Out of sync in the third quarter, the Brooklyn Nets never recovered in a 118-108 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Barclays Center on Wednesday night.
The Nets did cut a 10-point deficit to two early in the fourth quarter, only to allow an 11-2 Indiana run that had the Pacers back up by 11 with just over eight minutes to go. The Pacers eventually pushed that lead to 16 points.
Kyrie Irving led the Nets with 28 points, plus seven rebounds and six assists. DeAndre Jordan grabbed 17 rebounds and scored eight points.
Spencer Dinwiddie had 20 points and seven assists, while Caris LeVert scored 15 and Joe Harris had 13. Jarrett Allen had eight points and eight rebounds.
The Nets held a 63-60 lead at halftime after a shaky start that saw them down by 10 four minutes into the game.
Brooklyn came out of a timeout trailing by 10 and outscored the Pacers 23-12 over the next seven minutes to take a 29-28 lead, with Irving scoring nine of his 15 first-half points during that stretch. After making just one of their first seven shots, the Nets closed the first quarter shooting 9-17 over the final eight minutes.
Tied at 31 after the first quarter, the Nets opened up the second quarter on an 11-4 run, with a LeVert 3-pointer putting them up 42-35. Another LeVert three had the Nets up 48-41 as he scored 11 straight Brooklyn points in the middle of the quarter. Irving scored 10 of the Nets’ next 12, and an Allen dunk sent Brooklyn into the break up by three.
A 19-6 Indiana run gave the Pacers a 90-80 lead late in the third quarter before Dinwiddie cut the deficit to 90-83 going into the fourth.