'Trying to stay in the game': Why Andrew Nembhard didn't get ejected and Bobby Portis did

INDIANAPOLIS -- There was no heated exchange of words or previous bad blood between Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard and Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis.

But early in the first quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoff series between the Bucks and Pacers, Nembhard and Portis were battling for position on a rebound. Moments later the two were squaring off, ready to come to blows.

Nembhard shoved Portis away. Portis retaliated with a shove and a punch to the back of Nembhard's head. Nembhard's one hostile act earned him a technical foul. Portis' two hostile acts earned him two technicals, an ejection and an early trip to the shower.

By keeping his cool and not escalating the altercation with Portis, Nembhard stayed in the game, giving the Pacers its starting guard next to star Tyrese Haliburton. Portis -- a noted hothead who once sent Chicago Bulls teammate Nikola Mirotic to the hospital with a concussion and a facial fracture after a mid-practice scuffle -- left the already shorthanded Bucks without another key piece, helping the Pacers outlast the Bucks for a 126-113 win Sunday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

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"I felt like he initiated it. I got my push back, and I was trying to stay in the game," Nembhard said. "I wasn't trying to worry about fighting. During a basketball game, it gets competitive, it gets physical. ... I like to compete. I'm not scared or backing down from anybody. I just want to help my team win, play physical and win games.

"There's a lot of fake basketball fights out there. I'm not really trying to keep it going."

While Nembhard is known for his cool and calm demeanor, all 6-4, 190 pounds of the Canadian point guard standing up to the much larger Portis shows the amount of heart he brings to the court every game. Portis lasted all of seven minutes in Game 4. Nembhard tied for the second-most minutes played at 38, scoring 15 points while dishing out a team-high nine assists. He finished tied with Myles Turner at a team-best 17-plus/minus.

"I’m proud of Drew for standing tough," Turner said. "I think in those moments it’s an intimidation thing and I don’t think it works very well with him. He was able to stay in the game, which was very key. That rah-rah stuff, we’ve seen it before.”

The former Gonzaga guard doesn't back down from contact as he drives into the paint, looking to dish to the perimeter or finish over a larger defender. His ability to keep a cool head helped the Pacers put the wounded Bucks on the brink of elimination.

Nembhard's ability to make the correct read in every situation puts his teammates in great positions to score. With 7:22 left in the second quarter, he dropped a perfect wrap-around pass to Turner, setting him up for a two-handed slam. In the fourth quarter, Nembhard showed aggressiveness attacking the basket, blowing by Bucks guard Malik Beasley for three consecutive baskets, stretching the Pacers lead to 16 with 4:52 left.

With the game in hand, Nembhard left the court to a loud ovation from the home crowd. His contributions may not be as flashy as Haliburton's or Turner's, but what the second-year guard brings to the game does not go unnoticed by his teammates.

"He has a toughness about him that creates an identity for us," Pacers guard T.J. McConnell said. "He's got to be smart to not get ejected out of the game because he's very valuable to what we do.

"He has a presence, he's a great defender, great ball handler, great shooter when he's open. So, I was glad that he did not get ejected. He played really well tonight, and we're gonna obviously need him to keep doing that for the rest of the playoffs."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers Andrew Nembhard on his shoving match with Bucks Bobby Portis