Pacers hold Stephen Curry to 2-of-13 shooting in fifth straight win

On By Littum

SAN FRANCISCO — After three quarters of bobbing and weaving and dodging bodies to stay as glued as possible to the deadliest shooter the game of basketball has ever known, Andrew Nembhardt finally met a screen he couldn’t get past.

With just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Pacers The third-year guard locked onto Stephen Curry — the two-time MVP, leading 3-point shooter in NBA history and 2024 U.S. Olympic hero — just below the foul line with Warriors second-year guard Brandon Podziemski holding the ball above the 3-point arc and Pacers guard Ben Sheppard defending Warriors forward Moses Moody just below the arc at the top of the key. Podziemski threw a pass to forward Draymond Green, who was about to send Pacers center Myles Turner at the extended foul line.

As soon as he released the ball, Podziemski dove toward the paint and he and Moody closed in on each other, using their defenders Sheppard and TJ McConnell to create a wall of four bodies for Curry to run around. Nembhard tried to split them, but Podziemski stuck his right leg out in what could have been called an illegal screen, knocking Nembhard off balance. Curry got the cleanest look beyond the arc and drilled it for just his second 3-pointer of the night and the first with Nembhard as the primary defender. The shot gave the Warriors their first lead since the second quarter and ignited a Chase Center crowd that had been waiting all night to see their megastar find his rhythm.

But Nembhard responded by doing the only thing he could do. He stayed in Curry’s face and followed him everywhere he went, no matter what was in the way. And after the 3, Curry never scored again.

The 10-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA selection and two-time NBA scoring champion finished with 10 points on 2-of-13 shooting including 2-of-9 from 3-point range, and the Pacers’ calculated gamble paid off paw. They respected the Warriors’ other scorers, but they knew no one could torch them like Curry could after watching him explode for 42 points on 11 3-pointers in the Warriors’ 22-point blowout win at Indianapolis in February last year. They thought that if they used enough resources to keep Curry from scoring, they could handle everyone else, and they were right. With him mostly neutralized on a night that ranks as one of the 15 worst shooting performances of a career set in basketball pantheon, the Pacers held the Warriors to 43.3% shooting including 39.1% in the second half to claim an exciting 111-105 victory Monday. It’s their fifth straight win and it gives them an overview of their three-game West Coast road trip, a 15-15 record on the year and a perfect 6-0 record at the Chase Center.

“We made a big commitment to him knowing we were going to give up some other things, and we lived with that,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said of Curry. “So that’s a proposition when you’re dealing with a guy like that who’s an assassin. We have a lot of respect for him. We’re lucky he didn’t make a couple more shots.”

Some of it was definitely luck. There were certainly shots among Curry’s 11 missed field goals, which he usually makes, but a lot of that was also Nembhard and the help defense behind him.

Nembhard took a similar approach to guarding Curry as the Grizzlies’ Jaylen Wells did against All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton when the Pacers played at Memphis on Dec. 1. more about staying with her husband instead of trying to stay connected with the rest of the team concept.

But that task is much easier said than done because Curry’s strength as a scorer comes as much from his ability to move on and off the ball as it does his shooting touch. The 36-year-old remains in incredible form, wearing defenders out by staying in perpetual motion and using the barriers of his screening teammates.

“You just have to be engaged all the time,” Nembhard said. “He never moves. He’s most dangerous when he doesn’t have the ball sometimes… He’s constantly running. He’s constantly a threat. He’s in great shape. Definitely one of the toughest people to guard in the league.”

Curry has dealt with Nembhard before and was aware going in that he was dealing with a tenacious defender. The first time Nembhard faced Curry in December 2022, Haliburton was out, and Nembhard not only had to defend the All-Galaxy shooter, he also had to run the point. Nembhard put together what remains one of the greatest performances of his career, posting 31 points and 13 assists while helping hold Curry to 12 points on 3-of-17 shooting, including 2-of-10 from 3 -point range.

Curry sensed early Monday that Nembhard would be even more up to his business than usual.

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Stephen Curry discusses his 2 of 13 shooting in a loss to the Pacers

Stephen Curry scored just 10 points on 2-of-13 shooting in the Warriors’ 111-105 loss to the Pacers on Sunday night

“I think certain guys in schemes where you can tell their job is to stay on me, don’t worry about anything else,” Curry said when asked what makes Nembhard a tough defender. “And if they have the stamina to do that, you love that kind of back-and-forth battle. Yeah, I think he takes defense, that’s his role, especially with the staring unit. The top goalscorer is, then go -To the guy, he takes that responsibility.”

As Haliburton did with Wells in that game against the Grizzlies, Curry took the pressure from Nembhard as an opportunity to get others involved. He had three assists in eight first quarter minutes without attempting a single field goal. He finished with seven assists, and his gravity clearly led to more buckets that he technically didn’t have a hand in.

“You can’t measure Steph Curry’s effectiveness by his shooting stats,” Carlisle said. “Because just him running around the court created seven layups for them. You can really add seven field goals to his numbers.”

But when Curry tried to get more involved in the offense, Nembhard and others made it difficult. He went 0 of 4 from the field in the second quarter including 0 of 3 from 3-point range and had a hand in his face or close to it on all four attempts. Nembhard rode him down the court and forced him into an off-balance on his one two-point attempt. He was close for all three 3-point misses, including an aerial ball attempt on a halftime buzzer beater where he and Haliburton were both in his face. At halftime, his only two points were on free throws.

Curry’s first field goal didn’t come until 40.1 seconds into the third quarter when Sheppard and McConnell switched a screen and Curry knocked it in front of McConnell. His next shot attempt, a transition attempt from just inside the 32-foot logo, led to a bucket as former Pacer Buddy Hield grabbed the offensive rebound and laid in a putback with everyone else seemingly in awe of what they thought was about to happen . His next attempt was the 3-pointer with Nembhard caught between screens, and at that point somehow seemed to find a rhythm.

But then Curry missed his last five shots. Nembhard was right there for the first four, including a missed driving layup. Third-year wing Bennedict Mathurin contested his final shot — a 24-foot step-back attempt with 47 seconds left that would have given the Warriors a one-point lead had it gone in — but Nembhard grabbed the rebound. The ensuing possession eventually led to Myles Turner’s 3-pointer that ultimately won the game for the Pacers.

Nembhard’s performance was another reminder of how important it has been for the Pacers to get him back after he missed 12 games in November with tendinitis in his right knee. Their defense was lost when Nembhard and wings Ben Sheppard missed time, but getting Nembhard back ensures they have someone at the point of attack to take on top scorers. He also had 15 points and four assists in the game. In the nine games he has been back, he is averaging 11.1 points and 4.4 assists per game. game and is shooting 53.5% from the floor and 40.9% from 3 while posting the team’s third-best overall plus-minus number in that span at +53.

“That’s probably the toughest cover in our league,” Haliburton said of Curry. “I thought (Nembhard) did a great job showing his hands and contesting every shot. All five of us connected, understanding that guarding Steph Curry is a five-man job, but it starts with whoever is on him. I thought he did a great job and we just kind of floated on it.”

But as Haliburton said, they also didn’t have many breakdowns in the help defense behind them, and the other defenders made sure they didn’t pay too high a price for paying so much attention to Curry. Young power forward Jonathan Kuminga gave them big problems, scoring 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting, but few others were effective. Veteran wing Andrew Wiggins had 16 points but was 7 of 16 from the floor and 1 of 7 from 3-point range. Hield had 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, and the former Indiana University All-American and Mr. Center Grove basketball Trayce Jackson-Davis had 13 on 6-of-9 shooting, but the Warriors had just five in double figures. They made just 18 of 46 shots in the second half, including just 5 of 21 3-point attempts. In the fourth quarter, they scored just 20 points on 7 of 21 shooting, went 2 of 10 from 3-point range and posted 0.93 points per possession with the game on the line.

Over the past three seasons, the Pacers have largely won despite their defense. Last season, when they reached the Eastern Conference Finals, they had the highest scoring average in the NBA in 40 years and finished second to the eventual NBA champion Celtics in offensive efficiency, but finished 27th in the NBA in points allowed and 24 . in defensive rating. This year, they still rank 22nd in points allowed, giving up 115.9 per game. game and 20th in defensive rating.

But during their five-game winning streak, they are holding opponents to 104.4 points per game. game – which is the fourth-best figure in the league over that stretch – and 105.2 points per game. 100 possessions, which ranks them seventh in defensive rating during that span. It’s a sign that they all take their assignments seriously, not just Nembhard on guys like Curry.

“This is not a team that tries to make an excuse why we just can’t get it done,” Carlisle said. “This is a team that’s trying to find answers and trying to find ways to make it happen. That’s what’s been special about this group.”