Indiana Pacers: One stud, one dud from the loss to the Brooklyn Nets

Missing a bunch of key players to injuries, the Indiana Pacers extended their losing skid, bowing down to the Brooklyn Nets in another close contest to fall to a 1-5 win-loss card to begin their season.

Despite the Pacers mounting a double-digit lead in the first frame, the Kevin Durant-led squad roared back and claimed a sizeable edge of their own. Indiana made it a tight contest late in the fourth quarter, but Brooklyn’s firepower simply proved to be too much for them to handle.

The Indiana Pacers couldn’t temper the Brooklyn Nets’ firepower enough, fall to 1-5 on the season

James Harden, after notably struggling in his first five games, scored a season-high 29 points, with 16 of those coming from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, LaMarcus Aldridge, who came out of retirement this season, finished with 21 markers. On one occasion, he drilled his patented jumper en route to becoming the 48th player in league history to accrue 20,000 career points.

Rather surprisingly, Torrey Craig led the Pacers in scoring with a career-high 28 points and 11 rebounds while playing hard defense on Durant. Chris Duarte continued to impress, adding 19, while Domantas Sabonis had a relatively quiet night, only managing 16 points, seven boards and six assists.

Indiana played solid defense for the most part, but their measly scoring attack doomed them. With leading scorer and facilitator Malcolm Brogdon out and Caris LeVert yet to make his season debut, the Pacers only converted 39.8 percent of their shots, including 27.6 percent on threes. The Nets’ free throw barrage was also too jarring, attempting 41 to the Pacers’ 23. To add insult to injury, the referees overlooked Durant tossing the ball into the crowd, which should have warranted an automatic ejection.

As the Indiana Pacers regroup for another contest at home tomorrow against the Toronto Raptors, here is one stud and one dud from their tough loss against the Brooklyn Nets.