Paul George, Pacers Deal Nets Fourth Straight Loss

(INDIANAPOLIS) — When the Brooklyn Nets play outside of Barclays Center, they get into a world of trouble.

Paul George scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers dropped the Nets 104-97 on Friday night, sending Brooklyn to its fourth straight loss.

Jarrett Jack continued his impressive all-around play, finishing with 26 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and three steals, but it wasn’t enough as the Nets fell to 1-12 on the road.  Their only road victory came in Houston against a struggling Rockets team.

The Nets (7-19) only dressed 10 players, with Shane Larkin (concussion), Thomas Robinson (illness), and Sergey Karasev (ankle), all joining rookies Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Chris McCullough on the inactive list.

It was an ugly first quarter for both teams.  The Nets shot just 29.6% from the field and trailed by five after one.  Both teams began hitting shots in the second quarter, where Brook Lopez did most of his damage.  The Nets shot 57.9% in the second quarter as the Pacers took a 49-47 lead into the break.  Lopez finished with 18 points on the night, but only four of those came after halftime.

The Nets came to life in a back-and-forth third quarter, eventually taking a five point lead into the fourth.  They led by as many as seven before the Pacers rallied.  The Nets committed six of their 12 turnovers in the fourth quarter as the Pacers outscored them 32-20.

In conclusion, it has been the same old story for the Nets over the past couple of weeks.  They’ve let several winnable games slip away from them.  The Pacers may currently be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, but this was a game the Nets could have, and should have won.

Notes:  Joe Johnson struggled early, but found his shot in the second half and finished with 11 points.  He has now made at least one field goal in 906 consecutive games, which is the longest streak in the NBA.

Thaddeus Young keeps finding ways to produce on this Nets team that has struggled to win games, amassing double-double after double-double.  He had 14 points and 14 rebounds on Friday.

Larkin remains out for the Nets after suffering a concussion during Tuesday’s practice.  His minutes went to former Pacer Donald Sloan, who played reasonably well against his old teammates.  Sloan finished with six points and six boards.  The Nets have had success in recent years while deploying a two point guard lineup and coach Lionel Hollins went that route against the Pacers.  Jack and Sloan shared the floor in bunches, with Sloan playing off the ball.  It will be interesting to see if Hollins will continue to play them together on nights where his team faces smaller lineups.

The Nets return home to face old friend Kevin Garnett, top pick Karl Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.