Frequent mistakes at critical moments, the Pacers backcourt general encountered difficulties, and the offensive end of the finals was completely abnormal?

In the fifth game of the recent NBA Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers 120-109, successfully achieving a key victory at home. After this game, the Thunder rewrites the total score of the series to 3-2, holding the match point, and regains the initiative in the game. In contrast, the Pacers can only drag the series into a crucial tiebreak battle only if they win the next sixth game.

Pacers start backcourt core Andrew Nembhard was disappointing. He fought on the court for nearly 36 minutes, made 3 of 8 shots, lost his sight of the three-pointer and failed to hit any goal. Although he contributed 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in the statistics, there were 4 turnovers and 3 fouls, and his plus-negative value was -12, which is undoubtedly a strong proof of his performance. Nemhard lacked the scoring ability he deserved on the offensive end, and his multiple mistakes, especially wrong decisions at critical moments, obviously had a direct impact on the team, greatly weakening the Pacers' hope for victory.

Looking back on the entire season, Nemhard played 65 games in 82 games in the regular season, averaging 28.9 minutes, and handed out 10 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.2 steals. In addition, he shot 45.8% from the field, 29.1% from three-pointers and 79.4% from free throws. Entering the playoffs, Nemhard's playing time increased to 33.4 minutes, and his average contribution increased to 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.5 steals. His shooting percentage remained at 46.6%, and his three-point shooting percentage reached 44.9%. Despite this, his turnovers and fouls also rose to 1.9 and 2.8 respectively.

Nemhard's performance on the defensive end is worthy of recognition, especially during the playoffs, he did a good job in defensive tasks against his opponent's core players on the perimeter. However, in the key game of the finals, his offensive threat dropped significantly and failed to play his due role. Nemhard should have been an indispensable role on the bench, but his downturn, coupled with Tyrese Haliburton's equally poor performance, makes the Pacers seem very powerless when facing strong enemies. Whether the Pacers can rebound and win again will become the focus of the next game, and whether Nemhard can cheer up in desperate situations and support the team to catch up is also worth looking forward to.