On Sunday, the Indiana Pacers defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 129-111, largely in part to Tyrese Haliburton and Aaron Nesmith, who were the team's two leading scorers in the victory. However, not all went well for Indiana in the win.
During the fourth quarter, Pacers guard T.J. McConnell suffered an ankle injury that forced him out of the game early. He did not return and missed the remainder of the game. In the win, McConnell recorded 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting, two rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
Injury Update: T.J. McConnell (right ankle sprain) will not return to tonight's game.
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) February 24, 2025
T.J. McConnell suffered an ankle injury vs. the Clippers
It is not known how severe McConnell's injury is. However, given that the Pacers are set to play again on Monday night against the Denver Nuggets, his status is worth following until there is more clarity.
So far, McConnell has only missed one game this season and has continued to play an important role for the Pacers. Through 53 games (all off the bench), the 32-year-old is averaging 9.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.2 steals. After finishing seventh in the Sixth Man of the Year voting last year, McConnell is putting together another solid campaign.
If McConnell is forced to miss any amount of time, the Pacers have a few options to make up for his absence. The first one is to rely a bit more heavily on Andrew Nembhard--who has made a big jump this season--as a secondary ball-handler behind Haliburton.
Additionally, the Pacers could bring Quenton Jackson up from the G League for extra depth. Jackson has appeared in 18 games for the Pacers this season, including seven starts. However, the Los Angeles native has not played at all in February and has logged just one minute in 2025. Regardless of what happens, the Pacers would be in a bit of a difficult situation if McConnell is forced to miss time.
Currently, the Pacers hold the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and are just four games behind the New York Knicks for the No. 3 seed. As it stands, Indiana is in a great position to make another deep playoff run and earn home-court advantage.
Securing home-court advantage would bode well for the Pacers' run at a championship. They are already a feared playoff opponent as is, but the Pacers would become an even bigger threat if they can accomplish this achievement for the first time since 2020. With just a couple of months left this season, this will be worth monitoring from here on out.