The Brooklyn Nets beat the Indiana Pacers 98-90 on Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, snapping a five-game losing streak behind 23 points from Michael Porter Jr. and a double-double from Day’Ron Sharpe. Julius Randle added 20 points and six assists as Brooklyn improved to 1-5.
The The Nets built their advantage in the paint and at the free-throw line, outscoring Indiana 30-26 in points in the paint and making 25 of 31 free throws (81%) compared to Indiana’s 21-of-30 (70%). Brooklyn led by as many as 12 points and never trailed in the fourth quarter.
Key Moments And How It Was Won
Indiana’s largest lead of the night was just one point, a sign of how little separation existed through three quarters. The Pacers briefly grabbed a 10-9 edge in the first quarter on Jarace Walker’s three-pointer, but Brooklyn answered with a 5-0 run capped by back-to-back free throws from Julius Randle to retake control, 14-10.
Moritz Wagner provided a spark off the bench, scoring on a three-pointer and two driving layups during a second-quarter stretch that pushed the Nets’ lead to 41-35 by halftime. Brooklyn carried that cushion into the second half and outscored Indiana 28-22 in the third quarter to push its largest lead to 12 points.
Indiana out-scored Brooklyn 28-27 in the fourth quarter, but the deficit built over the first three periods proved too much. The Pacers shot 70% from the free-throw line as a team, well below Brooklyn’s 81% clip, a gap that mattered in a game decided by eight points.
Top Performers
Porter led all Nets scorers with 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting, adding nine rebounds in 36 minutes. Sharpe posted 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench, while Randle finished with 20 points, five rebounds and a team-high six assists. Nolan Traore chipped in 16 points and six assists.
Andrew Nembhard paced Indiana with 23 points on 7-of-19 shooting. Pascal Siakam added 17 points and five assists, and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 11 off the bench. Aaron Nesmith finished with 11 points but posted a team-worst minus-15 rating in 30 minutes.
What It Means
The win halts a five-game skid for Brooklyn, which entered Sunday at the bottom of the Atlantic Standings at 0-5. The Nets remain fifth in the Atlantic at 4.5 games back of first-place Philadelphia, but earn their first winning streak of the season. The season series is tied 1-1.
Indiana’s loss extends its skid to four games and drops the Pacers to third in the Central Standings at 2-5, 3.5 games behind first-place Detroit. The Pacers have now lost three of their last four games by single digits, a pattern that has kept them out of the division’s upper tier early in the season.
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