Matchup
After a three-game road trip, the Pacers (17-21) return home to host the Brooklyn Nets (27-13) on Wednesday night with Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Pacers picked up an impressive win on Saturday night, rolling the red-hot Suns in Phoenix in Caris LeVert's debut. The Blue & Gold looked on their way to another victory on Monday night in Denver after rallying from a 20-point first half deficit to take a four-point lead over the Nuggets into the fourth quarter.
But a disastrous start to the fourth quarter doomed Indiana, as Denver outscored the Pacers 22-2 over the first 7:04 of the final frame. Indiana went 1-for-11 from the field and committed five turnovers in that span, which led to a 121-106 defeat.
Despite the loss, LeVert had another solid game, tallying 17 points and and three steals in 29 minutes. After going 0-for-4 from 3-point range against Phoenix, he fond his shooting stroke on Monday, connecting on 3-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc.
LeVert's first home game as a Pacer will come against his former team. The Nets have been without star forward Kevin Durant since Feb. 13 due to a hamstring injury, but that has hardly mattered, as the Nets have won 11 of 12 since Durant went down.
Brooklyn's dynamic backcourt duo of Kyrie Irving and James Harden (the latter of whom they acquired in the four-team trade that sent LeVert to Indiana) has been wreaking havoc on opposing defenses. Irving is eighth in the NBA in scoring at 27.6 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from 3-point range. Harden is right behind him at 25 points per game, leads the NBA in assists (11.1 per game) and ranks second in the league with 10 triple-doubles.
Projected Starters
Malcolm Brogdon
Caris LeVert
Justin Holiday
Domantas Sabonis
Myles Turner
James Harden
Bruce Brown
Joe Harris
Jeff Green
DeAndre Jordan
Pacers: PG - Malcolm Brogdon, SG - Caris LeVert, SF - Justin Holiday, PF - Domantas Sabonis, C - Myles Turner
>Nets: PG - James Harden, SG - Bruce Brown, SF - Joe Harris, PF - Jeff Green, C - DeAndre Jordan
Injury Report
Pacers: Jeremy Lamb - questionable (sore left knee), T.J. Warren - out (left foot stress fracture)
Nets: Spencer Dinwiddie - out (right knee partially torn ACL), Kevin Durant - out (left hamstring strain), Blake Griffin - out (left knee injury management), Kyrie Irving - out (sore right groin)
Last Meeting
Feb. 10, 2021: The Nets raced out to a 62-30 halftime lead and cruised to a 114-94 victory over the Pacers in Brooklyn.
"A lot of things," coach Nate Bjorkgren answered when asked what went wrong in the first half. "I didn't think we were moving the ball there with a purpose. I thought we got frustrated. There was a number of things that I would have liked to take back."
Domantas Sabonis led Indiana with 18 points and nine rebounds in the loss. Malcolm Brogdon addedd 15 points, five rebounds, and six assists, while T.J. McConnell contributed 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists off the bench.
Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 35 points and also dished out eight assists. James Harden recorded a triple-double in the victory with 19 points, 11 boards, and 11 assists.
Noteworthy
- The Pacers have dropped their last two games against the Nets. Brooklyn has not won three straight games against Indiana since it swept the season series in 2012-13.
- Pacers center Myles Turner has blocked a shot in 54 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NBA and tied with Jermaine O'Neal for the longest streak in franchise history.
- The Nets signed six-time All-Star Blake Griffin on March 8. Griffin became a free agent after agreeing to a buyout with Detroit days earlier.
Tickets
A limited number of tickets for all upcoming Pacers home games from March 17 - April 21 are now on sale. Tickets for the final nine regular season home games will go on sale on Monday, April 19. Single Game Tickets » Health & Safety Guidelines »
Broadcast Information TV & Radio Listings »
TV: FOX Sports Indiana - Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)
Please Note: Inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Pacers radio broadcasts can be heard on 1080 AM instead of 1070.