Tyrese Haliburton looked every bit like a player back in stride Sunday night, piling up 24 points and 10 assists while helping the Indiana Pacers roll past the Brooklyn Nets 136-109.
Indiana didn’t just win - it overwhelmed Brooklyn with shot-making all over the floor. The Pacers finished at 58% from the field, going 49 for 85, and hit 21 of 43 from 3-point range. Haliburton was efficient throughout, going 8 for 13, while Pascal Siakam added 21 points and Obi Toppin gave the Pacers 16 off the bench.
Brooklyn got 17 points from reserve guard Nolan Traore, but the Nets dropped to 0-3.
The game flipped in the second quarter after Indiana spotted Brooklyn a small early cushion. The Pacers were down two after one, then took control by outscoring the Nets 41-30 in the second period to go into halftime ahead 65-56. Their first-half shooting told the story too: 58% overall and 42% from deep.
Indiana never let up after the break. A 37-24 third quarter pushed the lead to 98-74 going to the fourth, and the Pacers were firmly in command from there.
Haliburton’s biggest moment came in that third quarter, and it was the kind of play that gets replayed right away. With 7:17 left, Julius Randle lost the ball at the top of the arc, Aaron Nesmith dove after it, Siakam gathered the loose ball and found Haliburton alone. Haliburton bounced it to himself near the free throw line and finished with a two-handed dunk that lit up his teammates.
Haliburton missed last season while recovering from a torn right Achilles tendon, and the dunk stood out as the exclamation point on a strong all-around night.
There was one injury note for Brooklyn as well. Ivica Zubac left the game after spraining his left ankle with 4:57 remaining in the first quarter when he stepped on Kelly Oubre’s foot while going after a rebound.
Indiana heads to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night. Brooklyn travels to face the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.
In Other News...
Nets Already Face An Early Trust Problem Under Jordi Fernndez
Brooklyns season opened with the kind of uneven stretch that can test a new coachs message early, as the Nets dropped their first three games and spent much of that time chasing their own mistakes. Jordi Fernndez has already been pushing the same themes in the wake of back-to-back losses to Cleveland and Indiana, pointing to defensive lapses, shaky consistency and the need for better effort and execution as the group tries to find some traction.
The encouraging part is that Brooklyn at least showed some fight in nearly pulling back against Cleveland, which suggests the response is there when the focus sharpens. But the next game brought a different problem, and one the Nets cannot afford to let linger, because the same issues keep showing up in different forms and are beginning to raise an early trust question around how quickly this roster can absorb Fernndezs demands. [Read more 🡒]
Nolan Traor Is Making Brooklyns Backcourt Decision More Interesting
Nolan Traor has made Brooklyns early backcourt picture a little more interesting with the kind of all-around showing that sticks in a coachs mind. In a recent loss, the guard put up a team-high 17 points and did a little of everything, blending shot-making with playmaking and defensive activity after also showing growth last season and carrying that into a solid preseason.
As the Nets get healthier in the backcourt, the real question is not whether Traor can help, but how often he can stay on the floor when the rotation tightens. His path to steady minutes off the bench will likely come down to one thing: whether his outside shot keeps falling enough to make him hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Already Face One Frustrating Early Season Problem
The early part of Brooklyns season has already taken on a familiar, frustrating feel. After three straight losses, the Nets have shown enough competitive stretches to suggest they are not simply going through the motions, but not enough consistency to turn those moments into a result. Jordi Fernandez has been pushing for cleaner, more sustained play, and the first week has made it clear how much work remains for a roster still trying to settle in.
There have at least been signs that the effort level is there, even if the execution has wavered from game to game. Brooklyn has been in the mix long enough to make the next step feel close, but also distant enough to leave the staff searching for answers on both ends. For a team trying to avoid letting the season slip into the wrong kind of early pattern, the challenge now is turning those competitive flashes into something that lasts deeper into the night. [Read more 🡒]