Pacers at Nets
The two teams expected to pose the biggest challenge to the defending-champion Miami Heat will do battle Saturday night in Brooklyn when the Nets entertain the unbeaten Indiana Pacers. Brooklyn is off to a slow start to the season - falling below .500 with a 112-108 overtime loss to Washington on Friday - but is unbeaten at home. That peerless mark will be put to the test against a powerhouse Pacers team off to its best start since the 1970-71 ABA campaign.
It isn't simply that the Pacers have won every game they've played - they have dominated along the way. Indiana has defeated opponents by an average of 10.3 points per game - and that mark was even higher before Toronto posed a legitimate challenge Friday night on the way to a 91-84 Pacers triumph. That gives them a nice head start on the inconsistent Nets, who are having trouble generating offense and even more of a problem rebounding.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Indiana, YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE PACERS (6-0): It may have been easy for Indiana fans to expect a poor game from star forward Paul George, who made just 2-of-10 field-goal attempts in the first half of Friday's game against Toronto. But George wasn't having it, pouring in 17 points in the third quarter to not only outscore the Raptors by himself, but turn a two-point deficit into a double-digit advantage that Toronto couldn't overcome. George showed off his all-around game, as well, finishing with 23 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals.
ABOUT THE NETS (2-3): If Brooklyn hopes to pose a serious threat to the Heat's Eastern Conference crown, it will need to avoid losses like the one it suffered to the Wizards. The Nets squandered an 11-point fourth-quarter lead, as Wizards forward Nene forced overtime with a putback in the final minutes of regulation and Trevor Ariza knocked down the go-ahead 3-pointer in the extra session. The game was a rough one for future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, each of whom didn't hit the scoresheet until late in the game.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Brooklyn won all three meetings last season, including a 117-109 triumph in their previous encounter April 12.
2. George averages 15 points on 50-percent shooting in 10 career games versus the Nets.
3. Pierce - whose only four points Friday came in overtime - hasn't been held scoreless since 1999.