Aaron Nesmith shows off his growth with career night vs Orlando Magic
INDIANAPOLIS — Throughout Aaron Nesmith's career, he has never had a game like the one he did on Saturday night for the Indiana Pacers.
Against the Orlando Magic, the three-year veteran scored 19 points, a career high. He made five three-point shots, more than he had ever knocked down in a game before. Nesmith added three rebounds and game-changing defense along the way, leading to a +/- of +17, his fifth-best single game number.
Nesmith has played in 109 games since reaching the NBA, and Saturday night was the eighth most minutes he has played in one outing. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle couldn't take the young wing off the floor against Orlando as he was a key part of Indiana's win over the Magic.
"Aaron Nesmith had a big impact on this game defensively," Carlisle said after the victory. He detailed that he considered opening the second half with the 23-year old after his impressive first half minutes, but he opted against it. He still played the young forward for 16:32 in the second half of the game, more than any Pacer with the exception of Myles Turner and Tyrese Haliburton.
"He hit a big three, got the big rebound. He's just in the middle of a lot of stuff. It was great to see him get involved at both ends of the floor and have a game like that," Carlisle added of Nesmith. The young wing spent time guarding Franz Wagner, Bol Bol, and other larger Orlando players, but he held his matchups to 1/8 shooting. His defense was excellent, perhaps the best it has been all season.
The 2020 lottery pick usually gives the Pacers some punch on the less glamorous end of the floor, but what elevated his performance on Saturday was his offense. It was just the third time this season that Nesmith reached ten points in a game, and he nearly cracked 20. On a night that was defined by his defense, the South Carolina native had his best scoring performance as a Pacer. He truly did it all.
Indiana needed every bit of his performance. They were +17 with Nesmith on the court that night despite no other member of the blue and gold being better than +7. He lifted multiple lineups, and Carlisle's team needed all of his contributions. They were crushed with the former Celtic on the bench.
"I was really just focusing on finding my rhythm," Nesmith said after the game. "Coming back from injury, came to the gym early and got some shots up. Just trying to work on the looks I get in the game and it paid off today."
Prior to Saturday, Nesmith had been struggling. In his most recent four games entering the day, the wing had scored zero points in three of them. He shot 20% during that span. While he was recovering from a foot injury, he still looked off on offense and was mostly being used as a defensive piece.
On Saturday, he exploded out of that slump, hitting more shots that night than he has the rest of the month combined. That's why he mentioned finding his rhythm as being important, he had completely lost it.
"He works really hard. So for him, it's just about trusting the work that he puts in every day. They're going to fall," point guard Tyrese Haliburton said after the game. He added that the team trusts Nesmith's shot and his defense.
In the box score, it looks like Nesmith was purely impacting the game with his three-and-D abilities. But that shortchanges his value in helping the Pacers get a victory.
The Vanderbilt product showed off his improved ball handling on multiple occasions, blowing by poor closeouts to bend the Orlando defense. He got to the line for four free throw attempts, his second most attempts in a game this season. His defensive rotations were crisp.
With the game hanging in the balance, Nesmith made his best play of the night. The Pacers were down by one with under 10 seconds remaining when Haliburton missed a jumper. Nesmith heroically swooped in from the right wing and grabbed an offensive rebound over three much taller Magic players, drawing a foul in the process. He canned both free throws and gave Indiana the win, their ninth of the season and fourth in a row.
On the other end, Nesmith guarded Franz Wagner on the Magic's final possession and forced a stop, which sealed the Pacers' win and cemented the game as the best of Nesmith's career. He did it all for the blue and gold.
"Just finding gaps in the defense," Nesmith said of his success, crediting his teammates for finding him all night. "Just playing with grit. Buckle down, get a stop at the end," he added.
"Amazing, man. Brings effort every game. Played an amazing game [on] both ends of the floor... defensively, he was amazing and a big part of the win," rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin detailed of Nesmith's night.
Nesmith struggled to get a consistent role during his time in Boston. The Celtics were attempting to win a title, and they didn't have as many minutes to offer growing players like Nesmith. They needed consistent play and couldn't offer as much grace for mistakes.
On Indiana, a younger, growing team, Nesmith is able to play through a stretch of games in which he doesn't score much. And that allows him to have games like the one he did on Saturday night when he guides his team to a win. The Pacers current outlook and situation is perfect for the 23-year old.
"He was just into it, man. We needed him. We couldn't have won that game without him," Carlisle said of Nesmith after the game. Nesmith hasn't impacted the result of a game that much in his entire career, but on Saturday night, he showed how important growth and opportunity can be to a young player.
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