Andrew Nembhard flirts with triple-double vs. San Antonio Spurs

Indiana Pacers breezed by Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in second game from Paris

Cole Forsman | Jan 25, 2025

Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

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Gonzaga Bulldogs

Andrew Nembhard's fingerprints were all over the Indiana Pacers' wire-to-wire victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Paris Games finale on Saturday.

The former Gonzaga men's basketball standout flirted with a triple-double to help his team come away with a 136-98 win over Victor Wembanyama and company, as Nembhard finished with 15 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and three steals in 32 minutes of action. He also shot 6-of-9 from the field, including a pair of makes from behind the 3-point arc.

The Pacers led by 15 points at halftime, fell behind briefly in the third quarter, then rolled the rest of the way behind a strong second half from Tyrese Haliburton, who scored 16 of his game-high 28 points in the third quarter. Wembanyama had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs, who beat the Pacers by 30 in the first matchup from Paris. Wembanyama also shot 7-of-16 from the field and finished with two steals, plus a block.

Nembhard helped set the tone for Indiana (25-20) after poking the ball away from Chris Paul's hands on the Spurs' first possession of the game, leading to an easy score in transition for the Pacers' third-year guard. Nembhard's second basket came moments later when he maneuvered his way around Devin Vassell, going around his back and then pulling off a convincing up-fake, before finishing a finger roll layup as Wembanyama came over to contest. Nembhard ended the first quarter with seven points and three assists.

Pacers defense leads to an Andrew Nembhard layup to open the scoring in Paris!

All-Access Paris is underway on ESPN 🇫🇷#NBAParis Games presented by @TISSOT pic.twitter.com/JJIoyeDbvs
— NBA (@NBA) January 25, 2025

tough bucket from Andrew Nembhard 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/1JOcipYXuH
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) January 25, 2025

Nembhard came face-to-face with the 7-foot-3 French phenom again in the fourth quarter, though nowhere near the basket this time. Given just enough room from behind the arc to fire away over Wembanyama's outstretched arms, Nembhard connected on a deep 3-pointer from the logo near midcourt to put the Pacers up 123-94 with 5:34 left to play in regulation.

Andrew Nembhard from the logo 🎯 pic.twitter.com/gVMUuWIOeI
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) January 25, 2025

Saturday was far from the first instance in which Nembhard has been on triple-double watch. He finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists on Dec. 29 against the Boston Celtics; just days after a 23-point, 9-rebound, 7-assist performance in a close loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 26.

Nembhard has missed time this season due to injury, including a knee injury that kept him out of a handful of games in November and December. When healthy, he's been one of the Pacers' more consistent playmakers. Nembhard has recorded five or more assists in 16 of the 30 games he's played this season and was averaging a career-best 5.1 assists entering Saturday.

The Pacers, who are fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, are back in action on Jan. 29 when they face the Detroit Pistons.