Andrew Nembhard, small lineup lead Pacers to second straight win

Andrew Nembhard goes off in return to lineup

Andrew Nembhard didn’t play in Thursday night’s game because of back soreness, but the starting point guard seemed more than rested up on Saturday and had one of his strongest performances of the season with 29 points on on 10 of 16 shooting including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

Nembhard got rolling with 10 first quarter points including seven of the Pacers’ first 16 and he kept coming through with big shots every time the Pacers needed one. He scored 11 points in the critical third period, hitting 4 of 5 field goals including all three of his 3-point attempts. He finished with four layups, four 3-pointers but also a pair of important mid-range jumpers. He posted nine assists against zero turnovers and he also helped hold Tyler Herro to 1 of 8 3-point shooting.

Pacers go with small lineup and it works

The Heat have one of the best two-way centers in the NBA in Bam Adebayo but they also play a relatively small lineup around him with the 6-6 Andrew Wiggins at power forward. The Pacers decided to counter that with a small lineup of their own and, for the first time this season, used usual starting power forward Pascal Siakam at center. They started Andrew Nembhard and Quenton Jackson at the guard spots, and Aaron Nesmith and Johnny Furphy at the forward positions for their 23rd starting lineup in 39 games this season.

The strategy worked in the first quarter especially and throughout the first half. Playing small allowed the Pacers to move quickly and switch on defense. They harassed Heat ball-handlers and were sharp with their closeouts. The first quarter was one of the five lowest scoring quarters of the season by a Pacers opponent as the Heat scored just 18 points on 6 of 24 shooting including 0 of 8 from 3-point range. With shooters on the floor, the Pacers made 5 of 12 3-pointers. The Pacers had leads of 19-9, 24-10 and 33-12 before the Heat had a slight flurry. Each of the Pacers’ starters were +9 or better in the quarter with Furphy, Nembhard and Siakam posting +14s.

The Heat were a little better in the second quarter, but the Pacers held a lead as great as 25 points in the period. At halftime, Nembhard was +16, Furphy and Siakam were +14 and Jackson was +10.

Pascal Siakam got into foul trouble early in the third period and the Pacers had to shift their lineup dramatically. However, the Pacers’ early approach still led to one of their best defensive performances of the season. The Heat are the third Pacers opponent to score under 100 points this season. Miami made just 36 of 92 field goals (39.1%) and 4 of 30 3-pointers (13.3%).

Pacers stem Heat comeback in third quarter

The Heat started the second half on a 9-0 run to get all the way back within seven points and were still down just eight with 6:31 to go in the period at 71-63 after the Pacers had led by as many as 25 in the second quarter. For a seemingly star-crossed team in the midst of a brutal season that was a moment that could have turned into a collapse, but the Pacers got some huge shots and a string of stops when they needed to have them to turn the game back into a blowout.

The Pacers went on a swift 11-0 run that included 3-pointers from Nembhard, Nesmith and Potter to go up 83-62 before the Heat called timeout and then finally answered. The Pacers then scored 10 straight points on two buckets by T.J. McConnell, a 3-pointer by Nembhard and a 3-point play by Nesmith to turn it to a 21-2 run giving the Pacers 92-65 lead. The Pacers ended up winning the third period 38-27 despite the slow start, making 14 of 24 field goals and 7 of 9 3-pointers in the period.