are tied for 4th in the Eastern Conference
Indiana maintains a one-game lead over Detroit for fifth
Indiana’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 9
Anthony Edwards held a season low 1 three-pointer when attempting at least 10
Anthony Edwards has scored 30+ points in 22 games this season
Bennedict Mathurin has scored 20+ points in 18 games this season
Naz Reid has scored 20+ points in 18 games this season
Obi Toppin’s 34 points are a Pacers career high
Obi Toppin has scored 30+ points in 2 games this season
Obi Toppin has scored 20+ points in 4 games this season
Obi Toppin’s 7 threes are a career high for threes in a game
Obi Toppin recorded his 2nd double-double on the season
- 6th of his career
Quenton Jackson’s 13 points are the second most in a game this season
T.J. McConnell recorded his 2nd double-double of the season

8. Next Up

The Indiana Pacers will have one-day off before returning to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday for the first of five consecutive home games. Indiana’s opponent will be the struggling Dallas Mavericks. Mark Boyle, Eddie Gill, and Pat Boylan will get things started at 6:30pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.

Indiana Pacers 132 – Minnesota Timberwolves 130 (Mar. 18th, 2025)