The surprising news earlier this afternoon that the Brooklyn Nets would be resting an entire eight-man rotation against the Indiana Pacers completely changed the outlook of tonight’s game, ultimately catching the Pacers flat-footed in an incredibly disappointing loss to the backup Nets.
The tone was set early in this one when Brooklyn took a first quarter lead with back-to-back second chance point opportunities, eventually going up by nine despite Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Smith pouring in five three pointers in less than five minutes. Indiana quickly went to the bench, using that boost of energy to close the gap, though despite a season high 38 points, they still trailed, allowing 40.