Three takeaways from Indiana Pacers crunch time loss to Brooklyn Nets

The Pacers fell in Brooklyn on Wednesday

Apr 3, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) sets the play as / John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The Indiana Pacers still have not won three times in a row since the All-Star break. Despite winning eight of their last 13 games and sitting nine games over .500, the team's inconsistent play has been a theme over the last two months, and it popped up again last night. The Pacers fell to the Brooklyn Nets — a team they beat by 22 points on Monday — Wednesday evening, with many rough moments along the way.

After jumping out to a 14-point lead in the first period, the Pacers defense crumbled, They gave up 42 second quarter points as the Nets reclaimed their lead, and the blue and gold lost all of their momentum. It was a slog to get back into the game.

"We lost the integrity of our defense. A lot of that's just on us," Pacers assistant coach Jenny Boucek said of her team's second quarter defense during an interview on the Bally Sports Indiana broadcast of the action.

Brooklyn grew their edge to 13 in the mid-third quarter, which forced Indiana to play from behind for the rest of the night. They pulled off a comeback and had a chance late as they led by three in the final minutes, but their clutch play doomed them again. The Nets ended up winning by four.

"We've got a real challenge on Wednesday... we'll have to be ready. They'll be ready," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after his team beat the Nets on Monday. "It'll be a very good test."

He was right, and his team dropped an important game. They lost ground in the standings and now sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with five games to go. The takeaways for the Pacers are related to where this game got away from them.

Indiana has to be better in the clutch

The Pacers were ahead 108-105 with 84 seconds to go in this game. They trailed 113-108 with 10 seconds remaining. When the game reached crunch time and Indiana held a small lead, they completely fell apart.

In that stretch, the blue and gold had two turnovers and missed their only real shot attempt. The Nets, meanwhile, scored on every single possession in that span. The Pacers gave themselves a chance to win but couldn't get it done late.

That has become a trend. Since the All-Star break, the Pacers have the fewest wins in games that featured clutch time in the entire NBA. They were terrific in those instances early in the season, but they are 1-7 in their last eight close games.

Their clutch net rating in that span (-18.1) ranks 25th in the NBA. Close games have cost the Pacers wins recently, and it did once again on Wednesday night.

The Pacers missed Myles Turner

Myles Turner missed this game thanks to a finger injury, and it was a big loss for the Pacers. Not only was he excellent in Monday's victory over the same opponent, but he also has been a great fit next to Pascal Siakam over the last two months.

His defensive presence being gone was obvious. Brooklyn's best stretch featured frequent, low-resistance drives to the rim with little help around the basket from Indiana big men. Turner, meanwhile, had five blocks in just the first half earlier this week.

In his place, Jalen Smith started and Isaiah Jackson was the backup five. Smith was solid against the Nets in Indianapolis on Monday, and Jackson has been great when called upon this season. But this time around, neither of them reached the necessary level.

"Myles is a big part of our team. He'll be back soon. right now, we've got to have a next man up [mentality]," Pacers forward Obi Toppin said during an interview on the Bally Sports Indiana broadcast of the game. Boucek agreed about the mentality shift.

Smith was 4/11 with eight points. He did well on the glass on both ends, but his efficiency was lacking, and the Pacers were crushed in his minutes. Jackson was more effective, particularly on defense, but fouls limited his minutes, and he wasn't good enough on the defensive glass.

Indiana likely would have won this game with Turner, but his injury came at a bad time. It cost the blue and gold.

Three point shots weren't falling

Tyrese Haliburton made five three-point shots last night. Obi Toppin made three, and Ben Sheppard made two. The rest of the Pacers roster combined to go 0/11 from long range.

Haliburton attempted 14 shots from beyond the arc, and Sheppard took seven. Indiana did a nice job to actually generate good looks from deep for most of the outing, but they didn't make them. It was costly.

The team finished 10/38 (26.3%) from three-point distance. Brooklyn, meanwhile, made 12 while only attempting 32. Indiana's woes from beyond the arc were crushing.

Indiana is 4-20 when shooting under 31.5% from deep this season. Obviously, making shots is critical to winning, and it didn't happen for the Pacers in the Barclays center.

The now 43-34 Pacers hit the hardwood next on Friday when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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