Pacers Need to Lose to Denver, Retain 4th Seed

The Indiana Pacers still technically have an opportunity to earn the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

At present, Indiana is 47-31 on the year, three games behind the 50-28 New York Knicks for the East's third seed, with four contests left on each club's slate. The Pacers staved off being locked into the No. 4 seed by besting the Denver Nuggets, 125-120, on Sunday. They'll face the Nuggets in a rematch on Tuesday.

Despite a 41-point, 15-rebound, 13-assist triple-double from three-time Nuggets MVP center Nikola Jokic, and a 30-point effort from starting shooting guard Christian Braun, Denver was no match for Indiana's balanced effort.

NIKOLA JOKIC TONIGHT:

41 POINTS
15 REBOUNDS
13 ASSISTS
54% FG

MY GOODNESS. 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/aMO6rVdIPL
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 7, 2025

Both clubs were without critical cogs. Indiana was missing three-time All-Star power forward Pascal Siakam, while the Nuggets were without point guard Jamal Murray.

Murray has been dealing with an inflamed right hamstring for the past five games, during which Denver has gone 1-4.

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3-and-D Indiana center Myles Turner led the Pacers with a team-most 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the floor (4-of-10 from deep) and 4-of-4 shooting from the foul line, blocked three shots, nabbed four boards and dished out one assist.

"We're a band of brothers right now...When we're firing on all cylinders, we're hard to beat."

Myles Turner joined @PacersJJ after dropping a team-high 24 points (4 3PM) in tonight's win in Denver 💪 pic.twitter.com/pXgEs6tZoU
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) April 7, 2025

“We came together. We were all fighting for each other. It wasn't a single-man job to stop [Jokic]. Overall, this was a great team performance,” Turner told Jeremiah Johnson of FanDuel Sports Indiana. “We're a band of brothers right now. We know what we do well. We got a lot of role clarity. When we're firing on all cylinders, we're hard to beat.”

All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton notched nine points and 14 assists, while Obi Toppin, starting for Siakam, had 22 points, shooting guard Andrew Nembhard contributed 19 points, forward Aaron Nesmith logged 17 points, backup point guard T.J. McConnell contributed 12 points, and wing Jarace Walker logged 11 points.

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Should Indiana want to advance to the No. 3 seed, where it would likely be facing off against a young, talented Detroit Pistons squad (the No. 6 seed), or should the Pacers strive to stay as the conference's fourth seed, where they would presumably play the No. 5-seeded Milwaukee Bucks?

It's possible the Bucks and Pistons could swap spots, but right now the Bucks are a game ahead.

Ultimately, what matters for Indiana should be the matchup, not the seed. Milwaukee is old and generally struggles to create in space, especially sans nine-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard, who's out indefinitely with a blood clot in his right calf. The Bucks' unidimensional attack and limited shooting without Lillard makes them the far more desirable playoff opponent.

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For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, visit Indiana Pacers on SI.