The Indiana Pacers pulled off one of the most impressive comebacks in NBA history Wednesday, rising from the dead to steal Game 2 of their second round series against Cleveland.
After stealing their first away game against the Cavs, Indiana pulled off a shock upset to go up 2-0 as the team without home court advantage, owing to an incredible game-winning three from Tyrese Haliburton.
But it was a playoff career-best effort from Aaron Nesmith that helped propel the team to the improbable win and one step closer to a return to the Eastern Conference Finals.
MORE: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Nikola Jokic: The key stats you need to know in the 2025 MVP debate
Aaron Nesmith records playoff career-high in upset win
With the Cavaliers down two All Stars in Evan Mobley and Darius Garland, as well as impactful big DeAndre Hunter, the Pacers looked primed for an easy win, but they were instead met with 48 points from Donovan Mitchell, who looked poised to pull off an all-time win.
Aaron Nesmith Oh my GOD pic.twitter.com/IfmJvrwlCu
— HaliMuse (@hali_muse) May 7, 2025
Instead, a miracle sequence from Haliburton ended in a Pacers win, but they were helped to that point by Aaron Nesmith, who alongside Myles Turner led the team in scoring with 23 points - a playoff career high.
He added to this with four rebounds, as well as three blocks, an impressive performance that helps his team take a two-game lead heading in to back-to-back games in Indy.
"It feels amazing man, we knew they were going to respond with a big punch, they amped up the pressure in the first quarter, we were out of sorts but we stuck with it, we're resilient, we just had to find ways to win," teammate Tyrese Haliburton said after the game.
"We had a lot of guys step up for us... it was a big team effort."
It's been a huge post-season so far for Nesmith; his 23 point playoff career high broke the 19 point mark he reached in the first round against Milwaukee, with five of his six highest playoff scoring efforts coming this year.
He is now averaging 16.3 points per game throughout this postseason, a career-best mark as he has become a crucial part of this red-hot Pacers offence.