Cameron Johnson scored 26 points, Ben Simmons keyed a decisive fourth-quarter run and the Brooklyn Nets fended off a late comeback attempt in their 99-90 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night in New York.
Johnson returned from missing the Nets’ 26-point loss at Chicago on Monday due to an ankle injury and hit seven of Brooklyn’s 12 3-pointers. He shot 7 of 18 overall and also grabbed seven rebounds.
Nic Claxton added 16 points and eight rebounds and Shake Milton contributed 15 points off the bench as the Nets nearly let a 21-point lead slip away. Jalen Wilson added 11 as Brooklyn shot 43.2 percent and rebounded from its most lopsided loss this season.
Simmons had seven points after sitting out the loss to the Bulls with a sore left knee but was involved in several facets of Brooklyn’s 10-0 run midway through the fourth that turned an 80-80 tie into a 90-80 lead. He also collected nine assists and seven rebounds in 21 minutes.
Tyrese Haliburton struggled most of the night and scored 17 points as the Pacers dropped their eighth straight road game. Pascal Siakam and T.J. McConnell added 14 apiece as the Pacers shot 42.7 percent and missed 25 of 33 3-point attempts.
Obi Toppin added 13 points and rookie Johnny Furphy contributed 12 but Myles Turner was held to 11 and Bennedict Mathurin was limited to eight on 3-of-12 shooting from the field.
Indiana outscored the Nets 26-14 over the final 7:17 of the third to get within 75-70 entering the fourth. Following a turnover by Dennis Schroder, Toppin went for an uncontested dunk to get the Pacers within 77-76 with 9:16 remaining and two free throws by Siakam forged an 80-80 tie with 8:06 left.
Simmons started the clinching run with a tiebreaking alley-oop dunk off a pass from Milton with 7:42 left. He also blocked Mathurin’s layup with 6:14 to go and also had assists on Wilson’s two layups during the spurt.
Before making enough plays in the fourth the Nets held a 24-17 lead after starting 1-of-9 from the field. Claxton’s dunk extended the lead to 37-20 with 8:35 left in the second and the Nets took a 21-point lead on Johnson’s 3 with 6:07 remaining before holding a 51-35 edge at halftime.
–Field Level Media
