How to Watch Pacers' Game With Nets on Wednesday; Gametime, TV, Point Spread

The Indiana Pacers will look to bounce-back from a recent three-game skid during a Wednesday matchup with the Brooklyn Nets.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Indiana Pacers enter Wednesday's matchup with the Brooklyn Nets facing the possibility of a four-game losing streak. Will they manage to snap this recent slide?

In their most recent outing, the Pacers fell short 103-95 against the Utah Jazz on Sunday. Indiana finished this performance by going a poor 37-of-93 (39.8%) from the field and 8-of-29 (27.6%) on three-pointers. They will need to turn that around against this Nets team.

The Nets will enter this matchup on the second-night of a back-to-back. Without Kevin Durant in the lineup, Brooklyn experienced an underwhelming 122-111 loss to the Detroit Pistons, who held the NBA's worst record before tipoff. 

Both teams could use a win to get back on track. This matchup could end up being crucial when it comes to seeding in the Eastern Conference playoff picture at the end of the season, too. 

Here are the particulars on Wednesday night's game:

• Who: Indiana Pacers (12-12) vs. Brooklyn Nets (14-12)
• When: 8 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Feb. 10.
• Where: Barcalys Center, Brooklyn, New York. 
• Latest Line: The Nets are considered 1.5-point favorites by most oddsmakers as of 2 p.m. ET.
• Standings: The Nets currently rank third in the Eastern Conference and trail the No. 1 seed Philadelphia 76ers by 4.5 games. Meanwhile, the Pacers sit fifth in the conference standings and are 5.5 games back.
• Series history: Indiana leads the all-time series, 108-74.
• Last meeting: These two teams last faced off on Feb. 10, 2020, and a lot has changed since. The Pacers lost this meeting 106-105 as a result of Spencer Dinwiddie converting on a game-winning step-back jumper.
• Projected Nets starters: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Joe Harris, Jeff Green, DeAndre Jordan. 
• Projected Pacers starters: Malcolm Brogdon, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday, Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner.
• TV: FOX Sports Indiana.
• Announcers: Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
• Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)

Here are three things to watch in this game: 

3. Perimeter Shooting

Not having Kevin Durant in the lineup will hurt the Brooklyn Nets' perimeter shooting assault. However, they aren't the NBA's most efficient offense just because of Durant, even though he's a critical element to it. 

So far this season, the Nets are shooting on average 14.7-of-36.8 (39.9%) from deep. Brooklyn is one of the top spot-up shooting teams in the NBA and is going up against the league's worst defense against these particular plays. 

The Pacers like to send extra pressure to the ball, especially when going up against elite scorers. With the Nets having two of those talents active, it's difficult to envision Indiana not continuing this trend. As a result, Brooklyn's shooters could have pick them apart.

2. Domantas Sabonis' Past Success

The Brooklyn Nets were an easy matchup for Domantas Sabonis last season. He appeared in three games against Brooklyn and produced averages of 22.7 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists all while going 59.2% from the field. 

Jarrett Allen is no longer a member of the Nets as he was traded in the four-team blockbuster deal for James Harden. However, DeAndre Jordan was getting pushed around by Sabonis and offered little resistance in the paint. 

There's little reason to expect the results from Sabonis to change. The only question about it is whether the Pacers will be trading too many two's for three's going up against this Nets offense.

1. Keeping Pace With Superstars

The foundation of this Nets team is their incredible trio of superstar talents with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving. While Durant will be held out of this game due to COVID protocols, Brooklyn still has Durant and Harden leading the way. 

The level of scoring volume the Nets have achieved has been nothing short of spectacular. Brooklyn is averaging 121.1 points per game and that trails only the Milwaukee Bucks (121.3) while leading the third-ranked Denver Nuggets by a 5.8-margin. 

It's not going to be easy for the Pacers to slow down Harden and Irving. Indiana will have to keep up with their own offensive output and while Brooklyn has a genuinely terrible defense, they have an overwhelming amount of offensive firepower.