The Brooklyn Nets had a little life in the opening quarter Sunday night. After that, the Indiana Pacers took over and never really let go.
Brooklyn fell 136-109 at Barclays Center, dropping to 0-3 to open the 2026-27 season. Playing the second night of a back-to-back, the Nets couldn’t keep pace defensively, as Indiana shot 57.6% from the field and 48.8% from three-point range while piling up 78 points across the second and third quarters.
That first quarter at least offered a brief jolt. Brooklyn led 26-24 after a messy opening period in which the two teams combined for 15 turnovers.
The Nets had seven of them, while Indiana gave it away eight times. Day'Ron Sharpe helped steady things early with a three-pointer and an and-one finish, and Keon Ellis turned defense into offense with a pair of steals that became fast-break layups.
The Nets also got a spark from the bench. Mo Wagner buried a three late in the quarter, helping Brooklyn finish on an 8-0 run, and he stayed active in the second period by scoring inside and from deep as the Nets built a six-point lead.
Indiana, though, kept tightening the screws. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists, finding gaps in Brooklyn’s defense throughout the night. Tyrese Haliburton added 24 points and 10 assists, and Obi Toppin chipped in 16 points, including two three-pointers during a decisive second-quarter push.
The Pacers closed the first half on a 16-5 burst and went to halftime up 65-56. Indiana was scorching, hitting 58.5% of its shots before the break, and even though Brooklyn forced 11 steals, the stops just didn’t come often enough.
Brooklyn needed much more from its top scoring options, and it didn’t get it. Michael Porter Jr. was held to three points on 1-of-8 shooting in the first half, while Julius Randle had eight points on 1-of-6 shooting. The Nets were working hard to create pressure, but Indiana kept finding clean looks.
Porter showed a few signs of life after halftime with finishes at the rim, but the Pacers quickly pushed the game out of reach. Indiana opened the third quarter with easy buckets, and Haliburton kept slicing through the defense. Then Toppin delivered the knockout stretch, knocking down back-to-back threes and capping a 12-0 run with a steal and dunk.
By the time the third quarter ended, Indiana led 102-80. Brooklyn had given up 78 points over the second and third quarters combined, and the final period was more about survival than a comeback.
There were a handful of bright spots for the Nets. Wagner finished with 13 points and provided useful scoring off the bench.
Josh Minott added 15 points and eight rebounds. Nolan Traoré led Brooklyn with 17 points and five assists, offering one of the night’s few encouraging individual efforts.
The fourth quarter also opened the door for some of the younger Nets. Danny Wolf, Drake Powell and Ben Saraf all made their first appearance of the season, and Joshua Jefferson made his NBA debut. With the outcome already settled, Brooklyn used the stretch to give those players some court time and experience.
Even so, the bigger picture stayed the same: the Nets couldn’t protect the floor, couldn’t slow Indiana in transition and couldn’t keep the Pacers from finding open looks. The circumstances were tough, but the defensive results were worse.
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