First Thoughts: Pacers 103, Nets 86
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Co-Editor
First thoughts after the Indiana Pacers destroyed the Brooklyn Nets 103-86 on Monday night at the Barclays Center:
IN A NUTSHELL: The Pacers led by six at halftime before ripping open a giant lead with a monster third quarter to earn their third straight blowout victory. Lance Stephenson had a career-high 26 points with seven rebounds and five assists playing in his hometown while Paul George added 26 points, six rebounds and five assists. David West (13 points) and George Hill (10) joined them in double figures. Indiana (23-5) shot 46 percent from the field and finished with a 46-36 edge on the glass. Meanwhile, the Nets produced a major dud. Their perimeter players never showed up. Indiana’s defense pressured Joe Johnson, Deron Williams and Paul Pierce. The three combined for 26 points on 10-of-29 shooting, not even half the output of counterparts George, Stephenson and Hill. The Pacers were sloppy at times, allowing Brooklyn to stay within 45-39 at intermission. But they outscored them 30-19 in the third, shooting 12 for 20 while the Nets had more turnovers (seven) than baskets (six) in the period.
KEY SEQUENCE: The Pacers went on a game-breaking 15-4 run to start the second half. George hit two 3-pointers and a fadeaway jumper in the burst, which was capped by Stephenson throwing a lob pass that Hill turned into a fast-break layup on a mid-air adjustment. After that, down 60-43, the Nets clearly lost all will to compete and started making one dumb mistake after another. Williams, Johnson and Pierce each threw lazy, mindless passes that were easily stolen and Brooklyn stopped battling on both ends of the floor. The Pacers’ size, energy and talent wear teams down and it happened again tonight in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
BEST OF THE REST: Members of Indiana’s starting lineup have missed three games all season. Brooklyn’s starters have missed 30. … The Pacers won the first meeting — also in Brooklyn — by a tight score of 96-91. … Rookie Solomon Hill was the healthy inactive for Indiana. … Pierce clobbered George Hill across the neck with his left arm as Hill was driving to the basket on a break. The play earned a Pierce a flagrant-2 and automatic ejection with 4:22 remaining in the third quarter.
WHAT WE LEARNED: Indiana’s combination of quickness and long arms was lethal against a team not exactly full of speedsters. The Nets’ offense was horrible. Playing without Brook Lopez and Andrei Kirilenko, and with Jason Terry (bruised left knee) sitting out the first half, Brooklyn had to concede Indiana was just better. The Nets, old and slow, found Stephenson and George unguardable. The Pacers now embark on the NBA’s version of a Christmas vacation: an unusual four days without a game. The next one is Saturday at home against these same Nets. The break should allow Indiana to recharge its batteries, both mentally and physically. The team will go their separate ways — or in Stephenson’s case, stay behind in New York — before reconvening on Thursday.
