Nembhard late heroics lift Indiana over New York, 116-111; Denver Finally Beats T-Wolves
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 11 May 2024
There were lots of scoring heroes from both sides of Indiana and New York but the game winner came from a guy who seemed headed for a frustrating night, having not hit a single basket until the final two minutes.
Andrew Nembhard scored his first on a layup with 1:55 left to give Indiana the lead then iced the game for the Pacers with a dagger of a three pointer with ticks left to emerge as the player who mattered most.
Indiana defeated New York, 116-111 to cut the Knicks lead to 2-1 in their semi final series.
It was a night of wonderful shooting from Pacer Tyrese Halliburton and Knick Donte DiVincenzo who both scored playoff highs, particularly DiVincenzo who had to step up with Jalen Brunson hard pressed by the defense of Aaron Nesmith.
Then there's Eric Burks and Precious Achiuwa coming strongly off the bench in the absence of the injured OG Anunoby and below average scoring of Josh Hart who nevertheless had a game high 18 rebounds.
For Indiana, Miles Turner and Pascal Siakam seemed energized by playing on their home floor again, combining for 47 points and 17 rebounds.
It was a game played in spurts with Indiana racing to the lead only to find themselves trailing the Knicks by the late third quarter and for half of the last quarter by as much as ten points.
Then the rally started for the Pacers who chipped at the lead until the score was tied at 99-all on three point play by Siakam. After exchange of misses, Siakam gave the lead back to Indiana with a free shot, 100-99.
They alternated with the lead until with less than two minutes remaining, Nembhard put the Pacers ahead, 104-102.
Brunson tied the game for the last time 106-106 then Nembhard who had been missing his outside shots practically the entire night, got the ball with the shot clock winding down and drained the triple that virtually decided the game, 109-106.
Nesmith added two charities to close the scoring 111-106.
Halliburton topped for the Pacers with 35 points. Siakam had 26 points and Turner 21 points. Nesmith scored 10 points aside from hounding Brunson. TJ McConnell added 6 points. Nembrand only had 5 points but those 5 points mattered the most.
New York was led by DiVincenzo who was like a man possessed in scoring a team high 35 points, mostly from the trifecta area. Brunson still managed 26 points. Burks helped with 14 points while Miles McBride had 10 points. Hart only came up with 10 points.
In the other game, Denver Nuggets finally showed and played like the NBA defending champions as their coach Mike Malone admonished them to and crushed the Minnesota Timberwolves, 117-90 in Minneapolis.
The Nuggets cut the T-Wolves series lead to 2-1 after losing both home games in Denver.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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