The Brooklyn Nets make the 1st of 2 trips this season to Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers Saturday. Here’s how to watch.
Old-time American Basketball Association rivals tangle Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where the Brooklyn Nets visit the Indiana Pacers.
The Nets and Pacers were two of the four ABA teams admitted to the NBA in 1976 as part of the merger agreement between the leagues and both were charter franchises in the old rival league.
Brooklyn (1-1) got its first win of the season Friday night at home, beating the New York Knicks 107-105. Indiana (1-1), meanwhile, returns home after taking its first loss Friday night, a 118-101 drubbing at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks in Milwaukee.
Friday night’s win for the Nets marked another step in the emergence of Caris LeVert as the franchise’s top threat. After matching his career-high with 27 points in their opening loss to the Detroit Pistons, LeVert set a new standard by scoring 28 — including the game-winner — Friday.
The Nets were nearly undone against the Knicks by their 22 turnovers — running their season average to a frighteningly bad 20.5 through two games.
But strong work on the boards by Jarrett Allen and Ed Davis, who combined for 21 rebounds, and tough defense pulled Brooklyn out of the fire.
Indiana struggled to get anything going offensively against the Bucks. The Pacers trailed 62-53 at the half and Milwaukee put the game away in the second half, leading by as much as 28 points.
Victor Oladipo led Indiana with 25 points, Domantas Sabonis had 13 rebounds and Tyreke Evans dished four assists. The Pacers fell under the weight of a 26-points, 15-rebounds night by All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Since the teams joined the NBA, the Nets have taken the brunt of it, going just 72-104. In their old ABA days, Indiana had the edge as well, as the Nets were 37-44 over nine seasons in the other league.
The Pacers posted the longest winning streak in the series, taking 10 in a row from Nov. 17, 2009 through Feb. 16, 2012, and have currently won seven straight, with Brooklyn’s last win coming at home on Oct. 28, 2016.
Since the Nets moved to Brooklyn in 2012, they are just 7-15 against Indiana.
The Nets do have the highest-scoring game in the series, a triple-overtime 147-138 victory over the Pacers at Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 30, 1985.
As for individual games, John Williamson has the highest single-game total in the series, dropping 50 at Indiana on April 4, 1978. That was a notable revenge game for Williamson, who clashed with Pacers coach Slick Leonard during a short stint with the club.
Since the move to the borough, Deron Williams recorded the highest total against the Pacers, scoring 33 in a win at Indiana on April 12, 2013.
The highest total for the Pacers is a bit of a surprise — Jalen Rose scored 43 against the New Jersey Nets in East Rutherford on Oct. 30, 2001.
*-Historical research courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
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Here’s how to find Saturday night’s game.
Brooklyn Nets at Indiana Pacers, 7 p.m. Eastern
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
TV: YES Network
Live stream: NBA League Pass
The skinny
Season series: First meeting (Pacers won series last season, 4-0)
Records: Brooklyn (1-1), Indiana (1-1)
Scoring: BKN 103.5 (24th in NBA), IND 106.0 (23rd in NBA)
Defense: BKN 104.0 (9th), IND 100.5 (t-6th)
Off. Rating: BKN 106.9 (20th), IND 106.8 (21st)
Def. Rating: BKN 107.4 (t-13th), IND 101.2 (7th)
Pace: BKN 96.8 (27th), IND 99.3 (24TH)
Shooting: BKN 49.0% (6th), IND 50.0% (t-4th)
3-pt. shooting: BKN 29.8% (24th), IND 36.4% (t-11th)
Opponent FG: BKN 41.3% (7th), IND 39.0% (2nd)
Opp. 3-pt FG: BKN 28.8% (6th), IND 35.5% (18th)
Injuries
Brooklyn: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (personal), QUESTIONABLE; Alan Williams (sprained right ankle); DAY-TO-DAY; Shabazz Napier (strained right hamstring), DeMarre Carroll (right ankle surgery), Treveon Graham (strained left hamstring), OUT.
Indiana: T.J. Leaf (sprained left ankle), Domantas Sabonis (bruised right knee), QUESTIONABLE
— information via Rotoworld
Last meeting
Feb. 14, 2018, at Brooklyn: The Pacers finished with a 13-8 push over the final 4:09 of the game to come from behind and hand the Nets their seventh consecutive loss as the teams headed into the All-Star break.
Victor Oladipo had 25 points, four assists and three steals for Indiana, while Myles Turner finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds and Cory Joseph went for 15 points, 11 boards and two blocked shots. Al Jefferson added two blocks in eight minutes off the bench.
Allen Crabbe paced Brooklyn with 24 points, while DeMarre Carroll added 21 points and 10 rebounds. D’Angelo Russell came off the bench for 18 points and nine assists.
What’s next?
Brooklyn: at Cleveland, Wednesday; at New Orleans; Friday; vs. Golden State, Oct. 28
Indiana: at Minnesota, Monday; at San Antonio, Wednesday; at Cleveland, Oct. 27