Five things learned as Indiana Pacers respond, crush Brooklyn Nets
The Pacers bounced back and are 2-1.
The Pacers were donning their ABA Classic uniforms for the first time this season in Brooklyn as they took on the Nets Sunday night. The throwback jersey looked sharp, and how fitting – the Pacers needed to be sharp themselves.
They were down as much as 37 in their loss against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. That night featured a dismal first half for the Pacers, who got going in the second half but were never within 13 points. They needed more effort, more focus, and more flow.
For the first time of the season, the Pacers opened the game with their expected starting lineup of Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Ivica Zubac. Perhaps that could help them with rhythm.
What was learned in Pacers vs Nets?
Tony East
Ugly turnovers for the Pacers early
The Pacers had eight turnovers in the first quarter, and many of them were ugly.
Siakam forced a lob over the top. Nesmith over dribbled in the corner. Several players tossed daring, and off target, passes.
"We had some turnovers in the first half that were a bit uncharacteristic," head coach Rick Carlisle said postgame.
The Pacers shot about eight percentage points better from the field than the Nets did in the first quarter. But Indiana trailed after that period because of their high turnover volume (Booklyn also had eight) and too many shooting fouls giving the Nets easy points at the foul line.
Ivica Zubac goes down with an injury
With about five minutes to go in the first quarter, Zubac rolled his left ankle when his foot landed on Kelly Oubre's foot. They were both pursuing the same rebound.
Zubac was limping for the next few possessions as he tried to stay in the game. But at the next stoppage, he left the bench area and went back to the locker room. The Pacers then announced that Zubac was questionable to return with a left ankle sprain.
At the time, Zubac had two points and two assists – he made two nice reads from the middle of the floor to set up his teammates. And that was Zubac's final statline – he did not return.
Carlisle's full quote postgame when asked about Zubac's health: "X-rays were negative for a fracture. He's got some swelling. Pretty unlikely he'll play tomorrow night, but we'll see. Hopefully it'll be a day-to-day thing, but you never know. Maybe he'll feel a lot better in the morning. It's hard to say. I think it's probably unlikely. But I talked to him after the game and he said, 'I'll be alright'. He had one of these last year and he missed a little bit of time. And we actually sat him a pretty significant amount of time when we traded for him to make sure that he was completely 100% healthy. So I'm not sure if it's the same ankle or not. Hopefully it's not going to be too bad."
It is the same ankle (left) as last season. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Zubac left the arena on crutches.
Bigger forwards stepped up in the first half
The first half of this game was a slog. The Pacers had 13 turnovers and 15 fouls. The Nets attempted 23 free throws. It made for a clunky game, and the Pacers had to rely on their halfcourt offense.
Fortunately, their bigger forwards were able to thrive in that environment during the first two quarters. Siakam, a master in most settings, stood out – he wiggled and spun his way into 15 points on just eight shots attempts, scoring when few others could.
"He's a great player," Carlisle said of Siakam postgame. "His three-point stroke has looked really good this year. We just need him to keep playing his game."
Obi Toppin was great too, drilling two threes and finishing the first half with eight points and four rebounds. Oubre had his best half of the season with 10 points – he was slashing and cutting at a much higher level.
"I think we're more decisive," Oubre said during his halftime interview with Jeremiah Johnson on the DAZN broadcast. "I'm just playing harder. They've been encouraging me to be myself," he added of his own performance.
Oubre, Siakam, and Toppin combined for over half of the Pacers first-half points (33/65). And the Pacers led 65-56 at halftime.
Jay Huff stepped up
While Toppin has filled in admirably as the Pacers backup five when needed, the team needed one of their reserve bigs to step up at some point. With Zubac out, Jay Huff was ready for the task.
He raised his level in a big way, hitting five of his first six shots and providing great rim protection. During one sequence, he blocked a shot from Nets star Michael Porter Jr at the basket, then ran the floor and scored after a pass from Haliburton. It was Haliburton's first-ever assist to Huff.
"Huff and (Larry) Nance really did a terrific job of being ready and doing what was necessary," Carlisle said. "[Huff] protected the rim, he got rebounds, he hit some shots."
A few possessions later, Huff set up Haliburton for a bucket. Halfway through the third quarter, Huff had 12 points, three assists, and three blocks. The Pacers were +12 with him on the court at the time. With Zubac absent, Huff was great and was building important chemistry with Haliburton.
Huff's final stat line: 14 points, two rebounds, three assists, three blocks.
The Pacers shot the ball incredibly well
The Pacers offensive flow improved tremendously once the second quarter started. They got their turnover issues under control, then ironed out their pacing as they figured out the Nets' coverages.
That led to open jump shots, and the Pacers drilled them. Across the second and third quarters, the Pacers scored 80 points. Halfway through the fourth quarter, they were shooting 18/40 from long range.
"We developed a good rhythm as the game went on. I thought we took, for the most part, very good ones," Carlisle said of his team's three-point shot diet postgame.
That's an exceptional percentage, and it was guiding the Pacers. To the team's credit, their lead was so large that a normal shooting percentage would still have had them ahead on the scoreboard. But their shooting was phenomenal.
As the fourth quarter wound down, the Pacers continued to make shots. They finished with a field goal percentage of 57.6% and beat the Nets 136-109 to improve to 2-1. They're in Milwaukee tomorrow to battle the Bucks. Haliburton says he will play.
Thank you for reading. A story coming shortly on the Fever's front office shakeup, plus Pacers stuff as their games continue. And, of course, Fever season reviews. Sign up and you'll get all of it in your email inbox.
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