A week later, Pacers rookie Andrew Nemhard hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat the Lakers, and he had a Monday game with Stephen Curry and the Warriors that he will never forget. night. Leading Indiana to a 112-104 win without Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, Nembhard finished with 31 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds on five 3-pointers in 41 minutes , all of which hit new early-career highs.
Those numbers put Nembhard into some pretty elite companies.
Curry, meanwhile, had his worst game of the season, scoring 12 points on 3-for-17 shooting, including 2-for-10 from 3-point range. It’s rare for Curry to be upstaged by someone else, let alone a relatively unknown rookie just starting his 10th game.
The look on Curry’s face after Nemhard hit one of his two step-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter said it all.
In fact, for Nemhard, it was one of those nights. Don’t twist it, it didn’t come out of nowhere. This guy can play. He has scored in double figures in four of his past five games. He’s shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range this season. He’s solid on the ball and passes the ball well. Not only is Rick Carlisle giving rookies 25 minutes per game, but Nemhard has logged 35-plus minutes in his last three games, with TJ McConnell and Haliburton sitting out the last two . Still, it’s a night he’ll be hard-pressed to repeat anytime soon, if at all.
He did it all for the Pacers, who put the ball in his hands in clutch moments like he was a superstar. He delivered. Here, Curry fights off a screen to prevent Nemhard from pulling up again for a 3, so he goes downhill at will with Curry clinging to his hip, then throws a 10-foot bank shot.
Watch the Warriors double-team Nemhard in the halfcourt, only to have him pass the ball, create a one-man defensive advantage, get the ball back, drive Jonathan Kuminga into the lane, sign up, and send an alley-oop assist.
Step-back 3s, tough runners in the paint, double-teaming—these are all things we’re used to seeing Curry do. But Monday was Nembhard’s night, and he put on one of his best performances ever.