Leading by 19 points early in the second quarter, the Nets were well on their way to a huge win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night in Brooklyn. Thanks to incredible ball movement, non-stop paint penetration and timely defense and rebounding, they overcame an early 7-0 deficit to go off on a 33-8 run to end the opening quarter.
However, the second frame took a rapid turn for the worse as the Pacers–after being down 39-20–scored 32 of the game’s next 43 points to eventually take the lead on a Solomon Hill three-pointer, assisted by former Net pariah C.J. Watson. Brooklyn would string some baskets together at the end of the half to regain the lead but the damage had already been done.
Blowing first half leads en route to brutal, late losses has been a scary and recurring theme for the Nets this season. It has led to both losses to the Suns–which were equally excruciating–as well as some other tough defeats that have left the Nets in the playoff predicament they are in.
Indiana came out of the halftime intermission like a desperate team needing a win to stay relevant in the push for the No. 8 seed. The Pacers’ pair of Hill’s–George and Solomon–along with David West scored all but one of their team’s points in the third, leading the Pacers–at the 9:56 mark–to grab a four-point lead (61-57), their largest of the game. The lead would be short-lived, though, as the Nets–behind Joe Johnson and Alan Anderson–stormed back to take a 84-79 advantage heading into the fourth.
Brooklyn was able to keep Indiana at arm’s length for much of the final frame, with a lead varying from around six to 10 points for a good portion of the home stretch. Every Damjan Rudez shot or Luis Scola layup was soon answered with one from the home team.
But, down 103-95 with just under three minutes left, the Pacers got a few free throws from West and a bucket from George Hill and climbed back down three points. Yet, as they did all night, Brooklyn got some key jumpers–a two and a three from Joe–to go back up eight and seal the victory away. Brooklyn wins the season series with Indiana–gained a needed tiebreaker–and is the sole No. 8 seed in the East again.
Assorted thoughts: The Nets’ shooting line (FG%/3FG%/FT%) tonight: 50/50/78. One of Brooklyn’s main issues this season has been three-point shooting and how inconsistent it has been. Against the Pacers, it was pretty darn good. The Nets made nine of their 18 attempts, with three makes apiece from both Joe and Alan Anderson. Sure, they missed a bunch of open ones but the ones they made–like Joe’s late in the fourth quarter to put Brooklyn up 108-100. That one was the clincher….Reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week Brook Lopez kept up his incredible stretch of play with yet another double-double, this of the 24-point and 11-rebound variety. Oh, and he committed zero turnovers, blocked two shots and made 11 of his 17 shots. Cannot get much better than that….Joe and Deron Williams were on top of their games, as well, as Brooklyn’s shooting and point guards combined for 32 points (21 for Joe and 11 for Deron) with 12 rebounds and 12 assists. Foul trouble limited D-Will’s playing time a bit but he managed to control the game while he was in. The problems for Brooklyn came when Jarrett Jack checked in, as he took a bunch of bad shots and made some costly turnovers late in the fourth quarter. Also, just one total turnover for both Joe and Deron. The Nets as a team only committed eight, compared to 10 for the Pacers….Thaddeus Young was a little rusty coming back from his injury absence but did grab seven rebounds (only shot 4-11 from the field). He did play 39 minutes, so clearly that hyperextended knee was far from an issue for him. Still, the Nets benefited from his defense on David West and Lavoy Allen….Alan Anderson flies under the radar often, but has been a huge bench piece for Brooklyn this season. He enters games, hits important threes, defends talented wing players and does work on the board. In 24 minutes, he went 7-11 from the field, scoring 20 to a +13 rating. While the rest of the Nets’ bench struggled, he shined and was a huge reason as to why his team continued its winning ways.
Onto the next one: Tomorrow night at MSG against the dreadful Knicks. TRAP GAME.
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