Nets at Pacers
The Indiana Pacers got back to putting in hard work on the defensive end and got back to winning. The Pacers will try to hold their third straight opponent to 90 or fewer points and pick up a third straight win when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
Indiana surrendered an average of 123.5 points in its last four losses but started to turn things around by holding Toronto to 36.7 percent from the floor in a 106-90 win on Monday before limiting Dallas to the same percentage in a 107-81 triumph on Wednesday. The Pacers outscored the Mavericks 62-34 in the second half of that win to improve to 9-3 at home. The Nets could use a few lessons on the defensive end after allowing the Miami Heat to shoot 53.3 percent in a 104-98 loss on Wednesday. Brooklyn’s opponent field-goal percentage of 46.3 is tied for 26th in the league and it has allowed opponents to make an average of 9.8 3-pointers.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FSN Indiana
ABOUT THE NETS (7-18): Brooklyn has dropped three straight and veterans Thaddeus Young and Joe Johnson are stuck in slumps at the same time. Johnson is shooting a career-low 36 percent from the field and scored in double figures only twice in eight games this month. Young enjoyed a string of four straight double-doubles earlier this month but tailed off in the last three games, down to eight points on 4-of-13 shooting and seven rebounds in Wednesday’s setback.
ABOUT THE PACERS (15-9): Indiana will attack Brooklyn’s perimeter defense with its 38.8 3-point percentage – second in the NBA – while locking down on the other end of the floor. The Pacers buried 11 3-pointers while holding Dallas to 8-of-33 from beyond the arc on Wednesday. Guard Monta Ellis scored 19 points against his former team and is averaging 20.3 points in Indiana’s last three wins while totaling 24 in the last four losses.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nets PG Shane Larkin (concussion) sat out Wednesday and is out indefinitely.
2. Pacers F Paul George scored fewer than 20 points in each of the last three games.
3. Brooklyn earned a 123-111 win in its last trip to Indiana on Mar. 21 and has taken the last two in the series.