LOS ANGELES — Monday night at Staples Center belonged to Kobe Bryant.
Well, except for the moment when Larry Nance Jr. destroyed Kevin Durant with a dunk at the end of the first half.
Durant started his own problem with an ill-advised look-ahead pass that was deflected and stolen, leading to a transition chance the other way. And Nance — who may have had the best dunk of last season on Brook Lopez — knows how to finish.
SAN FRANCSICO — Rookie Andrew Nembhard outshined the Splash Brothers on their home court.
Nembhard scored a season-high 31 points and added 13 assists and eight rebounds to lead the undermanned Indiana Pacers to a 112-104 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.
A second-round draft pick, Nembhard made a key 3-pointer with 4:26 to go and another jumper less than two minutes later.
“He was masterful tonight … 31 and 13, those are high lottery numbers,” coach Rick Carlisle said.
🔥 Andrew Nembhard is stepping up late for the @Pacers!
He has a career-high 31 PTS & 13 AST on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/1pomR04bRi pic.twitter.com/lijdes5Gjk— NBA (@NBA) December 6, 2022
Indiana played without starting point guard Tyrese Haliburton for a second straight game as he nurses soreness in his left groin.
Klay Thompson scored 28 points and made eight 3-pointers, moving up the NBA’s career 3-point list on the six-year anniversary of his 60-point masterpiece against the Pacers.
Thompson finished 9 of 23, but Stephen Curry was held to 12 points on 3-for-17 shooting. Jordan Poole scored 23 starting in place of Andrew Wiggins, who sat out with tightness of the adductor muscle in his right leg.
“No matter what we do, it’s going to be hard to guard these guys. We had some good fortune with them missing some shots they may normally make,” Carlisle said. “But our guys played with a lot of presence to start the game. We were switching a lot and everyone was tied together.”
Nembhard hit five 3s while Buddy Hield added 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists as Indiana snapped a three-game losing streak with just its second win in six games.
Andrew Nembhard tonight:
31 PTS
8 REB
13 AST
5-7 3PJoins Kidd, Steph and Trae as the only rookies ever with 30/8/10 with 5 3P in a game. pic.twitter.com/e5xQtuAPGn
— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 6, 2022
Nembhard and the Pacers hardly looked like a team playing the second game of a road back-to-back.
“He was hoopin’ and I think that starts in the first half for us,” Golden State’s Donte DiVincenzo said. “The guards have to get into it a little bit more.”
Golden State had its 10-game home winning streak snapped.
Curry went 1 of 7 in the first half, missing all four of his 3-point tries and was 2 for 10 from deep overall. Curry finally connected from long range with 5:13 left in the third after missing his first five.
The Pacers, missing six players with injuries or illness, jumped out to a 22-12 lead as Golden State started 5 for 17.
Thompson knocked down three straight 3-pointers – all from the right wing – to tie the game at 42 with 4:51 left in the second quarter before a Pacers timeout. Thompson also dished out an assist on Jonathan Kuminga‘s layup before his trio of 3s and nearly had another when Kuminga was fouled and made both free throws to cap a 20-2 run 3:40 before halftime.
Three Things is NBC’s five-days-a-week wrap-up of the night before in the NBA. Check out NBCSports.com every weekday morning to catch up on what you missed the night before plus the rumors, drama, and dunks that make the NBA must-watch.
Philadelphia picked a soft landing spot for the return of James Harden, on the road against his young and struggling former Houston team, followed by coming home for seven in a row.
This was not what Doc Rivers and company pictured.
For example, remember Harden was going to be a minutes limit? Rivers had him out there for 38 minutes in a double-overtime game, throwing him back into the fire in the overtimes because he had little choice.
Harden made four 3-pointers but was understandably rusty after missing 14 games with a strained tendon in his right foot, and he was 0-8 inside the arc. He missed an open potential game-winner at the end of the first overtime. Still, he made some passes and a shot or two that reminded everyone what he can do when he gets his legs back under him — and why the 76ers need him.
Welcome back, Harden. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/pQfPjIbedb
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) December 6, 2022
Combine that with Joel Embiid feasting early on the undersized Rockets inside, and Sixers fans could see a path to a comfortable win.
However, the underlying problem that did them in was looming — Houston was attacking the rim, drawing fouls, and living at the line. The Rockets got 15 free throw attempts in the first quarter, a trend that would continue much of the night.
The Rockets hung around and hung around, getting 27 points from Jalen Green, while Kevin Porter Jr. added 24. And they kept drawing fouls, eventually fouling out Joel Embiid in the first overtime. When the Rockets hit a couple of 3-pointers to open the second OT, they took control and got the win, 132-123.
Harden’s return should eventually boost the 76ers bottom 10 offense, but what this team really needs is to get healthy (Tyrese Maxey remains out with a foot injury) and to string together a few wins. They start a seven-game homestead Friday against the Lakers (not the best time to catch Anthony Davis and company) and that would be a chance to right the ship. And get out of the play-in level they are at right now.
The Clippers followed the 76ers model for the return of their stars — Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both returned to the lineup against an injury-plagued and struggling Hornets team. A nice soft landing spot…
That turned out not to be as soft as imagined.
As expected playing just his sixth game of the year, Leonard looked rusty in his return, starting the night 5-of-13 shooting, 0-3 from beyond the arc.
Then he hit two buckets in the final minute that got the Clippers the win.
The first was set up by an impressive hustle play from Paul George, who saved a ball going out of bounds to Leonard under the basket for a shot that tied the game.
Kawhi coming up big in CrunchTime!
The bucket to tie it up before his game-winner 👀 pic.twitter.com/tbjSoHco1A
— NBA (@NBA) December 6, 2022
Then, after a stop, the Clippers got the switch they wanted, cleared out the side and let Leonard go to work on the game-winner. That is vintage Leonard, using his strength to get to his spot and then calmly draining the shot.
https://t.co/zsyrToDERK pic.twitter.com/1KfwCRWBZO
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 6, 2022
If you’re looking for positives in Los Angeles, the Clippers showed some resilience and grit in getting the win. Leonard finished with 16 points and George looked sharper with 19 points on 8-of-15 from the floor. Clippers’ role players stepped up.
The Clippers need their stars to stay healthy and on the court, and to build some chemistry. Traditionally 20 games into the season we know who a team is, but this year’s Clippers are the exception to that rule. Their role players and a strong defense have kept the team’s head above water (14-11 on the season), but they need their stars back to turn around their 29th-ranked offense. Then we can see if they have the potential to be a threat in the West or not.
Yes, you read that right.
While Bennedict Mathurin has been the Pacers’ rookie garnering most of the attention (and some early Rookie of the Year talk), Andrew Nembhard has been showing out of late. Monday night he had 31 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and hit some key shots late to fuel the Pacers’ 112-102 upset win over the Warriors.
🔥 Andrew Nembhard is stepping up late for the @Pacers!
He has a career-high 31 PTS & 13 AST on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/1pomR04bRi pic.twitter.com/lijdes5Gjk— NBA (@NBA) December 6, 2022
With Tyrese Haliburton out (groin injury), Nembhard — the four-year college player from Gonzaga who was taken No.31 in last year’s draft — showed he knows how to run a team and knock down a 3 (he’s shooting 42.9% from deep this season).
The Pacers also won because it was just an off night for Stephen Curry: 12 points on 3-of-17 shooting overall and 2-of-10 from 3. It felt like a night where the Warriors looked at the Pacers’ inactive list for the game — Haliburton, Myles Turner, Chris Duarte, T.J. McConnell, Daniel Theis, James Johnson — and thought they would cruise to a win. Do that against NBA players and you pay the price.
Because guys like Andrew Nembhard can flat-out play.
BONUS THING TO KNOW: Today is Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s 28th birthday. What does he want? What are his plans? And why is he doing his postgame media session with Homer J. Simpson? There are a lot of questions.
Giannis on his birthday plans tomorrow. He’d like a watch and … well, just watch this. pic.twitter.com/PZvKaUl4YI
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) December 6, 2022
Kawhi Leonard looked rusty in his return for the first 47 minutes Monday night: 5-of-13 shooting, 0-3 from beyond the arc.
But that final minute was special.
First, there was a great hustle play from Paul George — also making his return — that got the ball to Leonard to tie it up.
Kawhi coming up big in CrunchTime!
The bucket to tie it up before his game-winner 👀 pic.twitter.com/tbjSoHco1A
— NBA (@NBA) December 6, 2022
Then, after a stop, the Clippers got the switch they wanted, cleared out the side and let Leonard go to work on the game-winner.
https://t.co/zsyrToDERK pic.twitter.com/1KfwCRWBZO
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 6, 2022
Los Angeles picked up the 119-117 win on the road. Not exactly pretty, but for a team just starting to get healthy and build some chemistry, they showed resilience and got the win. Leonard finished with 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting, and George looked sharp on his way to 19 points on 8-of-15 from the floor. It was a balanced Clippers attack, which is what Tyronn Lue is trying to build.
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 28 and P.J. Washington added 26 for the shorthanded Hornets.
The 76ers were able to keep their heads above water. For 14 games, James Harden was out with a right foot tendon sprain — both Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey missed games in that stretch as well (Maxey remains out) — and Philadelphia went 8-6 with a +2.9 net rating and the best defense in the NBA over that stretch.
Monday night in Houston, Harden returns.
“I’mmm baaaaaack.” pic.twitter.com/5O9s9VGGZv
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 5, 2022
This wasn’t a surprise, nor is the fact Doc Rivers confirmed Harden will be on a minutes restriction at first.
Harden averaged 22 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds a game before his injury, and while his 3-point shooting percentage was down (33.3%) he was still efficient and finding his footing as more of a facilitator than scorer.
The 76ers are 12-11 on the season and sit in a three-way tie for fifth in the East (with the Pacers and Raptors). If Harden can spark the Philadephia offense there is plenty of time for them to climb into the top four, host a first-round playoff game and position themselves for a deep playoff run. But it starts with getting their starting guards healthy again.
Harden is ready to take that on.
