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Giannis Antetokounmpo shot 9-of-20 from the field and 10-of-11 from the foul line in Sunday’s Game 4 loss to the Pacers, tallying 28 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and one steal in 34 minutes.
The loss of Damian Lillard during the first half with a potential Achilles tendon injury did not prevent Giannis from getting his numbers, as he recorded another double-double. Unfortunately, the Bucks did not have the horses needed to make a run after halftime. Already shouldering a heavy workload, Antetokounmpo will have even more on his plate moving forward. Game 5 is on Tuesday night, with the Bucks trailing three games to one.
Andrew Nembhard accumulated 20 points (8-of-14 FGs), three rebounds, two assists, one steal and four three-pointers in 31 minutes in Sunday’s Game 4 win over the Bucks.
After shining in the first two games of the series, Nembhard struggled in Game 3 on Friday. Like Myles Turner, the Pacers guard rebounded nicely as the Pacers rolled in Game 4. Sunday’s win was the fifth in Nembhard’s postseason career in which he’s scored at least 20 points. Indiana will look to close out the series when it hosts Game 5 on Tuesday.
Myles Turner amassed 23 points (9-of-13 FGs, 4-of-5 FTs), five rebounds, three assists, four blocks and one three-pointer in 30 minutes in Sunday’s Game 4 win over the Bucks.
Turner thoroughly outplayed Bucks center Brook Lopez in Game 4, rebounding from a 1-of-9 effort in Indiana’s Game 3 loss on Friday. Impactful on both ends of the floor, Turner’s production was one reason why the Pacers head back home with a 3-1 series lead. Game 5 is on Tuesday, and teams that hold a 3-1 lead have won 95.5 percent of the series in NBA playoff history.
Tyrese Haliburton finished Sunday’s Game 4 win over the Bucks with 17 points (6-of-11 FGs, 3-of-4 FTs), eight rebounds, 15 assists, one steal and two three-pointers in 34 minutes.
After dropping Game 3 on Friday, Haliburton and the Pacers rebounded impressively on Sunday. While Milwaukee’s loss of Damian Lillard (leg) in the first half undoubtedly helped the visitors, Indiana’s ball and player movement were significantly improved. Indiana assisted on 36 of its 50 made field goals, and Haliburton made some personal history. He’s the first Pacer since Paul George in 2014 to record a double-double in each of the first four games of a series. Haliburton and the Pacers will look to close out the series on Tuesday.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters that TE Elijah Arroyo is a “unique” player, who can “run an extensive route tree” both in-line and out wide.
Macdonald celebrated Arroyo’s ability to do “X-receiver type of things,” which GM John Schneider prefaced by saying that “some” Seahawks coaches had wondered if Arroyo is actually an X-receiver during the pre-draft process. While Arroyo is, of course, a tight end, Macdonald and Schneider’s shared exuberance here is worth noting. Arroyo slid to the 50th overall pick, in part, due to the 2022 season-ending knee injury that caused him to miss parts of the 2023 season as well. Schneider acknowledged the injury concerns and closed by saying that if Arroyo had not missed time, his talent level is commensurate with that of a “top-15 pick.” Fantasy managers must acknowledge that, at least for now, veteran Noah Fant holds the No. 1 spot on the depth chart, which effectively pours cold water on an Arroyo TE1 re-draft campaign. Still, Arroyo’s development is worth monitoring throughout training camp.
Cory Joseph had a strong outing, finishing with 12 points (5-of-8 FGs), three rebounds, six assists, one steal and two three-pointers in Orlando’s Game 4 loss to Boston on Sunday.
Joseph provided value to Orlando’s starting lineup, logging 27 minutes and tallying his most points and assists of the series. On the heels of the veteran guard’s most productive game of the postseason, it’s reasonable to expect Joseph will play a similar role for his team on Tuesday. The Magic will look to stay alive as they face the Celtics in Boston for Game 5.