Nets at Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are sinking at the wrong time and Brooklyn figures to be a tired squad when the Nets visit Indiana on Saturday. The Pacers have lost four consecutive games and are tied for eighth place with the Boston Celtics in the fight for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn won a triple-overtime tussle from the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday and is 1 1/2 games off the pace for that coveted postseason berth.
All-Star forward Paul George won’t be on the floor Saturday, but the Pacers are expected to update his status Monday amid reports that it will be revealed he’s ready to return from the serious broken leg suffered in August. Indiana could have used George on Friday as it came up short in a 95-92 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Nets are 16-20 on the road and are the only team in the NBA with more road victories than home wins (12).
TV: 7 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FSN Midwest (Indiana)
ABOUT THE NETS (28-39): Center Brook Lopez has stepped up his play and has six double-doubles in 15 games since the All-Star break after having just five in 42 games prior to the break. Lopez had one of his best efforts of the season in the triple-overtime affair as he scored 32 points to go with a season-best 18 rebounds. “We stuck with it the entire game,” Lopez told reporters in reference to the team’s fortitude. “We never gave up. We were down big and our bench was huge.”
ABOUT THE PACERS (30-38): George’s return has been the subject of speculation ever since he resumed practicing, and now it appears Indiana will have its top talent for the final three-plus weeks. When George is back on the floor, it is expected that he will be brought along slowly, and he also is wary of affecting the team’s chemistry. “Whenever he’s ready, he’s ready,” point guard George Hill told reporters after the loss to Cleveland. “I’m not the one that’s going to force him to come back in and play, but as long as he’s ready mentally, that’s all that matters.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Indiana has won the past five meetings, including a 110-85 victory Dec. 27.
2. Brooklyn SG Joe Johnson made four 3-pointers against the Bucks and has 1,692 in his career, two behind 13th-place Kobe Bryant.
3. Pacers PF David West (illness) left after 12 minutes of Friday’s game and is questionable to play against the Nets.