Pacers fail to close out Nets

The Pacers will continue to look for help in their effort to secure a playoff spot as they fail to take care of business themselves.

The Pacers had a bad night on Wednesday in Brooklyn, followed by a better off night in Indy on Thursday.

After a signature slow start forced an early Rick Carlisle timeout, the Pacers appeared to kick their game into gear, taking a solid double-digit by the end of the first quarter. But the Nets didn’t lay down after the Pacers appeared to exhale which lead to a 42 points second quarter for Brooklyn. While the defense improved in the second half, there were too many basic breakdowns that the Pacers couldn’t spackle over on the offensive end.

Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam combined for 50 points, but they needed 49 shots to get there. The rest of the Pacers starters, with Jalen Smith in place of Myles Turner, combined for just 23 points. The bench had their moments, but essentially anyone who played failed to deliver a consistent effort throughout the 48 minutes.

With the stakes of the game for the Pacers, that’s simply disheartening and is another example of how the immaturity of this team (not individuals) remains a fatal flaw. Without Turner, the Pacers had to lean on Haliburton and Siakam and down the stretch they were strong offensively, but too many bad shots throughout the game.

Siakam did try to ride in at the end and put the game away, scoring 13 consecutive points as he got to his spot 12-15 feet from the hoop repeatedly. It was a beautiful thing to watch. But Siakam also had an unforgivable blunder on the defensive end.

While he was starting to cook, but before the Pacers took their late lead, Siakam stayed solid defensively, forcing Cam Thomas to miss a contested jumper. Siakam then stood in his spot as Thomas ran past him to gather up the rebound and score. For a team desperate for stops at that moment, it sure didn’t look like it.

Photo: Bally Sports Indiana

After the Pacers did climb back in the lead, up 108-105 with 90 seconds to play, Mikal Bridges missed a runner which put a rebound up for grabs. After a scrum to gather the carom, the ball found its way back to Bridges who tied the game with a three-ball. Those five second-chance points for the Nets were killers and went a long way to highlighting the Pacers struggle to gin up the appropriate sense of urgency for all 48 minutes. Something Rick Carlisle warned against after the team’s win on Monday.

So, by the end of the night, the Pacers were percentage points behind Miami, sitting in seventh place in the East. With the Heat at the Fieldhouse on Sunday, the Pacers could still control their own destiny by winning that matchup along with three the other remaining four games.

First, the Pacers have to play the Thunder on Friday at the Fieldhouse. OKC was run out of TD Garden on Wednesday playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. SGA has been ruled out against the Pacers while Williams is doubtful. Of course, Myles Turner remains questionable for the Pacers.

Normally, this would be great news if the Pacers can get a break and complete the season sweep against the Thunder. But this is just another opportunity for the Pacers to exhale and then not rise up to the level they need to play to win. The Pacers are 18-14 against teams below .500. Not good and the worst among playoff contending teams.

The Pacers caught a break with the Heat losing to Philly on Thursday, so they will be back in the No. 6 spot for the opening tip against the Thunder. The Knicks have been leaking oil of late and don’t appear to have help arriving off the injury report after Julius Randle was ruled out for the season. However, they rallied late to run past the Kings on Wednesday.

Oh, and while the Heat loss was nice, the 76ers win has them continuing to chase down the Pacers with Joel Embiid back in the mix as a major problem. The Pacers really need to win out to avoid a play-in game or two to make the playoffs.

The growing pains hurt for this young Pacers team, particularly if vet Myles Turner remains unavailable. We’ll see if they can grow up in a hurry.

Game Details

Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

When: Friday, Apr. 5, 2024, 7:00 p.m. ET

TV: Bally Sports

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

Odds: Pacers -4.5

Projected Starters

Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Jalen

Thunder: Cason Wallace, Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Chet Holmgren

Injuries

Pacers: Myles Turner (finger) - questionable, Bennedict Mathurin (shoulder)- out

Nets: Jalen Williams (ankle) - doubtful, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (quad) - out