Pacers fall to winless Nets for fourth-straight loss: Four things learned

INDIANAPOLIS – The Pacers broke out their ABA classic court on Sunday night for the first time in the 2026-27 season. It looks great. The uniforms for both the Pacers and the visiting Brooklyn Nets – two former ABA teams – were sharp.

Would the basketball be sharp? The Pacers entered with three-straight losses. The Nets haven't won a game all year. The injury report suggested this one was going to be ugly. Obi Toppin, who was listed as questionable with a back issue, was ruled out about two hours before the game. Tyrese Haliburton, T.J. McConnell, Ivica Zubac, Ben Sheppard, and Johnny Furphy are still sidelined.

That left 11 available players for the struggling Pacers against the winless Nets. So, again, thankfully the court and jerseys looked good. Because the game itself? It projected to be ugly.

What was learned in Pacers vs Nets?

Circle City Spin

The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, up close

Circle City SpinTony East

The Pacers offense was awful

There are bad halves of basketball, and then there was the first half of Pacers-Nets.

Recall that last weekend, the Pacers went into Brooklyn (with Tyrese Haliburton) and scored 41 points in just the second quarter. In the first half of Sunday night's game? The Pacers scored 40 in total. They had a hard time with just about every aspect of scoring.

After 12 minutes, the Pacers had nine points. 16 minutes into the game, they had 21. For a team known for a flowing style and good shot making, the Pacers had no flow and couldn't make a thing.

At halftime, the Pacers were 12/37 from the field (32%) and had made just four of their 20 threes. It was an awful, ugly half.

The second half began with similar struggles for the Pacers, who didn't score for 3.5 minutes to open the third quarter and had five points in the first five minutes of that frame. Scoring points was a chore regardless of who was on the court.

"I think it's a challenge that we're faced with, but something that we've just got to work through," guard Andrew Nembhard said of the team's few available ball handlers and what it means for their offense. "Keep the ball moving on that side of the floor. And everybody's got to step up."

After three periods, crucial starters were all having off nights. Nembhard was 1/8. Aaron Nesmith was 3/8. They needed to be better.

In the fourth quarter, the Pacers did finally knock down some jumpers. Nembhard found his way to the paint more often than he did earlier in the game. But it was too little, too late to make up for their sluggish first three frames.

The Pacers final shooting percentage: 40% (28/70).

The Pacers honored ABA legends

At the game's first stoppage, the Pacers honored several ABA legends. Using the ABA court and uniforms, it was fitting.

Charles Edge, Mike Flynn, Dave Robisch, Don Buse, Billy Knight, Bob Netolicky, Darnell Hillman, and Freddie Lewis were celebrated by fans in a cool moment. A former training staff member joined them.

The Pacers got next to nothing from their centers

With Zubac out, the Pacers needed Jay Huff and/or Larry Nance to step up and be impactful at the five. But since Zubac went down, those two have struggled.

Sunday night was more of the same. With three minutes left in the third quarter, Nance and Huff had combined for zero points in about 30 combined minutes. They had seven rebounds and seven fouls.

"We've got to look at ways to play cleaner and without fouling and to keep our guys in the game," Carlisle said postgame of his centers. "There's a lot of challenges right now, but that's what the whole thing is about."

Opposing teams rarely guard either of them from beyond the arc. They couldn't keep Day'Ron Sharpe off the glass. Their rim protection wasn't good enough.

Often, the Pacers best minutes were with Pascal Siakam or Jalen Slawson at the five. This has been concerning for the Pacers through seven games.

The final combined stats from Nance and Huff: Four points, nine rebounds, one assist.

Rebounding was once again a problem

Related to the above point about centers, the Pacers have been a poor rebounding team in the last week or so. That continued against the Nets.

Brooklyn pulled in multiple offensive rebounds in which multiple Pacers players were around the ball. Those have to be pulled in by the Pacers. But their effort and box outs weren't good enough.

The Pacers cannot afford to lose the turnover battle when they can't make shots. And yet, that continues to happen. It's not possible to win without an efficiency or possession advantage. The final rebounding margin: Nets 43, Pacers 37.

"The thing that we talked about before the game was the rebounds and ball security. And we lost the rebounds... The margins are slim for everybody," Carlisle said.

And so, the Pacers lost to the previously-winless Nets. That's now two teams (Brooklyn and Milwaukee) that have only beaten the Pacers this season. Obviously, that's not good.

The Pacers are now 2-5 after falling 98-90 to the Nets.

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