Obi Toppin’s energy, high-flying feats help Pacers knock off Thunder in Game 3

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INDIANAPOLIS — Few players have been where Obi Toppin has. And even fewer have been there in the NBA Finals.

Astronauts typically don’t play pro basketball, but for aerial experts like Toppin, outer space isn’t so far away. Sometimes outer space, at least on the hardwood, is the area suspended above it. The ball travels there often, with players routinely shooting high-arcing shots several feet in the air, but for a player’s body to travel with it? That takes elite athleticism, daredevil-like fearlessness and a certain level of defiance toward the law of gravity.

Toppin displayed all three on Wednesday in one of the most pivotal sequences of the Indiana Pacers’ 116-107 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Clinging to a five-point lead with just over four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton drove down the left side of the lane and hoisted a leaning runner over the outstretched arm of Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams. The shot bounced off the backboard, off the rim and into the air.

Thunder wing Lu Dort leaped for the defensive rebound. Toppin leaped higher. The Pacers forward skied in for a two-handed put-back dunk that pushed Indiana’s lead to seven points and he wasn’t done. Eighteen seconds after Toppin slammed the ball through the rim, he smashed it off the backboard as Williams tried to sneak a layup past him on the other end.

The big-time block drew an eruption at Gainbridge Fieldhouse that hadn’t been heard in Indianapolis in 25 years.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been in the finals and allowed this crowd to witness this,” Toppin said, referencing the team’s last championship appearance in 2000. “So, for them to have this opportunity to cheer us on, they definitely did what they were supposed to do.”

And so did he.

Toppin totaled eight points, six rebounds and two blocks. But his true impact was felt in his all-out effort that resulted in him being a game-high plus-18 in his 28 minutes. When Toppin entered the game at the 7:35 mark of the first quarter, he immediately changed the tenor by tirelessly running the floor. His activity on both ends put constant stress on the Thunder, who never found an answer. The 6-foot-9 Toppin was too agile for OKC to stick with its signature two-big lineup of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, the latter of whom was struggling the most to keep up. And when the Thunder countered by going with a smaller lineup, Toppin imposed his will as a defender and rebounder — with no board more memorable than the one he snagged off Haliburton’s late miss.

“He consistently continues to bring pace into the game,” said Haliburton, who reflected on Indiana’s trade to acquire Toppin from New York in July 2023. “That’s what he does when it’s not going well and when it is going well, he continues to bring that pace to the game and he’s flying up the floor and you’re hitting him ahead (for easy buckets). He did a great job (Wednesday) of making the right play. (He) had a huge tip-dunk and those are huge energy plays for this building. He fits so perfect with what we do.”

The spark Toppin provided was part of a larger bench performance that powered the Pacers to a statement victory and moved the franchise to within two wins of its first NBA title. Indiana’s reserves outscored the Thunder’s 49-18, with Toppin, Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell all rallying the crowd in their distinctive ways. In addition to Toppin’s high-flying feats, Mathurin scored a game-high 27 points in 22 minutes, highlighted by a slashing and-1 layup off a fast-break pass from Toppin in the second quarter. McConnell, meanwhile, racked up 10 points, five rebounds and a Pacers NBA Finals-record five steals. Three of those thefts were off inbound passes, including a swipe and immediate layup by McConnell that tied the game at 95 in the fourth quarter.

Those standout plays from the reserves are indicative of the collective effort the Pacers have shown all season, coach Rick Carlisle said. He still acknowledged the brilliance of his team’s leaders, with Haliburton pouring in 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and Pascal Siakam scoring 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting. But Carlisle didn’t sing their individual praises too long.

In a league so often focused on singular stars, the Pacers believe they are a constellation. The only way for them to be truly appreciated — and ultimately crowned — is for everyone to shine together.

“It’s not always gonna be the same guys that are stepping up with scoring and stuff like that,” Carlisle said. “This is how we gotta do it.”

Perhaps that’s the beauty of Indiana’s pace and space philosophies. They empower all of their players’ unique strengths. That way, when astronauts such as Toppin leave the hardwood in the fourth quarter of a finals game, there’s no fear of being left out when he returns.

“We kind of stick to our tendencies,” Toppin said. “Whoever we’re playing against, whether they’re big, small — just play fast, play together.”

(Photo of Obi Toppin: Kyle Terada / Imagn Images)