For the second time this week, the Indiana Pacers found themselves in the middle of an in-game tussle with an opponent.
On Monday, when the Pacers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves, Andrew Nembhard was ejected following an incident with Rudy Gobert in the third quarter. Nembhard seemed to commit an offensive foul on Mike Conley, Gobert, who was also ejected, responded with a flagrant-2 foul of his own, and then Nembhard, who already had a technical foul under his belt at that point, picked up a second by throwing the ball at him.
This time, on Thursday night, the trouble came in the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets. After a Bennedict Mathurin layup, Nets forward Trendon Watford ran straight into Nembhard. Myles Turner jumped in to protect Nembhard in response, and before they knew it, both sides needed to be separated by officials and staffers.
When the dust settled, Watford was ejected and Turner and Nembhard both picked up technical fouls. Fortunately for the Pacers, who prevailed 105-99, the game followed in the same path that Monday’s battle with Minnesota did.
In both cases, the Pacers would go on to win in overtime with their opponent missing a key player. For Brooklyn, it was Watford. For Minnesota, it was Gobert.
Obviously, Indiana would prefer to avoid the drama and theatrics, but the Pacers certainly won’t complain about the outcomes. Now 40-29, they have won five of six and hold a one-game lead over Milwaukee in the loss column for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
There are less stressful ways to climb the standings, but hey, a win’s a win.
