Pacers' Rick Carlisle Offers Updates on Aaron Nesmith Nagging Ankle Injury

One of the Indiana Pacers' key players, guard Aaron Nesmith, was battling a severe ankle injury throughout Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, still managing to play.

Nesmith is needed for the team's roster due to his on-ball pressure on New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, which makes life harder for New York's best player.

He ended up playing Game 4 and Game 5, despite dealing with pain and getting a lot of treatment.

“It was a long 24-to-36 hours. But I couldn’t wait for tipoff. That’s all I could wait for,” Nesmith said after the game.

“When I got hurt, they came up to me and said, ‘We want to see how you feel.’ I was like, ‘I don’t care how I feel.’

“This is what we all live for. We prepare for this all year long, for our entire lives. … I can’t miss these moments.”

Despite dealing with ankle pain, he started Game 5 and was immediately pressuring Brunson throughout the game.

In the second half, Nesmith sat out a large portion due to coach Rick Carlisle seemingly preferring to go with forward Benedict Mathurin.

After the game, Carlisle explained his decision to stick with Mathurin rather than going with Nesmith.

"He got off to a bit of a slow start. I wasn't sure if maybe he was slowed a little bit by the ankle. Then Mathurin got a game going. That dug into Aaron's minutes little bit," the coach said after the game.