Then, the Australian woman served them a dish

Both teams are young, rely on deep benches to wear down opponents late and feast on turnovers. The Thunder average a postseason best 21.3 points per game off turnovers while the Pacers are second at 18.5.But with so much focus on the high-scoring, up-tempo offenses, it’s easy to overlook their defenses or worse — see it as a glaring weakness.

A year ago, Indiana gave up 120.2 points per game in the regular season. This year that number dropped to 115.1, and in the postseason it’s down to 113.3.Indiana’s top three defenders — Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard and Myles Turner — are all relatively healthy now.Nesmith missed 2 1/2 months with a sprained left ankle before returning in January and working his way back into game shape. He sprained his right ankle in Game 3 of the conference finals against the New York Knicks but played in each of the final three games.

Nembhard also missed nearly a month early this season with tendinitis in his left knee, and Turner, Indiana’s rim protector, has overcome an assortment of nagging injuries.But Indiana also changed its forcus after getting swept by Boston in 2024.

“Last year, all that was being said was we couldn’t win because we didn’t guard anybody and all we do is try to outscore people,” two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton said. “We’ve taken such a big step on the defensive end as a group, and I think the step we made on that end of the floor is why we’re here. We’ve got our work cut out for us (in this series).”

Neither Carlisle nor Daigneault would disclose their defensive assignments entering Game 1 though there’s a good chance Nembhard and Nesmith will somehow find themselves pitted against Gilgeous-Alexander, the league MVP, and Williams.But that “does not mean Ukraine closed the door to continue the negotiations,” said Yermak, who was part of a Ukrainian delegation that met with lawmakers, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and other officials in the U.S. this week.

Trump has repeatedly promised to end the war quickly but lost patience in recent weeks, publicly pleading with Putin to stop fighting and even saying the Russian leaderTrump, however, has not committed to backing a

The call was Trump’s first known talk with Putin since May 19. They also discussed, according to Trump and Ushakov, Iran’s nuclear program and the possibility of Russia engaging inIt was not clear if Trump also planned to speak with Zelenskyy. The White House did not respond to a message Wednesday afternoon.