Andrew Nembhard was having a rough series, then forced Jalen Brunson into a rough night

Indianapolis Star

2 days ago

INDIANAPOLIS – Jalen Brunson had seen enough of Andrew Nembhard.
The frustration reached the boiling point Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse after Nembhard reached from behind the New York Knicks point guard at midcourt, poked the ball away and corralled it. Nembhard cruised in for a finger roll layup, putting the Pacers ahead by 14 points with 8 ½ minutes left in the fourth and sending the Pacers fans into delirium.
Nembhard flexed, then found Brunson again and face guarded him back up the floor. Before they got to midcourt, Brunson head-butted Nembhard on the left side of his face. Eyes wide, Nembhard looked to the referee and threw up his hands.
No call. But Brunson's frustration was obvious after a stellar defensive night from Nembhard, who played a big role in holding the Knicks' star to a series-low 19 points on 8-for-18 shooting from the field in the Pacers' 125-108 Game 6 Eastern Conference Finals series-clinching win.
'Aaron (Nesmith) got in foul trouble early, so I knew I had to step up,' Nembhard said. 'I had a big task. I tried to be a pest and pick him up full court, irritate him and just do my best job to make it tough on him. He was dominating the series and there's not much you can do with a guy like that but I tried to make it tough on him.'
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Ironically, Nembhard was switched off Brunson in last year's Eastern Conference semifinals in favor of the taller Nesmith. But Pacers coach Rick Carlisle had confidence he could turn to Nembhard when Nesmith picked up his second foul with 30 seconds left in the first quarter.
It was a smart move.
'I just had a strong belief that he was gonna have a big game today,' Carlisle said. 'The other thing is getting him on Brunson created a natural cross-match to keep OG (Anunoby) off of him. OG is like the silent killer on their team. He is very hard to score on. He's a guy that doesn't get enough credit as a scorer. After timeouts, they were going to him almost every time. He was scoring almost every time. Defensively, he's a beast. Drew really took the challenge. Aaron had fouls really from the beginning of the game. When he got his first, I made the switch. A naturally easy decision.'
Nesmith, who said 'I'm so glad I got some days (to rest),' when asked about his sprained ankle suffered in Game 3, commended Nembhard for hounding Brunson for the final three quarters.
'I got an early foul and he took the assignment and he absolutely crushed it,' Nesmith said. 'I think he deserved to be an all-NBA defensive team this year. It was crappy he got left off. That's what he does, man. He's a dawg. He fights and he guards, and he brought it tonight.'
Nembhard was not just a pest on defense with his six steals. He brought the offense, too. After struggling to a combined 6-for-26 field-goal shooting in Games 3, 4 and 5, he went for 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting and eight assists Saturday.
On the possession before his steal of Brunson and layup, Nembhard drilled a 19-foot step-back jumper to put the Pacers up 12. His 3-pointer with 4:22 left put the Pacers up 19 points and officially put the dagger in the Knicks.
'You can always count on Drew to hit a big-time shot,' Nesmith said. 'I always tell him every game there's going to be one game there's going to be a breakdown or low shot clock and the ball is going to end up in his hands. I've got full faith that it's going in.'
Nembhard did not have his shot going early. But on this Finals-bound Pacers' team, it seems like everyone contributes when their time comes. That was Nembhard in the fourth quarter Saturday night.
'I think we think we all play together and we all play within ourselves,' Nembhard said. 'We always play hard and we believe in ourselves. We have always have something to prove out there. I think the biggest thing today was just bringing up our compete level and going out swinging.'