Brooklyn Nets Push Indiana Pacers to Seventh With 115-111 Win

Source: Dylan Buell / Getty

(INDIANAPOLIS, IN.) – The Indiana Pacers (43-34) are now the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference after 115-111 loss to the Brooklyn Nets (30-47). 19-year-old rookie Noah Clowney records his first career double-double with a season/career high 22 points and 10 rebounds.

1. First Quarter

In their contest on Monday night, Brooklyn jumped ahead of Indiana 4-0 to start the game. Indiana responded with a 15-0 run after trailing. Tonight, Indiana would trail 11-4 and then respond with a 19-2 run to take a 23-13 lead with 2:37 left in the first quarter. Tyrese Haliburton was a key part of the run with six points, two assists, one steal, and one blocked shot. Aaron Nesmith was able to make a couple field goals during that stretch. Indiana would go up by a game high 14 points after an Obi Toppin triple to make it 29-15. Brooklyn outscored Indiana 4-2 the rest of the way to trail 31-19 after the first quarter. Mikal Bridges and Aaron Nesmith were tied for the lead in points scored with seven.

2. Second Quarter

Brooklyn opened the quarter by trimming Indiana’s lead down to seven points after a Cameron Johnson floater. The Pacers then responded with a 7-2 burst to go back up by a dozen after a Pascal Siakam putback. Brooklyn just slowly chipped away at the Indiana lead and eventually made it a one possession game after a pair of free throws from Thomas. His freebies made it a 44-41 game with 5:59 left in the half. The Pacers remained calm and went back ahead by eight points on two instances. The last one coming off an Andrew Nembhard two-pointer with 4:35 left in the half. Brooklyn answered with a 12-4 run that tied the game up at 55 with 2:28 left in the half on a Noah Clowney layup. He would eventually give the Nets a four-point advantage after converting his third three in the quarter before a Toppin three and a Haliburton layup to end the half. Indiana led Brooklyn 62-61 at intermission. Clowney scored 14 of Brooklyn’s 42 points in the second quarter. Thomas led all scorers with 15 points at halftime. Obi Topin led Indiana with 11 points.

3. Third Quarter

Indiana’s third quarters have been magical this season, but tonight it wasn’t as dominant as some quarters have been. The second half started with Haliburton converting a free throw off a delay of game technical foul. Brooklyn then went on a 17-6 run to take its largest lead of the game (at that moment) after a Thomas thirty-footer. At the halfway point, Indiana trailed 78-68. About ninety seconds after that Thomas three, Dorian Finney-Smith had a putback dunk to put Brooklyn ahead 83-70. Indiana regrouped when it needed to most. The Pacers outscored the Nets 15-3 to make it 86-85 after a Haliburton three-pointer. After three quarters of play, Brooklyn led Indiana 88-87. Haliburton and Thomas each scored 10 points in the quarter. Thomas led all scorers with 25 points followed by Clowney with 20 points. Indiana’s leading scorer was Haliburton with 18 points.

4. Fourth Quarter

The late third quarter surge Indiana made provided some hope that they would be able to provide enough of a spark to carry them to a victory, but it didn’t. They would go up 91-88 after a Pascal Siakam pullup jumper with 9:43 left. Mikal Bridges drilled a three for his first points since the first quarter to tie the game up. Toppin made a technical foul free throw after Shroeder threw the ball off the stanchion. Brooklyn got a stop defensively and then went on a 7-0 run to take a 98-92 lead with 7:15 left in the contest. Haliburton and Siakam then carried the team the rest of the way. Haliburton scored a three and then Siakam scored thirteen straight points for the Pacers. With 1:41 to go, Siakam gave Indiana a 108-105 lead. Bridges missed a floater, got his own rebound, and then retreated to the corner to tie the game up with a three over Nesmith. It led to an 8-0 run for Brooklyn to take the win away from Indiana. Final score was Brooklyn 115, Indiana 111.

5. Top Performers

Cam Thomas (27p, 4r), Noah Clowney (22p, 10r), Mikal Bridges (17p, 7r, 4a), Nic Claxton (14p, 13r), Dennis Shroeder (12p, 11a, 6r), and Dorian Finney-Smith (10p). For Indiana, Pascal Siakam (26p, 9r), Tyrese Haliburton (24p, 8a), and Obi Toppin (14p, 8r). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana is now 1-6 since All-Star break in clutch games
• Tyrese Haliburton has now made 3+ threes in 5 straight games
  • Second longest streak of the season (7 games in longest)
• J. McConnell’s streak of scoring 10+ points ends at 10 games
• Ben Sheppard is shooting 28.6% from 3-point range since March 1st
• Indiana’s 19 offensive rebounds are the 2nf most in a game this season
• Noah Clowney’s 22 points and 10 rebounds are season/career highs
  • Clowney 2nd youngest Net with 20+ points in a game (19 years, 264 days old)
• Nic Claxton recorded his 29th double-double of the season
• Dennis Shroeder notched his 8th double-double of the season
• Cam Thomas scored 20+ points for the 38th time this season
• Indiana now 7th in the Eastern Conference Standings – 5 games left
  • TIED with Miami Heat for 6th but they have a better winning percentage
  • Trail the Orlando Magic by 2.5 games for 4th
  • Trail the New York Knicks by 2 games for 5th
  • Have 1.5 game lead over Philadelphia 76ers (8th)

7. Next Up

The Indiana Pacers return home for two games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat. Their first opponent will be the Thunder on Friday night at 7pm. Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play starting then. Pat Boylan will get things started at 6:30pm with the Kroger Pregame Show on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.