Stephen Curry can’t believe it. He shakes his head. Andrew Nembhard has just destabilized him and put a new 3-point on his nose! A shot that hurts a lot since it allows the Pacers to take a seven-point lead (107-100) and punctuate a… 8-0! An assassin shot from which the Warriors will not recover, and it is the symbol of this dream evening for the Canadian rookie from Indiana.
Unlikely hero of the victory against the Lakers with a buzzer beater on the nose of LeBron James, Nembhard therefore gave the cover for an unprecedented performance in the history of the Pacers: 31 points, 13 assists and 8 assists. Never had an Indiana player achieved such a performance, and yet there were stars before him, and great playmakers… He is the 3rd rookie in the history of his franchise to compile at least 30 points and 10 assists, after Chuck Person and Jamaal Tinsley.
Tonight, the Pacers showed up without Tyrese Haliburton, and TJ McConnell, so they placed their fate in the hands of this cheeky rookie. Whether by his shots, sometimes snacks, or his passes, Nembhard disgusted the Warriors.
“A second game in two nights, and Andrew signs an incredible performance” reacts Rick Carlisle. “In hindsight, he should be in the Top 15 of the last Draft, and even climb into the Top 10. He is truly a unique player, with an amazing coolness. He’s tough with an old-school game. »
Steve Kerr is under the spell
Watching him play, one thinks of Malcolm Brogdon, who the Pacers traded to the Celtics. He’s more of a playmaker than a “combo guard”, but he has the same shooting mechanics with a very tight trajectory, and he’s not a “moped” that rushes into the heap. He behaved as a manager, and his complicity with Isaiah Jackson is promising.
“Nembhard was fantastic and he controlled things the whole game” points out the Golden State coach. “He was able to move where he wanted, he showed patience, and he sent some brilliant passes, whether lobbed or down. And when we wanted to protect the racquet, he made his 3-pointers. He’s a great player! »
As for the interested party, interviewed at the edge of the field, he prefers to talk about the team. The former Gonzaga player would like to congratulate the whole group. “I thought the whole team was just good in their ability to stay together and calm, seeing that we were playing against the defending champions, with guys who have won four titles. They were going to have a series, they were going to have big heat strokes, but we just stuck together and we resisted. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Tyrese Haliburton | 22 | 33.2 | 46.1 | 36.9 | 83.9 | 0.8 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 10.9 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 19.1 |
| Bennedict Mathurin | 23 | 28.0 | 42.5 | 39.3 | 80.4 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 18.5 |
| Myles Turner | 18 | 28.8 | 54.4 | 39.4 | 81.5 | 1.5 | 6.6 | 8.1 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 17.6 |
| Buddy Hield | 23 | 31.3 | 42.0 | 36.9 | 86.0 | 1.1 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 16.9 |
| Jalen Smith | 23 | 23.3 | 43.7 | 28.4 | 78.6 | 1.8 | 5.0 | 6.8 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 11.3 |
| Chris Duarte | 9 | 19.6 | 39.4 | 34.2 | 91.7 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 8.9 |
| Andrew Nembhard | 18 | 22.8 | 46.1 | 39.7 | 100.0 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 7.8 |
| Aaron Nesmith | 19 | 21.8 | 36.6 | 33.8 | 82.1 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 7.7 |
| isaiah jackson | 22 | 16.3 | 54.8 | 25.0 | 69.8 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 7.2 |
| Tj McConnell | 21 | 18.0 | 46.5 | 33.3 | 91.7 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 5.8 |
| Oshae Brissett | 18 | 15.0 | 41.2 | 34.1 | 75.0 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 5.1 |
| Goga Bitadze | 14 | 10.2 | 53.8 | 20.0 | 50.0 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 3.8 |
| Terry Taylor | 15 | 8.5 | 35.5 | 20.0 | 80.0 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 1.9 |
| James Johnson | 7 | 8.9 | 37.5 | 14.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 1.9 |
| Kendall Brown | 4 | 4.3 | 75.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 1.5 |
| Trevelin Queen | 1 | 13.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
