2025 NBA Finals: Can Andrew Nembhard and the Pacers wear Shai Gilgeous-Alexander down?

Indiana has been up 2-1 in every series, but it hasn't faced an opponent like the Thunder

Eight seconds into Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Andrew Nembhard earned a small victory. Frustrated with how the Indiana Pacers guard was harassing him off the ball, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoved Nembhard twice. The second time, he caught Nembhard with an elbow. It was reminiscent of the headbutt that Nembhard took from Jalen Brunson 10 days earlier, but this one was actually called a foul.

Nembhard's physicality from the opening tip set the tone for what turned out to be a long, difficult night for Gilgeous-Alexander. The offensive foul was the first of his six turnovers, the most he's had in a game since December. Thanks largely to the indefatigable Nembhard, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 9-for-20 shooting and four assists, a ho-hum performance by his standards.

The way the Pacers defended Gilgeous-Alexander in their 116-107 win, it was clear that they'd emphasized picking him up high on the floor and making him work for absolutely everything. They denied him off the ball, and they limited the space he had when coming off pick-and-rolls. Indiana's defensive approach was not drastically different from the first two games, but Tyrese Haliburton and the bigs did a better job of getting up to the level of the screen to prevent him from getting downhill. Nembhard and second-year guard Ben Sheppard slithered around screens, and, when Gilgeous-Alexander managed to free himself of his primary defender, the Pacers aggressively helped off of shooters to keep a body in front of him.