Game Rewind: Pacers 123, Nets 119 (OT)

Christmas came early for the Pacers fans in attendance on Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, as Indiana (19-14) held off the Brooklyn Nets (12-20) for the third time this season, coming away with a 123-119 overtime victory.

The Pacers led by nine points with 5:54 left in the fourth quarter before Brooklyn rallied, sending the game to overtime thanks to three late free throws by Spencer Dinwiddie after a controversial foul call.

But the Pacers remained positive and handled their business in the extra period.

Bojan Bogdanovic's 3-pointer with 3:38 left in overtime gave Indiana a 117-114 lead and the hosts remained in front until DeMarre Carroll's three with 45.6 seconds to play tied the game again at 119.

Victor Oladipo drew a foul on the other end and calmly knocked down both foul shots to make it 121-119 with 29.8 seconds remaining.

Dinwiddie then had a chance to win the game from the left wing, but his shot came up short. Oladipo secured the rebound and hit two more free throws in the final second to put the finishing touches on a 38-point, six-assist performance.

"It's really the start of a new game, it's 0-0," Oladipo said about the team's attitude heading into overtime. "You've got to go out there and play your game. We did a great job settling down. Getting stops was huge. We've just got to build on it."

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Earlier, Indiana had trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half before surging back in signature fashion. The Pacers have already won four home games this season in which they trailed by 17 or more points.

"We've still got to get off to better starts," Pacers center Myles Turner said after the win. "We're having trouble doing that, but I like the way that we're responding."

The Pacers briefly led late in the third quarter, but moved back in front after a Lance Stephenson free throw with 8:29 remaining in the contest. Bogdanovic then knocked down a mid-range jumper and a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to give Indiana a six-point lead.

Stephenson then electrified the crowd, stealing the ball from Carroll, racing down the floor, and converting a circus shot while drawing a foul. The crowd erupted as Stephenson, seated under the basket, stuck out his tongue, and unleashed his trademark shimmy move.

The subsequent free throw gave the hosts a 93-84 lead with 7:14 to play and they maintained a multiple-possession lead for the next several minutes. Carroll's 3-pointer with 54 seconds left made it a 108-106 game, but Darren Collison answered on the other end, driving by his defender for a layup with 31.1 seconds to play.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson's putback then made it 110-108 with 22.3 seconds remaining. After Turner made one of two free throws, giving the Nets a chance to tie the game.

Brooklyn inbounded to Dinwiddie in the left corner. He rose up for a shot and Cory Joseph was whistled for a foul on the play despite not leaving his feet. Joseph's hand grazed Dinwiddie's arm and after a lengthy review, the officials confirmed that the Nets guard was just behind the 3-point line.

Dinwidde made all three foul shots to tie the game at 111 with 19.9 seconds to play.

Oladipo had a look from the top of the arc to win the game at the buzzer, but his pull-up three hit off the back iron and the Pacers headed to overtime for the second time this season.

"I felt like I was open," Oladipo said of the shot. "I felt like (the defender) was on his heels a little bit and I just rose up and shot it with confidence."

It was a rare misstep for the Pacers' leading scorer, who was 13-for-23 from the field and 10-for-10 from the free throw line on the night. The home crowd even serenaded him with "MVP" chants down the stretch as he sealed the win in overtime.

"We tell Vic just to go, man," Turner said. "He just plays with so much energy, so much pop. We just let Vic be Vic. It's great that he's being embraced by these fans here.

Turner played the Robin to Oladipo's Batman, racking up 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting (3-of-4 from 3-point range), nine rebounds, and six blocks.

Riding high after a 35-point win over the Wizards on Friday night, the Nets carried that momentum over into the first quarter of Saturday's contest. Brooklyn hit seven of its first nine shots and jumped out to a 21-9 lead. The Pacers responded with eight unanswered points, but the visitors took a 28-21 advantage into the second period.

The Nets continued to control the game in the second quarter, going 5-of-11 from 3-point range in the frame and extending their lead to as many as 19 points. Overall, Brooklyn was 9-for-19 from beyond the arc in the first half, while Indiana was just 2-for-4, as the visitors took a 57-41 lead into halftime.

The Blue & Gold came out with much better energy to start the second half, opening the third quarter with an 11-0 run to trim their deficit to five points.

They used another 10-0 run later in the frame — a sequence which included a monster dunk by Turner on Nets rookie Jarrett Allen — to surge in front. Collison's 3-pointer with 3:20 left in the third quarter gave the Pacers a 69-68 lead, their first lead since the opening minute of the contest.

The two teams traded the lead a few times the rest of the quarter, with the Nets taking an 81-80 lead into the fourth. Turner was especially effective in the third quarter, playing the entire period and racking up 13 points, including two 3-pointers and a pair of dunks.

That set the stage for the wild finish.

Bogdanovic finished with 17 points for Indiana, Collison added 14 points and nine assists, and Stephenson chipped in 11 points off the bench.

Dinwiddie led Brooklyn with 26 points and eight assists, going 5-for-11 from 3-point range. Carroll added 20 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists in the loss.

The Pacers return to action on Tuesday night, when they visit the Detroit Pistons at 7:00 PM ET for their final meeting of the regular season.

Though it will be just a day after Christmas, the contest between the two Central Division rivals could have major playoff implications. Indiana needs a win to split the season series, otherwise the Pistons will own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Indiana should the two teams finish the year with the same record.

Oladipo now has scored 20 or more points in 24 games and topped 30 points in seven contests.

Turner's six blocks matched his career high, set on Feb. 19, 2016 at Oklahoma City.

Indiana outscored Brooklyn 54-40 in the paint and 18-6 on the fastbreak.

Brooklyn finished the night 16-for-36 from 3-point range (44.4 percent). The Pacers were 10-for-23 (43.5 percent).

Domantas Sabonis had a solid all-around game for Indiana, tallying nine points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

"I don't know what's happening. It's just a different team the second half. What we're not getting early is stops defensively and I think we're thinking about the offensive end of the floor." -Pacers coach Nate McMillan on his team falling into early holes at home

"Coach talked about moving the ball. We're all talented enough to score. We have some guys that can really shoot the ball. We can play together and that’s what we've been doing all season long, so why stop now?" -Collison

"This one stings a lot. It was right there. It felt like we outplayed them the whole game besides that third quarter where we came out lackadaisical. This one hurts but at the end of the day, we know we're right there." -Carroll

"Oladipo. Gotta give the guy credit. He is playing elite, elite basketball. He's one of the best players in the league right now. Give him a lot of credit. We didn't really find the solution to stop him." -Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson

The Pacers had 31 assists in Saturday's win, their fourth game with 30 or more assists this season.

The Pacers head to Detroit to take on the Pistons on Tuesday, Dec. 26 at 7:00 PM ET.

The Pacers return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to host Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »