Aaron Nesmith is good to go after all.
The Indiana Pacers forward is available to play in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night, the team announced just a few hours before the game was set to tip. Nesmith had been considered a game-time decision after he rolled his right ankle in Sunday’s Game 3 loss to the New York Knicks.
Nesmith went down with the injury midway through the third quarter Sunday after he came down awkwardly under the basket while trying to make a pass. He crashed down to the floor and reached for his right ankle immediately, clearly in a lot of pain.
He was then helped off the floor and went back to the locker room. He eventually came back into the game, but he missed all three shots he took down the stretch and failed to stop Knicks star Jalen Brunson from hitting a critical bucket.
“Aaron is sore today, predictably,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said Monday, adding he’d be a “game-time decision” for Game 4.
While Nesmith is likely still feeling the impacts of his rolled ankle, it’s clearly not severe enough to keep him off the floor.
Nesmith, now in his third season with the Pacers, averaged 12 points and four rebounds per game during the regular season. He dropped 30 points in the Pacers’ wild Game 1 win in overtime over New York, and he’s averaged 16.7 points per game so far this series with the Knicks. The 25-year-old signed a three-year, $33 million extension with the team in 2023 that will keep him with the franchise through the 2026-27 campaign.
The Pacers hold a 2-1 series lead over the Knicks headed into Tuesday night’s contest in Indianapolis. The Pacers, now back in the Eastern Conference finals for a second straight season, have not made it to the NBA Finals since 2000.
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