Aaron Nesmith Ready For Game 6; Tony Bradley Cleared To Play

7:00pm: Bradley will be active, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday.

6:12pm: Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith has responded well to treatment on his sprained right ankle and should be ready for a full workload in tonight’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).

In his pregame session with the media, coach Rick Carlisle said the team has been giving Nesmith extra rest to aid the healing process, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. That includes cutting down the preparation routine he normally does to get ready for games. He played just 16 minutes in the Game 5 loss — finishing with three points, two rebounds and a steal — but wasn’t listed on the team’s injury report for tonight.

With Nesmith limited, backup swingman Bennedict Mathurin logged 25 minutes on Thursday, his largest total of the series. Mathurin was the Pacers’ most productive player in Game 5, finishing with 23 points and nine rebounds while shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range.

“He’s learned a lot,” Carlisle said of Mathurin (Twitter link from Dopirak). “There’s an experience factor of playing in the games. … He’s a better man for the experience.”

Indiana is less certain about the status of reserve center Tony Bradley, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Sources tell Scotto that Bradley is still being treated for his injured left hip and will be a game-time decision. Bradley got hurt in Game 5 when he was fouled on a layup attempt.

Bradley didn’t play in the series opener, but Carlisle began using him regularly after the Knicks inserted center Mitchell Robinson into their starting lineup. If Bradley is unavailable, Carlisle may have to turn to Thomas Bryant, who has played nine total minutes over the past four games.