Back in Brooklyn after a five-game road trip, but without the starting backcourt of Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert, the Nets dropped a 115-86 final to the Indiana Pacers at Barclays Center on Monday night.
The Nets cut Indiana’s big first-half lead to 12 points midway through the third quarter, but got no further in pressuring the Pacers.
Spencer Dinwiddie, making his second straight start with Irving out, led Brooklyn with 28 points and eight assists, making 4-of-8 3-pointers. Jarrett Allen posted his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Garrett Temple had 10 points.
After a quick start, the Nets fell behind by as many as 28 points in the first half and trailed 59-35 at halftime.
Early threes from Dinwiddie powered Brooklyn’s 14-6 lead five minutes in, but the offense stalled from there. The Pacers outscored the Nets 23-4 over the next 11 minutes to build a double-digit lead. Indiana went on to shoot 57.7 percent in the second quarter, including 7-for-10 from 3-point range, going up 59-31 before the Nets scored the final four points of the half.
The Nets cut into that halftime lead with eight straight points in the opening minutes of the third quarter. With Indiana still up by 20, a 10-2 Brooklyn run capped by a Temple 3-pointer brought the Nets within 12, 77-65.
Dinwiddie scored 16 points in the quarter and the Nets made 6-of-10 3-pointers, going into the fourth quarter trailing 84-68.