Watford, Nets Unable to Overcome Siakam and Pacers on the Road

Brooklyn dropped its second-straight to Indiana.

Mar 22, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (00) steals a pass from Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) during the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Saturday night, in one final attempt to even the season series with the Indiana Pacers, the Brooklyn Nets were unable to complete a miraculous fourth-quarter comeback in a 108-103 road defeat. Having met four times in the 2024-25 NBA season, the Pacers claimed their fourth victory against the Nets—and their second in three days.

Trendon Watford led Brooklyn with a season-high 26 points and five rebounds off the bench.

After conceding an 11-0 run in the third quarter, the visiting Nets found themselves down 20. Tyrese Haliburton—who missed Thursday night's win over the Nets with back soreness—returned to the lineup and bolstered Indiana's scoring attack, specifically in the 12 minutes that followed halftime.

He'd finish with 12 assists, feeding his frontcourt duo of Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner to what appeared to be a blowout victory. However, Brooklyn immediately responded with a game-changing run of its own.

The Nets opened the fourth quarter on a 21-2 run, erasing the massive gap and creating a tightly-contested Eastern Conference bout down the stretch. Unfortunately, mirroring recent struggles, Jordi Fernandez's group couldn't get enough stops in clutch time to pull off the come-from-behind victory.

Siakam scored eight of his 26 points in the final three and a half minutes of the game, flexing his veteran experience over a relatively young Brooklyn squad.

Without D'Angelo Russell in the lineup, the Nets struggled to move the ball effectively. No visitor managed to eclipse the five assist mark, as the Pacers owned a plus-12 advantage in the category by the final buzzer.

Succeeding a matchup which had no shortage of free throws, the charity stripe again haunted Brooklyn in the rematch. It shot just 10-of-17 from the line, pointing to a potential Nets win had they made their free throws.

While losing three-straight to an interconference rival is certainly dissapointing, Watford's performance will help ease some of the pain. The second-straight falter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse extended Watford's double-digit scoring streak to four, again displaying the 24-year-old forward's potential as a key contributor.

In moments this year—he's flashed. Once a small-ball center with the Portland Trail Blazers, Fernandez has helped mold Watford into an all-around point guard/forward-hybrid. As Brooklyn gears up for year two of its total rebuild, anticipate Watford to be a major depth piece as he continues to develop.

Much like the majority of Nets losses in the month of March, the team's struggling defense was the number one culprit. The group has proven, even when the stars sit, its still able to score in bunches. But when it's time to lock in defensively, it still leaves much to be desired.

With the back-to-back against Indiana now in the rearview, Brooklyn returns home for a Monday night tilt with the slumping Dallas Mavericks. Just 2-8 in their last 10 games, the Mavericks present a perfect oportunity for the Nets to end a three-game losing streak while building some much-needed confidence heading into the offseason.

That bout is slated for 7:30 p.m. EST at the Barclays Center.

To access the final box score from the Nets' loss to the Pacers, click here.

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