Nembhard torches Dubs, joins LeBron with historic stat line

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The Indiana Pacers' Andrew Nembhard had a night to remember against the Warriors on Monday at Chase Center. 

Nembhard, the 22-year-old rookie from Gonzaga, had 31 points -- on 13-of-21 shooting, 5-of-7 from 3-point range -- to go along with 13 assists and eight rebounds in 41 minutes of action. 

In compiling the aforementioned stats, Nembhard joined a very exclusive club with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. They are the only players in NBA history with 30-plus points, 12-plus assists, 8-plus rebounds, 5-plus assists on at least 60 percent shooting from the field.

James accomplished the feat in 2018, his last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After the Warriors' loss, coach Steve Kerr raved about how Nembhard was able to control the game for the short-handed Pacers.

"Nembhard, in particular, was just getting anywhere he wanted in the lane and you saw his patience -- he threw some brilliant passes, lob passes, drop passes," Kerr told reporters after the game. "And then when we tried to cover up the paint, he was out there knocking down 3s.

"So great, great player."

Warriors guard Donte DiVincenzo noted that because Nembhard got himself going in the first half, with 13 points and seven rebounds, that made it difficult for Golden State to contain him.

"When things are going your way and you're one of those teams that you're counted out from the beginning, your confidence builds," DiVincenzo said. "And then the second half comes and you see a couple more go in.

"He was hooping."

DiVincenzo added that the Warriors' guards needed to be more physical with the rookie in order to throw him off but that didn't happen. 

"I think we got to, the guards got to get into him a little bit more, they got to feel us a little bit more and not let him get 21 attempts," DiVincenzo continued. "That's a lot of attempts. I think that's the difference."

As the Warriors continue to navigate the 2022-23 NBA season, it should be no surprise that the rest of the league will play their best against the defending champions, even if Golden State is missing key players like Andrew Wiggins. 

RELATED: Kerr believes Dubs' biggest challenge is maintaining focus

Regardless of how the Warriors and Pacers' next meeting goes, Nembhard can always say he outdueled Steph Curry in an early December game

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