BROOKLYN – It wasn’t pretty early, but the Pacers refused to lay down.
With their season ending and only nine players available Sunday at Barclays Center, they still found themselves in a meaningful game at Barclays Center. The Nets needed a win to secure the seventh seed and ensure two possible home games in the Play-In Tournament, needing to win one of them to officially qualify for the playoffs.
But the Pacers didn’t simply hand Brooklyn a better chance to extend its season just because theirs was over. Indiana made the Nets work for it, rallying in the third quarter to tie the game before ultimately falling 134-126. The Pacers ended their season on 10-game losing streak — two short of the franchise record — and with a record of 25-57, their lowest win total since 1989, which, fittingly, is the last time they had a single- digit draft pick like they’ll have this offseason.
The Pacers are fifth in the lottery standings but would tie for fourth if Oklahoma City beats the Clippers on Sunday night, requiring a coin flip. The Houston Rockets’ second-round pick will be 31st overall and Cleveland needs to win at Brooklyn or at home vs. Atlanta or Charlotte to make the playoffs and send their first-round draft pick to the Pacers to complete the Caris LeVert trade.
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The Pacers trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half Sunday, but as they’ve done several times this season, they climbed back after a lackluster first quarter and gave themselves a chance. TJ McConnell helped lead the charge with 14 points and five assists. Indiana’s backup point guard, who missed 55 straight games after undergoing right wrist surgery in December, started his second straight game since returning and came alive in the third quarter.
McConnell shot a perfect 3-for-3 in the period, including two 3s, but his most impressive play was an assist. Trailing 89-87, McConnell grabbed a rebound after Kyrie Irving missed a pullup jump shot, dribbled down the court and dropped off a behind-the-back pass to Terry Taylor for a fast-break layup to tie the game.
A few plays later, Taylor tied the game again at 91, but with Play-In seeding on the line, Irving and co-star Kevin Durant wouldn’t let their team collapse. Irving drilled a 3 to break the tie, and Durant nailed a midrange jump shot to help Brooklyn retake control of the game and end the regular season on a four-game winning streak.
Durant totaled 20 points, a career-high 16 assists and 10 rebounds for his 16th career triple-double, while Irving scored 13 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter.
No matter how much firepower the Nets’ dynamic duo displayed, though, the Pacers kept swinging. Oshae Brissett scored 20 of his 28 points in the second half and was a catalyst alongside McConnell in Indiana’s third-quarter comeback. Duane Washington Jr. even gave Durant a taste of his own medicine by drilling a step back 3 in his face from him to make it a four-point game with 1:36 left in the period.
Washington finished with 18 points off the bench, Buddy Hield scored 21 points with five 3s and Tyrese Haliburton capped off his sophomore season with 17 points and 10 assists for his 30th career double-double.
Brooklyn 134, Indiana 126
INDIANA (126): Brissett 10-20 3-4 28, Hield 8-23 0-0 21, Jackson 3-4 1-2 7, Haliburton 7-14 1-1 17, McConnell 5-15 1-2 14, Stephenson 3-8 4-6 10, Taylor 4-7 2-2 10, Washington Jr. 7-11 0-0 18, York 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 47-104 13-19 126.
BROOKLYN (134): Durant 5-17 10-10 20, Edwards 4-7 2-2 10, Drummond 9-9 2-2 20, Brown 8-13 4-5 21, Irving 15-20 1-2 35, Claxton 6-6 2-2 14, Mills 3-6 0-0 8, Thomas 2-3 1-2 6. Totals 52-81 22-25 134.
Indiana 29 31 34 32 — 126
Brooklyn 41 35 27 31 — 134
3-Point Goals—Indiana 19-46 (Brissett 5-10, Hield 5-14, Washington Jr. 4-6, McConnell 3-7, Haliburton 2-5, Stephenson 0-1, Taylor 0-1, York 0- 2), Brooklyn 8-22 (Irving 4-6, Mills 2-5, Brown 1-2, Thomas 1-2, Edwards 0-1, Durant 0-6). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Indiana 30 (Brissett 8), Brooklyn 50 (Drummond 13). Assists_Indiana 32 (Haliburton 10), Brooklyn 30 (Durant 16). Total Fouls_Indiana 23, Brooklyn 16. A_17,967 (17,732)
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism