Former Flyer delivers one of his best postseason performances

“He was just active,” Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said in the postgame press conference. “When Obi is active, athletic and running like that, he’s unstoppable out there just because of how gifted an athlete he is."

“Obi has been consistent all year with his shooting,” Pacers center Myles Turner said. “I think that he did a good job of being aggressive and going to the post. Obi was just doing Obi things.”

“(Toppin) did a lot of good things tonight,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s going to be aggressive. He’s going to shoot open shots. He’s going to be able to create late in the clock when you’re in a bit of a bind. And he’s a mover. He moves well. He’s one of the guys that fuel us when we play well offensively so it was much needed.”

The Pacers lead the Eastern Conference semifinal series 3-1, with Game 5 set for Tuesday in Cleveland

Toppin delivered one of the most memorable plays of the game. His up-and-under reverse layup brought back memories of a famous basket by NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving.

In the series’ first three games, Toppin scored 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting.

In his fifth NBA season and second with the Pacers, Toppin reached 20 points in the playoffs for the third time. He previously scored 21 points (8-of-15) against the Milwaukee Bucks and 20 points (7-of-10) against the New York Knicks in the 2024 playoffs.

Toppin has averaged 8.5 points in the regular season in his NBA career and 8.9 points in the playoffs.

Toppin, a 6-foot-9 forward from Ossining, N.Y., spent three years at the University of Dayton and played two seasons for the Flyers. He helped lead Dayton to 20 straight victories, a No. 3 national ranking and a 29-2 record in his final season when he was the consensus national player of the year only to see the postseason canceled by the pandemic. He ranks 41st in UD history with 1,096 points.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP