Andrew Nembhard tells secret after holding Steph Curry to 2-of-13 shooting

With 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter of this Monday’s matchup between Warriors and Pacers, Andrew Nembhard was locked on to Stephen Curry. The historic NBA’s leading three-point shooter drilled his second three-pointer of the night, and only the first with the rival guard as his primary defender. 

Having sunk that shot, Golden State took the lead for the first time since the second quarter, igniting the crowd at the Chase Center, who had been waiting all night to see their living-legend find his precision from range. However, Nembhard stayed in Curry’s face the rest of the game and the 36-year-old never scored again.

Believe it or not, the 10-time All-Star finished that match with only 10 points on 2-of-13 shooting, which included just 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. This means, the Warriors icon produced one of his 15-worst shooting displays of his entire career, with the Pacers holding their rival team to just 43.4% shooting to claim a 111-105 victory.

'Engaged at all times': How Andrew Nembhard and the Pacers held Stephen Curry to 2-of-13 https://t.co/5mzXqVHWwh

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Not only was this Indiana’s fifth-consecutive win that gives them a sweep of their three-match West Coast road trip, but also brings them to a 15-15 record with a perfect 6-0 all-time record at the San Francisco’s Chase Center.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle talked about the strategy against Curry. “We made a strong commitment to him knowing that we were going to give up some other things, and we lived with it,” he explained postgame. “So it’s a pick-your-poison proposition when you’re dealing with a guy like that who is an assassin.”

As for the Nembhard, he confessed what needs to happen in order to control the Olympic-gold medalist. “You just have to be engaged at all times,” said the three-year guard. “He’s never not moving. 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.”

After the game, Curry talked about what makes Nembhard a difficult defender to play against, while addressing his shooting woes

Even though some of it was certainly luck, as Steph usually makes drops in of his Curry’s 11 missed field goals on Monday, he did admit postgame that a lot of it was also Nembhard and the Pacers’ defensive strategy. “I think certain guys in schemes where you can tell their job is to stay on me, don’t worry about anything else.

“And if they have the endurance to do it, you kind of love that back-and-forth kind of battle,” the two-time scoring leader said about Indiana’s stronghold. “Yeah, I think he takes defense, that’s his role, especially with the staring unit. Whoever the best scorer is, go-to guy, he takes that responsibility.”

Nevertheless, the veteran guard continues to have an impressive condition this 2024-25 NBA campaign, as he wears out his opponents with a continuous motion before delivering daggers from range. This is why Tyrese Haliburton called him one of the hardest players to guard in the league.

“That’s probably the toughest cover in our league,” he said about the 36-year-old. “I thought (Nembhard) did a great job of showing his hands, contesting every shot. We were connected all five, understanding that to guard 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 that.”