by Jordan Morey
After posting a blowout win against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night in Indianapolis, Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle predicted his team would face a tougher task on Wednesday against the same squad.
Carlisle was right, as a determined Nets (30-47) contingent edged the Pacers (43-34), 115-111, at Barclays Center in a down-to-the-wire game.
In the fourth quarter, trailing by five points, Pacers forward Pascal Siakam made six straight baskets and a free throw – 13 consecutive points – to give the Blue & Gold a 108-105 lead with 1:41 left. The Nets answered with a 3-pointer by Mikal Bridges and a layup from Dennis Schroder to go back up by five points before a 3-pointer from Tyrese Haliburton cut it to 113-111 with seven seconds remaining.
Nets forward Jalen Wilson then drained both his free throws after an intentional foul to seal the game.
The loss dropped the Pacers to seventh place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind the Miami Heat for the final automatic playoff bid. Despite winning, Brooklyn was eliminated from playoff contention on Wednesday after Atlanta beat Detroit.
Siakam led the Pacers with 26 points and nine rebounds, Haliburton scored 25 points to go with eight assists and Obi Toppin chipped in 14 points and eight boards off the bench.
Six Nets players scored in double figures, led by Cam Thomas’ 27 points (9-for-21 shooting), a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds by rookie Noah Clowney, and Bridges’ 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Schroder also had a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists and Nic Claxton finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Brooklyn outshot Indiana 48.3 to 44.7 percent, including going 12-for-27 from 3-point range to Indiana’s 10-for-38 from deep. The Nets won the rebounding margin 50-45.
In a topsy-turvy first half, the Pacers led by double digits in the first quarter before the Nets matched a season-high 42 points in the second quarter to narrow the score to 62-61. The Nets also led by one after the third quarter before the teams battled in the final frame.
Pacers starting center Myles Turner did not play Wednesday due to a right index finger sprain. Jalen Smith took Turner’s spot in the first five.
FIRST QUARTER
After Brooklyn got off to a hot start, the Pacers used a 25-7 run – featuring scoring streaks of 11-0 and 12-2 – to build a 31-19 lead over the Nets in the first quarter.
The Nets made five of their first six shots in the game to lead 11-4. Out of a Pacers timeout, the Blue and Gold responded with a 19-2 run, where seven players recorded a basket, to go ahead 23-13 with 2:37 left in the opening frame.
Following free throws by Trendon Watford, the Pacers continued rolling as Aaron Nesmith completed an and-one and Toppin drilled a 3-pointer to extend the Pacers’ lead to 29-15. Brooklyn would finish the quarter shooting 2-for-16 as they trailed by 12 points.
SECOND QUARTER
The Nets shot 66 percent in the second quarter, including 6-for-11 from 3-point, to close the gap to one point. Clowney scored 13 of his points in the period, shooting 5-for-5 from the field (3-for-3 3-point).
Indiana stayed ahead by double digits until the Nets went on a 13-4 run to narrow the score to 44-41 by the halfway mark of the second quarter.
The Pacers responded with a dunk by Smith and three from Toppin off an offensive rebound to lead 49-41, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Clowney and Dorian Finney-Smith a couple of minutes later cut it to 53-52.
A free throw by Schroder and a layup from Clowney tied the game at 55 with 2:28 left in the half before Clowney hit his third three of the game to give the Nets the lead at 61-57. Toppin then drilled a 3-pointer and Haliburton converted a layup with 1.7 seconds left to put the Pacers back in front by one.
THIRD QUARTER
Despite the Nets leading by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, the Pacers used a late push to make it 88-87 going into the final frame.
Brooklyn started the third quarter with a 22-10 run, where Thomas scored eight points and Claxton scored six, to lead 83-70 with 4:27 on the clock.
The Pacers then answered with a 17-5 string, where Haliburton scored the final seven points in the last 1:39 of the frame, to again make it a one-point game.
FOURTH QUARTER
Toppin completed an alley-oop pass from T.J. McConnell and Siakam got a bucket to fall to put the Pacers back ahead early in the fourth quarter before the Nets used a 10-1 run, where Bridges scored six points, to give the Nets a 98-92 lead with 7:15 remaining.
While Siakam caught fire down the final stretch, the Nets made just enough plays to escape with the win.
The Pacers will kick off their final five games of the regular season at home on Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. On Sunday, the Pacers host the Heat in a pivotal matchup.
Inside the Numbers
The Nets shot 19-for-27 from the free throw line, while the Pacers went 9-for-11.
Indiana outscored Brooklyn 60-54 in the paint and 21-10 in fast-break points.
The Pacers pulled down 19 offensive rebounds in the game.
No Pacers players recorded a double-double.
Three Pacers players scored in double figures. Indiana is 0-2 when fewer than four players score at least 10 points each.
The Pacers shot 39.2 percent in the second half after making 50 percent of their shots in the first half.
Brooklyn had 13 turnovers and Indiana gave up nine.
Pacers guard T.J. McConnell scored eight points, snapping his 10-game streak of posting double-digit scoring figures.
There were eight lead changes and four ties in the game.
You Can Quote Me on That
“It was an uneven compete level for us tonight. … They have a talented team and have proven they can beat anybody.” – Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on the loss
“It’s another game we’ll have to learn from. Get in this position where every game is critical, and you’ve got a team you’ve beaten a couple times and you know you can do it. You’ve got to bear down. We had to bear down better than we did. Give them credit, they played a heck of a game.” – Carlisle on the loss
“It was just bad execution on our end. I thought the way we ended the first quarter kind of played into the second quarter. I think that gave them confidence and allowed them to kind of make their run.” — Tyrese Haliburton on the Nets second quarter
“Special player doing special things. I think we just have to get one stop to get us some momentum and we couldn’t do that.” — Haliburton on Siakam
“We’re going to have to take care of businesses these next five, starting with OKC on Friday. Everyone has to be ready to go.” — Haliburton on the remaining schedule
Stat of the Night
The Nets tied a season-high for points in a second quarter on Wednesday by scoring 42 on 16-for-24 (66.7 percent) shooting.
Noteworthy
- Tyrese Haliburton has 703 assists on the season, good for second place in the franchise’s single-season record book. Mark Jackson holds the franchise record with 713 assists in 1997-98.
- Myles Turner has missed just five games this season. Indiana is 2-3 in those games.
- Aaron Nemsith needs 35 points to reach 2,000 for his career.
Up Next
The Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, April 5 at 7:00 PM ET.
Originally posted on pacers.com