Nets 120, Pacers 110
NEW YORK -- Brook Lopez scored 14 of his 23 points during the fourth quarter and the Brooklyn Nets rallied for a 120-110 victory over the Indiana Pacers Saturday night.
Lopez was 2-of-9 shooting as the Nets trailed by 14 early in the second quarter and faced a 93-85 deficit going into the fourth quarter. He helped the Nets get the lead, hitting a short jumper for a 106-102 lead with 4:26 remaining and then made plays at both ends down the stretch.
Lopez also made a major defensive play with 2:59 remaining when he contested a corner 3-pointer by Paul George. On Brooklyn's next possession, Lopez hit a short jumper over Jordan Hill for a 111-108 advantage.
After George made two free throws to make it a one-point game with two minutes remaining, Lopez made a 10-footer while Ian Mahinmi tightly guarded him with 1:42 remaining, extending the lead to 113-110.
Following a Brooklyn timeout, Lopez began attempting to post up Mahinmi but instead kicked it out to Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic hit a left wing 3-pointer with 38.7 seconds left, nailing the shot as George Hill jumped and George was late to defend as the Nets took a 116-110 lead.
After Lopez contested George's 3-point attempt with 25.9 seconds left, Shane Larkin and Sergey Karasev sealed it at the line.
While Lopez had a big role in the fourth, others contributed in Brooklyn's second straight win over a playoff team. Bogdanovic added 18, Karasev contributed a career-high 17 while Larkin and Sean Kilpatrick added 14 apiece.
George led the Pacers with 27 points on 8-of-21 shooting. He scored 12 of his points during the third when it appeared Indiana was going to pull away.
Manhinmi added 18 and Hill contributed 17 for the Pacers, who were 3 of 17 in the fourth after shooting 56.7 percent through three quarters.
NOTES: Pacers F Paul George was listed as questionable with a lower right leg contusion but did not miss his first game of the season. He tested it in pregame shooting about an hour before tipoff. Indiana coach Frank Vogel said George reported soreness on Saturday morning but pointed out it was different walking around a hotel room than running on the court. ... F Solomon Hill would have started had George not played. He also started Jan. 22 at Golden State and March 4 at Charlotte. ... Nets interim coach Tony Brown said F Chris McCullough was more decisive on the court during Thursday's win over Cleveland when the rookie played a season-high 17:09. ... Asked if anyone was being rested, Brown quipped "me" before saying no one was sitting out the game.