After a crushing one-point defeat at the hands of the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, the Indiana Pacers bounced back with a post-Thanksgiving win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
The Pistons have been reeling, with their loss to the Pacers marking their 13th in a row, so Indiana really just had to come in, take care of business, and pick up a victory. They pounced on the down-in-the-dumps Pistons.
For what seems like the first time in forever, Tyrese Haliburton is not a stud nor a dud on this list, but it felt wrong to write an article about this game without mentioning his crossover on Ausar Thompson. (WOW.)
HALIBURTON DROPS AUSAR THOMPSON 🤯 pic.twitter.com/YSFrIQsA11
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 25, 2023
All that being said, let’s dive into the game and dole out the two studs and one dud from the Pacers’ 136-113 win over the Pistons.
Stud - Andrew Nembhard
We’re going to start off with a bit of an odd pick, as Andrew Nembhard only ended up playing 19:55 in this game - the third-fewest minutes on the team.
However, while he didn’t get a ton of playing time relative to the rest of the team, he was extremely impactful in his minutes. And considering Haliburton was questionable with a right wrist sprain heading into this game, the Pacers needed Nembhard.
Nembhard ended the night with 13 points, three rebounds, four assists, and one steal while shooting 6-of-13 from the floor and 1-of-3 from behind the three-point line.
His impact was felt at all times, as not only did he put up solid counting stats, but Nembhard also finished the game with a whopping +25 +/-, which ranked third on the team.