Brooklyn Nets: Flatbush Outpaces Indiana

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

WEDNESDAY

Pacers    94

Nets     104

FINAL

Only The Nets Can Make You Sweat a Fifteen Point Lead With Eight Minutes Left

The Nets were back home in Flatbush, hosting the Pacers in the second half of back-to-back nights.

Needing to answer for their recent spate of lethargy, Flatbush came out like bats out of hell, taking a commanding 62-30 lead into the half.  

With the spotlight on DeAndre Jordan, the beleaguered center responds with perhaps his strongest performance of the season, in the first half alone.  Harden and Kyrie joined for ten assists, with Jordan the primary beneficiary.  DeAndre scored twelve points while tying with Harden for most shot attempts in the half with seven.  Setting the tone on defense, Jordan also secured ten rebounds.  With the clock winding down, he punctuated a fine first-half effort with two defensive rebounds, and one blocked shot. Jordan closed out the third period forcing a jump ball in the defensive end and winning the tip.  Then with 8:50 left in regulation, he registered his season-high third block of the game.  DeAndre finished the night with twelve points and 13 rebounds in a team-high 37 minutes.

After being limited to a miserable first-half by DeAndre Jordan, Domantas Sabonis still finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.  This follows match-ups against Joel Embiid and Mason Plumlee.  After Wednesday's game, Coach Nash admitted that he and Jordan engaged in what I'll call philosophical debate following Tuesday night's game at Detroit. 

After scoring just ten points at Detroit, Joe Harris followed up with 17 points in 26 minutes.  James Harden finished with 19 points, eleven defensive rebounds, and five assists.  Kyrie Irving led the floor with 36 points and eight assists, respectively.

The Nets destroyed Indiana from the free-throw line.  Indiana was a mere 7/11 while Flatbush was 31/35, led by Kyrie Irving's 17/17 and Harden's 10/10 respective perfect performances.  

THE DARK SIDE: 

Were it not for an overwhelming second quarter, the narrative of this game would read much differently.  Brooklyn got outscored in the second half by a 22 point margin.  The second-half score was 64-42 in favor of Indiana.  The Pacers finished with 16 more offensive possessions but only shot 39.1% from the floor.

The bench had accounted for just 14 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in 55 minutes of floor time through three quarters.  Overall, they were 8/26 (30.7%) from the field for a mere 19 points.  

All being said, the Nets held their opponent under one hundred points for only the fifth time this season.

Perhaps the team took to heart some of Coach Nash's post-game comments after Tuesday's debacle.