Indiana Pacers Dominate Brooklyn Nets With 133-111 Victory

1. First Quarter

After a pair of days off for the Indiana Pacers, it took a couple possessions for them to get going. Brooklyn scored the first dour points of the game, but Indiana responded with a big run. Aaron Nesmith got the Pacers on the board with a floater and then Myles Turner gave Indiana the lead with a three-pointer. Indiana would never relinquish the lead or even let Brooklyn tie it. Indiana’s run ended up being 15-0 with Turner converting layup with 8:07 left in the quarter. Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas made a layup to make it 23-13 with 6:32 left in the period. The Pacers then went on a 7-0 burst led by Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. Later in the quarter, Indiana’s lead reached a quarter high 18 points after a Doug McDermott three. They would lead 43-27 after the first. Haliburton led all scorers with 14 points followed by Thomas with 12 points.

2. Second Quarter

In the first quarter, Indiana held Brooklyn to 45.5% shooting from the field and 1/6 from three-point range. Brooklyn’s offense did not improve in the second quarter. The Nets shot 32% in the quarter and went 1/7 from downtown. Jarace Walker put Indiana ahead by 21 points after getting the offensive rebound off a Jalen Smith missed free throw with 10:33 left in the first half. Brooklyn never went on a run. It was a second night of a back-to-back for them and it showed. Mikal Bridges made Brooklyn’s only three to make it a 60-40 game with 6:24 left in the half. The Pacers went on a 9-0 lead to take their largest lead in the first half with a Haliburton layup. During that run, Pascal Siakam scored five points and had one assist to Haliburton for the layup. At halftime, Indiana led 75-47 over Brooklyn. Haliburton paced all scorers with 21 points while dishing out 7 assists. Brooklyn’s leading scorer was Thomas with 13 points. On top of holding Brooklyn to 38% from the field, Indiana had a rebounding advantage of five.

3. Third Quarter

Late in the first half, Myles Turner’s hand got caught in the net and had to leave the game. Jalen Smith got the second half start in his place and got the offense started for the Pacers. After a Siakam layup, Smith scored seven straight points for the Pacers. Trendon Watford converted a fadeaway jumper to trim Indiana’s lead to 22 points. Following that basket, Indiana went on a 18-4 to go up a game high 35 points with 1:20 remaining in the quarter on a Ben Sheppard three-point play. After thirty-six minutes, Indiana’s advantage was 108-77. Aaron Nesmith had three field goals in the quarter, leading Indiana with 7 points in the quarter. Brooklyn got 9 points from Thomas. Haliburton still led all scorers with 27 points and dished out 13 assists with ZERO turnovers. Thomas led Brooklyn in scoring with 22 points.

4. Fourth Quarter

With the game decided, Rick Carlisle did not have to call upon his starters at all in the final quarter of play. McDermott played all twelve minutes in the quarter. Other players that played some time for Indiana were T.J. McConnell, Ben Sheppard, Obi Toppin, Jarace Walker, Isaiah Jackson, Kendall Brown, and Isaiah Wong. The largest lead of the night for the Pacers was 35 points that came from Toppin on a free throw. With 4:17 left in the contest, the Wong made his NBA debut and scored on his first shot. Brooklyn outscored Indiana in the quarter 34-25, but they still lost 133-111.

5. Top Performers

Tyrese Haliburton (27p, 13a, 4r, 4 threes), Jalen Smith (17p, 10r), Pascal Siakam (15p, 6r), Obi Toppin (14p, 4r, 3a), Aaron Nesmith (11p, 4r), T.J. McConnell (10p, 8a, 4r), and Myles Turner (9p, 6r, 5b). For Brooklyn, Cam Thomas (22p), Trendon Watford (21p), Mikal Bridges (19p, 6a), Lonnie Walker IV (14p, 7r, 3a), Nic Claxton (7p, 11r), and Day’Ron Sharpe (6p, 11r).  For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana is 10 games over .500 for the first time this season
• Indiana’s 43 points in the first quarter marked the 18th time this season they’ve scored 40+ in a quarter
• Tonight’s win marked the 29th time this season Indiana has won by 10+ points
  • 13 of their last 15 wins have come by 10+ points
    • Indiana only have 9 wins by 10+ last season
• Tyrese Haliburton’s 27 points are the most he’s scored in a game since 31 vs Milwaukee on 1/3/24
  • Haliburton has now made 3+ threes in four straight games
• Tyrese Haliburton recorded his 42nd double-double of the season
  • 8th double-double with 0 turnovers
    • Fred VanVleet and Chris Paul are second with four
  • Jalen Smith recorded his 5th double-double of the campaign
  • Myles Turner registered 5 blocks for the 5th time in just 14 minutes
  • J. McConnell extends his double-digit scoring streak to 10 games (career high)
  • Isaiah Wong made his NBA debut – scored 2 points on 1/3 shooting
  • Trendon Watford scored a season high 21 points
  • Indiana sits 6th in the Eastern Conference Standings – 6 games left
    • Trail the New York Knicks by 2.5 games for 4th – 8 games left
    • Trail the Orlando Magic by 1.5 games for 5th – 7 games left
    • Have 1 game lead over Miami Heat (7th) – 8 games left
    • Have 2.5 game lead over Philadelphia 76ers (8th) – 7 games left

7. Next Up

The Indiana Pacers will take on the Brooklyn Nets again on Wednesday night, but this time from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Indiana will then return home for a pair of home games. Wednesday’s contest will start at 7:30pm with Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill having the play-by-play. Pat Boylan will get things started with the Kroger Pregame Show at 7pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.