by Wheat Hotchkiss
For the past two years, Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard have anchored the Indiana Pacers’ backcourt. But on Wednesday night in Las Vegas, the two teammates were opponents for the first time.
Haliburton and the United States men’s national team faced off against Nembhard and the Canadian men’s national team at the USA Basketball Showcase, as the two nations began their preparation for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Haliburton got bragging rights this time around, as the United States prevailed, 86-72. Both Pacers guards came off the bench for their respective countries, often shared the floor and even guarded each other on occasion on Wednesday night.
Haliburton logged 20 minutes off the bench, tallying two points on 1-of-4 shooting, four rebounds, six assists, four steals, and a block. The Americans outscored Canada by 17 points when Indiana’s All-NBA point guard was on the floor, the best plus/minus of any player on Wednesday.
Nembhard — who was officially named to Canada’s Olympic roster earlier on Wednesday — played 16 minutes and finished with one rebound, one assist, and one steal for Canada. He missed all five of his shot attempts.
Canada led 21-14 after the opening quarter, but the United States won the second quarter 27-12 to take an eight-point lead into halftime.
Haliburton then helped the Americans close the third quarter with a 9-0 run, throwing an alley-oop to Anthony Davis with 1:06 remaining in the frame and then setting up Anthony Edwards for a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that gave the United States a 69-54 lead entering the fourth quarter.
After setting up his teammates for much of the night, Haliburton got in the scoring column in the final minute, jumping a passing lane and racing ahead for a reverse slam to put the exclamation point on the victory.
All of Haliburton and Nembhard’s Pacers teammates were in Las Vegas to show support, watching Wednesday’s exhibition from a suite.
The United States will head to Abu Dhabi next week for two exhibitions and then will play two more games in London before traveling to Paris for the Olympics. Canada is scheduled to play exhibitions in France before the Olympics.
Men’s basketball in Paris will be a 12-nation tournament that features three group play for each country games followed by an eight-team knockout bracket to determine the medal winners. The United States has won gold in four straight Olympics and seven of eight since NBA players were first allowed to compete in 1992.
Originally posted on nba.com/pacers