Nets continue slide with 121-105 loss to Pacers

By Bob Considine, for NBA.com
Posted Friday January 15, 2010 11:31PM

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (NBA.com exclusive) -- This isn't the longest losing streak the Nets have endured in this forgettable season. But it's getting to be their lowest point.

Because New Jersey's 121-105 loss to the Pacers on Friday night at the IZOD Center was further evidence that the team may be regressing in its current seven-game losing skid.

Danny Granger (28 points) and Troy Murphy (21 points, 14 rebounds) took advantage of a porous Net defense that allowed 70 points in the first half for a second consecutive game and 53 percent shooting overall.

The Nets got improved games from Brook Lopez (27 points) and Devin Harris (22 points, nine assists), but have still managed to lose four of their last six games by 16 points or more.

To a Net, the culprit, this time, was the team's failure to stay aggressive offensively in the second quarter after bursting out to an early seven-point lead that was a distant memory by the end of the game.

At 3-36, New Jersey now looks to a difficult a four-game West Coast trip.

"We start settling because we're feeling confident and it hurts us because they don't' go down and they create fast-break opportunities," Lopez said.

"We were playing very well and then we had about a three-minute period where we took long outside quick shots and we stopped being aggressive," Nets coach Kiki Vandeweghe added. "They got a couple 3-pointers on us, pulled out to about a 15, 16-point lead. And, listen, you can't trade baskets with those guys."

The Pacers, who snapped a nine-game road losing streak, entered the game as a team renewed. With a full slate of healthy players, Indiana (14-25) had notched come-back victories over Toronto (from 23 points down) and Phoenix (24 points down) this week.

Against the Nets, no such dramatics were needed.

"It's tremendously encouraging from the standpoint that this is the team that was put together," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "We didn't think we'd win the championship with the team we put together, but we thought we were better than 11-25 if we had all of our guys together. The whole offense and defense schemes were designed with certain guys being healthy. Now that they are healthy, we can go to different lineups."

O'Brien continues to succeed utilizing a smaller lineup, with Granger at power forward and Murphy or Roy Hibbert at center. The versatility and better spacing of the floor has Indiana getting to the line more and freeing up 3-point shots. The Pacers were 13 of 23 from downtown and 22 of 26 from the stripe.

"We look to see we're making double-digit threes every game," O'Brien added. "That's something any team has to take into consideration."

"We're being unselfish," Granger added. "That's always been one of the higher characteristics that we've had as a team. We're not always making shots, but we usually see the open man. We've been doing that the last three games."

It was a 24-5 Pacer run to close out the second quarter that put New Jersey in a hole it wouldn't get out of. The Pacers led 72-52 at the half, behind 55 percent shooting and Granger's 22 points.

The Nets also allowed 70 points in the first half of their 111-87 loss to Boston on Wednesday night.

Despite their losing ways, the Nets have been relatively successful smothering any kind of unrest or off-the-court distractions. The team released recently acquired Shawne Williams on Friday after the team learned he was indicted on an array of felony drug charges. Vandeweghe said New Jersey cut him loose because he was out of shape.

Then there was Chris Douglas-Roberts needing to clear the air with Vandeweghe about the perception he was complaining about the number of shots he was receiving. The most outspoken Net, who was held to eight points against the Pacers, said any reported discontent about the Net offense under Vandeweghe was "blown out of proportion."

Vandeweghe said he understood where Douglas-Roberts was coming from.

"I think he wants to win," he said. "He's a competitive guy."

Vandeweghe said his team has hung on to its sanity and work ethic "pretty well," considering the amount of losing it has endured.

"For that I'm pretty proud of the guys," he said. "They've held together. It's obviously tough. Again, I wasn't with them on a day-to-day basis at the beginning, and I know that was tough too. But for starting the way the team started to now, they still practice hard -- and that's part of it. We talked about it this morning a little bit. You try and build on good habits you know are right, and you try and limit bad ones. This team has been pretty good about it."

• Pacers: Ford, Foster, McRoberts
• Nets: Battie, Simmons

• Pacers: --
• Nets: --

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: IZOD Center, New Jersey, NJ
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #31 Scott Wall, #77 Kane Fitzgerald
• Attendance: 13656
• Duration: 2:13