Indiana Pacers blow late lead and fall to Brooklyn Nets on the road

The Pacers played in Brooklyn on Wednesday night

Apr 3, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (2) shoots the ball while / John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets wrapped up their 2023-24 season series on Wednesday night. The Pacers entered the day 2-0 against the Nets this season, but this was the first meeting between the two teams in Brooklyn.

Beyond this outing being a road game, Myles Turner was out for the blue and gold this time around. He has a finger injury, and he was important in the first half on Monday when the Pacers and Nets dueled in Indianapolis. Indiana won that night, and they were hoping to repeat that result.

Brooklyn jumped out to a 4-0 lead, just like they did on Monday, but the Pacers scored to break that streak again. The game's script looked exactly like it did two days ago for the first few possessions.

But the Nets exploded in the upcoming stretch and quickly led 11-4, which prompted a timeout from Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle. His team needed to improve on the defensive end badly if they were going to keep up. It was an important game for the blue and gold — they needed to be better.

Out of the break, the visitors went on a 6-0 run to cut the Nets edge down to one. That was a key sequence, and the Pacers were right back in the game. Their slow start was already in the rearview mirror.

Indiana's run reached 10-0 as they recaptured the lead, and the Nets were forced to take a timeout at that moment. They were getting smothered by the Pacers defense and needed to talk things over to stop the bleeding.

It didn't help. The blue and gold's run reached 19-2, and the Pacers conceded two points in over six minutes of play throughout the first quarter. They were up by 10 after a pair of three-point shots from Tyrese Haliburton.

They kept rolling, and Indiana's lead reached 29-15 late in the first quarter. They completely flipped the game after their ugly start and were crushing the lowly Nets. Carlisle had a full bench lineup on the floor, and it was keeping up.

After one frame, Haliburton had six points and two assists, and his team was ahead 31-19. They were terrific once they got through their ugly start. Aaron Nesmith led the Pacers with seven points at the time.

The second period opened with Brooklyn being the better team. They were able to go on a 7-2 run in the first two minutes of the quarter and chop the lead down to seven. Their offense looked more effective with guard Cam Thomas getting going.

Indiana's offense wasn't good enough early in the second quarter, and it allowed the Nets to push their way back into the game. Brooklyn started to score with more consistency as well. After just over six minutes of play in the second frame, the Nets were down by five and were about to take two free throws.

The blue and gold stuck with it, though, and they maintained their lead for the next few minutes. They were up as much as eight in the later minutes of the second period. But the Nets went on a run and were able to trim the advantage down to one at 53-52. Suddenly, Brooklyn was rolling and making threes. with 2:46 to go in the first half, the hosts were 6/16 from deep.

With under 100 seconds left in the first half, the Nets regained the lead at 58-57. They were cruising behind great play from Noah Clowney and Dennis Schroder and were well on their way to a 40+ point quarter.

The home team scored 42 points in the frame, but the Pacers bounced back and took a 62-61 lead into halftime. Indiana needed to up their defensive level. Obi Toppin hit some huge shots late in the half and led the Pacers with 11 points at the break.

The third quarter opened up with Brooklyn rolling. They scored nine points in just over three minutes to start the half while the Pacers didn't make a single shot and only hit a free throw. The blue and gold's solid first quarter was a thing of the past.

They needed to bounce back and took a timeout with 8:49 to go in the third period down 70-63. Carlsile wanted to talk things over with his team. They needed to be better.

They didn't cut into the lead over the few minutes coming out of the stoppage, and the Nets lead soon reached a game-high nine. The Pacers were struggling in an important outing and had to find some rhythm — otherwise, they were doomed to suffer a bad loss.

But the visitors' miserable play continued. They had too many turnovers and couldn't make anything, Indiana fell behind by 13 with 4:30 to go in the third quarter. The deficit kept growing. The Nets were crushing them.

Indiana didn't quit, though. They went on a mini run late in the third frame and cut the lead down to four with 90 seconds left in the period. Their defensive intensity improved, and it allowed them to get in transition and score. With their advantage down to 86-85, Brooklyn took a timeout.

After three quarters, the Pacers were down 88-87. They were down by as much as 13 in the third period, but they trimmed that margin down in the final minutes. Haliburton got going late in the frame to make the game close, he led the team with 18 points at the time.

The final frame started with good defense from the Pacers, who didn't allow the Nets to score for the first 2.5 minutes of the frame. They didn't find the bottom of the net much in that stretch, but they put enough points on the scoreboard to be tied at 91.

A 7-0 run from Brooklyn after a technical foul free throw from the Pacers had the hosts up by six with 7:10 to go in the game. Carlisle took a timeout at that instance — he wanted to make substitutions for the final stretch. Haliburton was about to enter the game.

Haliburton hit a three to cut his team's deficit in half soon after checking in. He needed to be great in the final minutes if the Pacers were going to pull off a comeback. They had not been consistent all night.

The score was 100-98 with 4:38 to go in the game in favor of the Nets. Indiana was running out of time and needed to find a higher level in the final minutes. They needed this victory badly given their spot in the standings.

Pascal Siakam finally got going in the next few minutes, and he scored with about three minutes to go to give the Pacers a 104-103 advantage. He was rolling, and the blue and gold were back in front. They needed to keep up the momentum.

Siakam kept scoring to give Indiana a three-point lead soon after, but Mikal Bridges answered with a three to tie the game on the next possession. And after a turnover on the Pacers next possession, Schroder scored to give the hosts a 110-108 lead with 48 seconds to go. The Pacers had to score, and fast. They took a timeout.

But they didn't score. Siakam missed a shot, and Toppin committed a foul on the rebound. After two Nets free throws, Toppin tossed away a turnover. Suddenly, Indiana was down four with under 30 seconds left and they were on defense. Their final moments had been atrocious.

Brooklyn was going to need to make free throws to seal the game, and they made three of the first four they had to make late. Indiana was down 115-111 with the ball in the final seven seconds.

They missed a three and fell 115-111. They fell to 43-34 with the loss. The Pacers would have expanded their grip on sixth place in the East with a win, but they lost and fell into seventh place.

Haliburton finished with 24 points and eight assists. Siakam had 26 points and nine rebounds. They next play on Friday when the Oklahoma City Thunder come to Indianapolis.

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