Game Rewind: Pacers 98, Nets 105

Playing in their fourth road game of the season, the Pacers traveled to the Barclays Center to take on an experienced Brooklyn Nets squad. Although Indiana (1-5) showed some fire after a tough outing against the Toronto Raptors, the squad ultimately fell to the star-studded Nets (3-3), 105-98, after giving up a 16-point first-half lead.

With 5:15 remaining, Indiana battled back to tie the score at 90. However, James Harden ignited an 8-0 Brooklyn run to grab the lead for good. Coming into Friday, Harden was averaging 16.6 points per game. The 11-year star scored a game-high 29, including 16 from the free-throw line alone.

Torrey Craig had a career night for Indiana, scoring 28 on 9-of-16 shooting and hauling in 11 boards off the bench. Chris Duarte continued his impressive rookie campaign by adding 18, while Domantas Sabonis added 16. The Nets have won five straight in the series.

"We had to be more aggressive," Craig said postgame. "Malcolm (Brogdon) is out, Caris (LeVert) is out, we're missing a lot of key guys. So I knew somebody had to step up, and it was an opportunity for me to step up. That's what I tried to do."

Indiana broke a 3-3 tie with a 10-2 run, including seven unanswered, to take a 13-5 lead with 7:43 left in the first. Justin Holiday anchored the surge with two crisp pull-up triples in transition, while Indiana's defense held Brooklyn to just two field goals over the first five minutes of the game.

Brooklyn quickly closed the gap to 13-10, but Indiana responded with six unanswered to stretch the advantage to 19-10 with 5:25 to play. During the run, Sabonis used quick hands to poke the ball away from Harden twice, leading to easy transition buckets.

From there, Indiana kept the Nets at arm's length for the remainder of the period. The squad's reserves did a solid job limiting the Nets' offensive looks. Craig connected on three of his first four shots, including a pair of treys, to cap a 10-point first quarter. Indiana led 38-26 after one.

Craig carried his energy over to the second, running in to secure a putback layup after Jeremy Lamb's floater went long. The fifth-year player then dished a feed to Myles Turner for an easy bucket and found four points himself to push Indiana's advantage to 46-30 with 9:17 remaining.

But the Nets found their stride. In a 1:45 span, the hosts rattled off a 10-0 run to close Indiana's comfortable lead to 46-40. 15-year NBA veteran Paul Millsap tallied five points of the Brooklyn run.

Indiana continued to hang tough but scored just three points over a 3:31 span. Duarte then ended the drought at the 4:01 mark with a nifty reverse layup to extend the Pacers' lead to 51-46.

However, the Blue & Gold's cold streak continued. The defense did all they could, but Harden finally grabbed the Nets' first lead with a 25-foot, step-back three with 2:24 to play.

As the Pacers attempted to regain their footing, Harden did what he does best to close out the frame. The veteran got to the foul line multiple times to grab a 58-55 edge at the break.

Brooklyn continued rolling to start the third, using a 10-2 run to extend its lead to 68-57 with 8:45 to go in the third. The hosts used the charity stripe once again for four points during the run.

However, after a timeout, Indiana appeared to find momentum. Sabonis tallied five of a 10-0 Pacers run to close the deficit to one with 5:32 to play. But, Patty Mills responded with a trey to push the Nets' lead back to four.

Mills' three initiated another swift Brooklyn run. In the blink of an eye, the Nets pushed the lead back to 81-69 with 2:37 to play. The Blue & Gold failed to chip into the lead significantly before the start of the fourth and trailed 85-74 entering the final frame. They scored just 19 points in the third.

The Pacers' defense started hot in the fourth, holding Brooklyn scoreless over the first 4:05. During that span, Indiana notched six straight — four from Lamb — to cut the deficit to 85-80. Bruce Brown finally put the Nets on the board and ended the run at the 7:55 mark.

But the bucket did not stop Indiana's charge. Trailing 89-82, the Blue & Gold used an 8-1 spree to knot the score at 90 apiece with 5:15 to go. McConnell led the charge during the run by scoring four points and pushing the pace up the floor.

However, once again, Harden showed his talent. The veteran hit a floater through a foul on the Nets’ next possession to earn a lead. After McConnell missed a 3-point attempt, he found his way to the free-throw line for two more. Joe Harris would add a cutting layup to push the Nets’ lead to 96-90 and force a Pacers timeout with 4:06 to play.

Indiana cut the lead to six after McConnell's layup fell at the 2:51 mark. However, they could not find the buckets needed to come back. The Nets then tallied five straight to put the game away.

Indiana hopes home-court advantage will give the squad a boost as they take on the Toronto Raptors again on Saturday night.

Chris Duarte has finished in double figures in six straight Pacers games to start his career.

Indiana was outscored 59-36 over the second and third quarters. The Pacers have yet to outscore an opponent in the third quarter this year.

Harden (29 points) and Durant (22) were the only Nets starters to finish in double figures. But LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points off the bench to aid their efforts.

Indiana started 5-of-6 from deep but finished 3-for-23 the rest of the way.

"Overall, I really like the way we competed in this game. We certainly weren't perfect. But, our activity was a lot better. Our effort on loose balls was a lot better." –Carlisle on the positives tonight

"Those are two great players that I watched a lot when I started playing basketball. (I'm) really happy that I got the chance to go against those two guys tonight. One thing I learned (from) them two is staying locked in and (to) just keep playing." –Duarte on playing against Harden and Durant for the first time

The Nets were 31-of-41 from the free-throw line tonight while the Pacers connected on 16 of their 23 chances. Harden had 19 attempts — four more than his previous five games combined.

The Pacers will tip off a three-game homestand on Saturday, Oct. 30, when they host Fred VanVleet and the Toronto Raptors at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 7:30 PM ET. Find Tickets »