Haliburton is not the only hero of NBA Finals G1! US press: He saved the Pacers

The Pacers relied on Haliburton to play a thrilling reversal of the Thunder in the NBA Finals G1 on the 6th, but in addition to him, Andrew Nembhard, who played a key role on the defensive end, also contributed to it.

Nembhard (right)

The Pacers lost both regular season games against the Thunder, and with Gilgeoz Alexander averaging 39 points, how to limit the play of "SGA" has become the most important issue for the Pacers, and Nembhard, the two-way guard who defends him, was named before the game for the X-factor of the Pacers in this series.

Nembhard and "SGA" are teammates of the Canadian national team and are quite familiar with each other, although Kyrgyz Alexander still scored a game-high 38 points on the 6th, but this is the result of as many as 30 shots, and the Pacers trailed by 1 point in the last 11 seconds of the final quarter, his strict defense made "SGA" want to attack the basket unsuccessfully, and the step-back jumper did not score, and Nesmith (Aaron Nesmith) grabbed the rebound before Haliburton's heroic moment in the last 0.03 seconds.

In fact, in addition to the defensive end, Nembhard scored eight of his 14 points yesterday in the fourth quarter, including a step-back three-pointer in the last two minutes, and the offensive end also contributed a lot, The Athletic noted after the game that Nembhard would not get the spotlight after Haliburton's winning shot, "but he saved the Pacers." ”

Coach Carlisle praised Nembhard after the game, "He played well on both ends of the floor, and in the end it was crucial for Shai's defense, and we also grabbed the rebound, and that step-back three-pointer helped a lot to drive the momentum." ”

Haliburton, the hero of the game, also said that Nembhard is important to the team, "If he didn't have a minimum of 65 games, he would definitely be in the defensive team of the year, Shai is the most difficult defender in the league, not every defense works for him, we all believe in Drew (Nembhard) at this time, he is a very good defender." ”