The Indiana Pacers look to stay perfect in their five-game homestand when they face the Brooklyn Nets for the second straight game on Saturday in Indianapolis.
The Pacers (40-29) won their third straight, fifth in the last six outings, and improved to 2-0 on the home stretch with a 105-99 overtime defeat of Brooklyn on Thursday. Bennedict Mathurin went for 28 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in Thursday’s win, his second marquee performance in as many nights.
Mathurin scored 16 of his 23 points in the final six minutes of Indiana’s 135-131 defeat of Dallas on Wednesday, helping lead a Pacers comeback from down 11 points. His play the last two games filled some of the backcourt void with Tyrese Haliburton missing the last three due to lower back soreness.
“The guy put a will on the game that was a big difference-maker,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said of Mathurin, though he added: “We have a lot to consider before Saturday. There were a lot of things we did not do well that we have to fix.”
Indiana committed a season-high 25 turnovers with 2023-24 All-NBA point guard Haliburton sidelined. The Pacers average 13.5 turnovers per game for the season, seventh fewest in the NBA.
But while the team awaits Haliburton’s return, it has made strides in the Eastern Conference playoff race thanks to its depth. Indiana saw significant contribution from another primary reserve player in Monday’s 132-130 overtime win at Minnesota, with forward Obi Toppin erupting for 34 points and 10 rebounds.
The Pacers’ three-game winning streak has given them a one-game lead over Milwaukee for fourth place in the East entering Friday’s play, and a 1 1/2-game lead over surging Detroit. Indiana is three games behind New York for third place.
Languishing near the bottom of the conference, meanwhile, is Brooklyn. The Nets (23-47) are 3-13 since returning from the All-Star break, falling from within striking distance of the East’s last play-in spot to all but eliminated from contention.
The Nets have struggled in recent weeks closing out games, including Thursday’s OT loss to Indiana. That marked the sixth Brooklyn setback since March 8 decided by six points or fewer.
Free-throw shooting loomed large for the Nets on Thursday. Indiana went 27-for-31 at the line, while Brooklyn finished just 13-for-18.
“There was just two teams playing hard,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. “They were competing, we were competing. The physicality is great. Again, we got punished with the free throw line; they didn’t.”
Reflective of the game’s physicality, Trendon Watford — who came off the Brooklyn bench to score 15 points and grab five rebounds — got into a fourth-quarter scuffle with Myles Turner. Watford was ejected.
Thursday’s chippiness could set the tone for Saturday’s rematch.
Brooklyn played the first of the two games in Indiana without Cameron Johnson, who sat for scheduled rest. With Cam Thomas sidelined for the season due to a hamstring injury, Johnson is the Nets’ leading scorer at 18.9 points per game.
D’Angelo Russell and Ziaire Williams picked up the scoring slack on Thursday with 22 points each. Pascal Siakam, Indiana’s leading scorer on the season at 20.8 points per game, managed only six on 2-of-8 shooting from the floor on Thursday.
–Field Level Media
