On Monday night, it looked like the Indiana Pacers were destined for a defeat, as they were without three of their best players in Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. But Obi Toppin reminded the world that he becomes a different animal come the month of March. Thanks to an incredible 34-point, 10-rebound effort from Toppin punctuated by an epic game-winner, the Pacers took a 132-130 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime.
With the team’s primary scoring options out of action, and Andrew Nembhard being ejected earlier in the game after getting into it with Rudy Gobert, the Pacers needed someone to step up. And that’s what they got from Toppin. Toppin’s three-point stroke was on point all night long, but for the cherry on top, he nailed an incredibly difficult triple over Nickeil Alexander-Walker with the Pacers trailing by one, 130-129 — a shot that required him to lean all the way to his left, even landing out of bounds after the shot.
OBI TOPPIN WITH A CLUTCH CORNER THREE TO WIN THE GAME FOR INDIANA
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— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 18, 2025
Toppin entered flow state during overtime and channeled his inner Stephen Curry; he scored 12 of the Pacers’ 15 points in overtime, with all of those points coming on three-pointers — going 4-4 from deep during the extra period. The 34 points he scored on the night was his career-high in a Pacers uniform, and evidently, his team needed every bit of his contributions on the night.
The 27-year-old forward got the ball rolling in overtime with a left corner triple and followed that up with a deep three from the right wing with Anthony Edwards failing to contest properly. And then with the Pacers down by two, 128-126, Toppin banked in a three from above the break off the dribble, which then set up his final leaning triple that put the nail in the Timberwolves’ coffin.
There’s something about March that gets Toppin rolling, and Dayton fans will certainly be reminded of the guy that tore up the opposition during the 2019-20 season.
Pacers’ Obi Toppin missed his chance to be March Madness hero
Obi Toppin was the most dominant player in the collegiate scene during the 2019-20 season, leading the Dayton Flyers to a 29-2 record. Dayton was ranked #3 in the country heading into the NCAA Tournament, and many experts had them projected to be a number one seed on their side of the bracket.
Alas, the Pacers forward never got a chance to lead Dayton to the promised land. The NCAA Tournament did not push through due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but if Toppin’s performance on Monday night is any indication, then he would have made for an iconic March Madness player had things been different five years ago.
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