The Indiana Pacers sent shockwaves across the NBA, as they notched a 117-114 road win in their Finals rematch against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. After the game, Andrew Nembhard dedicated this victory to their injured star, Tyrese Haliburton, who didn’t travel with the team for the first time this season.
“Tyrese Haliburton Revenge Game, man. It felt good. It felt really good. Just because you’ve got kind of a small win within a season that hasn’t been that good. It was nice to come together as a group, have a lot of guys contributing,” Nembhard summed it up via Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star.
“It’s heartwarming to get a result like this… We just have competitive grit,” head coach Rick Carlisle added. “The defensive game plan that Jim & Jenny put together was solid — and it was based on discipline, physicality, and trying to keep these guys off the FT line.”
Nembhard led the Indiana Pacers with 27 points, seven rebounds, 11 assists, and four three-pointers on 10-for-16 shooting from the field across 36 minutes of action. Jarace Walker, Pascal Siakam, Aaron Nesmith, and Micah Potter added 26, 21, 17, and 10 points, respectively.
Indiana Pacers News: Rick Carlisle lauds Jarace Walker’s career night vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Indiana Pacers went with a smaller lineup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the unconventional game plan worked, mainly because of Jarace Walker’s solid two-way play. His 26 points are a career-high, and he also recorded four rebounds, three assists, and two steals on 8-for-15 shooting from the field across 31 minutes of action.
“This is an enormous moment for (Jarace Walker) in his young career, and he just showed all the things that he can do out there. From the shooting to the driving to the defense to the rebounding to the passing. A lot of guys played big,” Carlisle said of Walker. “A big night for us.”
Aaron Nesmith also deserves a shoutout for breaking out of his slump. Before dropping 17 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field and 3-for-5 from three-point land last night, Nesmith went 0-for-10 from three-point range and 4-for-18 from the field in the last two games.
