Andrew Nembhard's Big Wasted Night

There was just under 10 seconds left when Jayson Tatum missed his left hand penetration. With his team trailing by one point, Rick Carlisle decided not to take a timeout, whileAndrew Nembhard was spinning in transition.

“ With eight or nine seconds remaining and transitioning after a missed shot, I trust our players to create a better shot rather than calling a timeout with their defense in place. It's more of a basketball situation, we succeeded this year in trusting our players », justifies the technician.

We can understand the latter, visibly reassured to see his best element of the evening with ball in hand. The concern for the Pacers and Andrew Nembhard is that the guard will fall on a bone: Jrue Holiday. “ I was trying to get a shot, it came in front of me and I slipped. Lost ball “, summary the Canadian who failed to pass the defensive rampart opposite.

A symbolic slip at the end of the meeting for the Pacers who, despite a comfortable lead for a good part of the events, did not manage to conclude against the Celtic ogre. Frustrating for Andrew Nembhard who saw his huge evening evaporate in the department of great individual performances without victory being achieved.

New career record

Because before this last action, this one was immense. In the absence of Tyrese Haliburton, he increased his attacks towards the circle, regularly outpacing the same Jrue Holiday. With this aggressiveness, the 24-year-old shattered his career record in the playoffs (20), and even broke his record altogether with his 32 points (12/21 on shots including 4/7 from distance).

“ There is no bigger fan of his game than me. He's a very, very good player. Without him we wouldn't be in this position », greets TJ McConnell, also author of a great match (23 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists). In addition to the number of points scored, the replacement was impressed by the pace management of his teammate, author of 9 assists.

“ The confidence he plays with is incredible. You see him moving the ball, he gets others involved, he shoots and converts at high volume. In the playoffs, in the regular season, he comes off the bench, he starts at position 2, at position 1, he is a replacement playmaker. At his age, being tossed around like this can be mentally disruptive. But he answered the call all year, his whole career », continues TJ McConnell.

Lots of maturity

A notable capacity for adaptation for this player who continued to gain volume during these playoffs, his average going from 9 points in the regular season to more than 14 units, with excellent percentages (56% including 48% from far ) during these final phases.

“ I just wanted to give rhythm to the team. We play better when everyone touches the ball, we are all moving and we play at our own pace. I just wanted – without necessarily forcing – to let the game come to me a little bit. “, he remarks on his evening performance described as ” amazing » by Pascal Siakam.

“ It takes a lot of maturity to be able to respond as he did this evening. He was incredible controlling the pace of the game and getting guys into their spots. It’s something he’s always been able to do and every time he’s had the chance, he’s shown it. I'm proud of him. Of course, we didn't win the match, but I thought he controlled the game very well and it was largely thanks to him that we stayed in the match. “, finishes the Cameroonian.

How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.