When the Indiana Pacers lost a close game to the Philadelphia 76ers, they had a four-point lead. In the next game, they suffered another loss by the same margin against the Orlando Magic.

Earlier this week, head coach Rick Carlisle saw his team surprisingly win on the road against the Dallas Mavericks. They won by seven points, just like they did in Wednesday night’s rematch against the Magic.

Even though Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. weren’t there, the Pacers’ opponents came close. In the end, Indiana improved to 4-4 and is looking like a playoff contender again. But which players helped them and which didn’t?

The third-year player for Indiana made his third consecutive starting lineup and was the leading scorer. This is the third game he has played this season, but the first as a starter.

Mathurin scored 20 points quite easily as 13 of them came from the free throw line. He made all but one of his 14 attempts there.

The former Arizona Wildcat also grabbed 11 rebounds in Monday night’s contest. This is his second double-double of the season as he recorded his first against the Boston Celtics. He had 30 points and 11 rebounds in that win.

Mathurin scoring 20+ points in a game for the Pacers should come as no surprise. Before his season-ending injury last March, he accomplished the feat 13 times. He did this three times in his first eight games, scoring 19 points twice.

His skills on offense help Indiana do well. The other two times the Pacers scored 118 points in a game; they lost. Thanks to Mathurin in the rematch against the Magic, it was enough this time.

Another double-double from a Pacers player is usually a good thing. Just ask your starting center.

Turner recorded his second straight double-double. He averaged 5.8 boards in his first five games this season. He has grabbed 21 rebounds in his last two games combined.

Like Mathurin, the experienced big man can do it from the free throw line. After going a perfect five-on-five in his 30-point performance against Dallas, he made four of his five attempts Monday night.

The Pacers have won all three games when Turner made 80% or more of his free throws. In the win against Orlando, he hit two of their shots and had a steal.

It was the third game of the season in which he recorded multiple blocks. Turner now has 12 blocks this season. With an average of 1.7 blocks per game, he is tied for ninth place with the NBA’s leading scorer, Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Pacers’ shooting guard has been inconsistent. His issues continued to show as he finished Wednesday night’s game with just five points in 31 minutes.

Although Nembhard tied TJ McConnell for a team-high five assists, he only shot two of eight from the floor. This is the fourth game of the season in which he has made fewer than 38% of shots.

Nembhard achieved this in the first three games of the season. He scored in double figures three times in his last four games for the Pacers.

Here too, Nembhard was the only starter who failed to score at least 10 points. In fact, three other players off the bench scored more goals than him. Jarace Walker scored 17 and TJ McConnell added 15.

In his first two seasons with the Pacers, Nembhard averaged more than nine points per game. So far he is averaging 7.7 points per game.

Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner all scored 17 points on Wednesday night. That’s 51 points fewer than Indiana’s Big 3.

Additionally, Mathurin, who is normally part of the Pacers’ second unit, added 20 points. However, their bench scored 42 points.

As mentioned, backup point guard McConnell and forward Walker combined for 32 points. Ben Sheppard and Obi Toppin added another 10 between them.

The combination of Walker and McConnell did this without missing a shot. They both ran the floor perfectly and made all seven throws each.

None of the players failed in an attempt from behind the arc. Walker made all three of his shots from three-point land and McConnell made his only three.

Toppin and Sheppard both made two of three shots from the floor. Neither player lost the ball against the Orlando Magic.

Last season, the Indiana Pacers had the best bench in the league. Their second unit averaged 46.8 points per game. In the win against the Magic, they were less than five points shy of that mark.

With big nights like this from the Pacers second unit, they will be a playoff team again. Maybe they’ll even return to the Eastern Conference with a little “magic.”