Former Gonzaga star Ryan Nembhard sets Mavericks rookie assists record in season finale
Ryan Nembhard capped his rookie season with a record-breaking performance.
The former star Gonzaga point guard set the Dallas Mavericks’ rookie franchise record for assists in a game, dishing out 23 during the team’s 149-128 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Sunday.
Nembhard broke his coach’s franchise rookie record – Jason Kidd set the record with 17 assists in 1994-95. Nembhard set the franchise record for assists in a regulation game, but fell two shy of the overall Mavs record of 25 assists, established by Kidd during a double-overtime game in 1996. Nembhard’s 23 assists were also a league record for an undrafted rookie, according to MavsMuse, a Dallas stat-tracking social media page.
Nembhard added 15 points on 6 of 11 from the field and collected nine rebounds on Sunday as Dallas finished its season with a 26-56 record.
The 5-foot-11 Canada native, who led the NCAA in assists per game (9.8) last season as a senior at Gonzaga, averaged 6.6 points, 5.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game in his rookie NBA season. Nembhard began the year on a two-way contract after going undrafted but worked his way to a two-year deal on a standard NBA contract in February and finished the season with 60 games played and 27 starts for the Mavs.
Several former Zags had strong games on the final day of the NBA regular season.
Denver guard Julian Strawther, a third-year pro who played for GU from 2020-23, scored an NBA career-high 25 points in the Nuggets’ 128-118 road win over San Antonio. Strawther shot 9 of 19 from the floor, adding six rebounds and three assists.
A late first-round draft pick in 2023, Strawther appeared in 57 games with 14 starts for Denver this season, logging averages of 7.2 points, two rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
The Nuggets are the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed and will open the playoffs against sixth-seeded Minnesota on Saturday.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura recorded his first double-double of the season, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds in a 131-107 win over visiting Utah. Hachimura shot 8 of 12 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range. The seventh-year NBA veteran out of Gonzaga appeared in 68 games for the Lakers this season, making 41 starts. He averaged 11.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
Lakers teammate Drew Timme, the Zags’ all-time leading scorer, got a few minutes off the bench and registered three points and two assists. The forward appeared in 27 games with one start for L.A. this season, averaging 3.4 points and 1.3 rebounds.
The fourth-seeded Lakers host fifth-seeded Houston on Saturday in a Western Conference playoff opener.
Atlanta wing Corey Kispert had his second-highest scoring output of the season, recording 21 points on 7 of 12 shooting (5 of 9 on 3s) in the Hawks’ 143-117 loss at Miami. The fifth-year pro scored a career-high 33 points in February during the Hawks’ win over the Washington Wizards, who traded Kispert to Atlanta in early January.
For the season, Kispert averaged 9.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists over 58 games between the two teams. He started eight of 39 games with Atlanta, which clinched the No. 6 seed in the East and will open its postseason at New York on Saturday.
Orlando guard Jalen Suggs tallied 23 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block during the Magic’s 113-108 loss at Boston. The fifth-year pro hit a 3-pointer to tie the score with 36 seconds left, but the Celtics punched back to send Orlando into a road play-in tournament game. The Magic fell to the No. 8 seed in the East and will visit Philadelphia for a play-in game on Wednesday.
Suggs, a lottery draft pick by Orlando in 2021 after his phenomenal freshman season at GU, started 56 of 57 games this season for the Magic, posting averages of 13.8 points, 5.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds.
Oklahoma City All-Star forward Chet Holmgren sat out the team’s season finale Sunday, reportedly to recover from lower-back tightness ahead of the playoffs. The reigning champion Thunder had already locked up the Western Conference’s top seed last week. Holmgren, a one-and-done GU sensation and the second overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, averaged 17.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks – second in the NBA – this season.