And there it’s. The Nets are not winless.
Brooklyn lastly broke by Wednesday evening inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It wasn’t all the time fairly, issues bought tight late they usually misplaced their main scorer alongside the way in which, however Jordi Fernández’s group outlasted the Indiana Pacers for a 112-103 victory, their first of the 2025-26 season.
It was hardly flawless, but it surely marked the primary time all season the Nets maintained defensive self-discipline and poise when it mattered most. Each participant had a hand in it on each ends.
“I think it was a team effort, and I’m really proud of the whole group,” Fernández stated. “Being part of this win, it’s really special… I’m very, very, very happy for the group. Winning like this gives you energy.”
Brooklyn entered the evening with out 4 of its 5 rookies, however its veterans have been wholesome except for Haywood Highsmith, and a brand new beginning lineup of Terance Mann, Cam Thomas, Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton set the tone early, holding the severely shorthanded Pacers to 29.6% taking pictures within the first quarter — the Nets’ greatest defensive interval of the season.
Again from a one-game absence, Porter began scorching, going 3-for-3 from the sector and 2-for-2 from past the arc because the Nets constructed a 15-6 lead. Indiana answered with a 7-0 run whereas Brooklyn missed its subsequent seven pictures, however the Nets regrouped to take a 25-18 lead on the finish of the primary quarter, their first time holding a bonus after one this season.
Nonetheless, whereas the opening quarter introduced a number of small wins for Brooklyn, it additionally delivered a doubtlessly expensive blow. Moments after lacking a midrange jumper, Thomas limped off the courtroom with 6:25 left and was dominated out for the rest of the sport. The Nets later identified it as left hamstring tightness. The 24-year-old missed 59 video games final season due to accidents to the identical hamstring.
To make issues worse, the Pacers opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run to reclaim the lead. The interval became a back-and-forth battle, however Indiana closed robust with an 11-4 burst over the ultimate 3:33 to take a 59-54 benefit into halftime. The Pacers shot a scorching 64% within the quarter, led by 10 factors from Ben Sheppard and eight from Jay Huff, whereas Mann saved Brooklyn shut with 11 factors. Porter had already poured in 20 of his game-high 32 factors by the break.
The second half opened with a little bit of chaos. Porter compelled a turnover within the backcourt, and after officers awarded Brooklyn possession, he buried one other 3-pointer. The sequence despatched Pacers coach Rick Carlisle right into a fury that led to his ejection.
Brooklyn briefly pulled forward within the third quarter, however any momentum it constructed was undone by Huff and Pascal Siakam, who mixed for 15 factors within the interval. Clowney went 4-for-5 from the sector, but the Nets nonetheless entered the fourth trailing by three.
“When he plays like this, he looks like a grown man at 21,” Fernández stated of Clowney. “He’s a complete player… His ceiling is, we don’t even know.”
A 32-20 fourth-quarter run sealed Brooklyn’s first win of the season, with Claxton, Tyrese Martin and Jalen Wilson main the cost. The Nets clamped down defensively, holding Indiana to 33.3% taking pictures and forcing 4 turnovers, changing 18 whole giveaways into 23 factors.
Clowney added 17 factors and 4 rebounds in his second straight begin, whereas Claxton posted his team-leading third double-double of the season with 18 factors, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Porter notched his third 30-point outing in seven video games as a Web.
Siakam led the Pacers with 23 factors, six rebounds and 9 assists.
Subsequent up for Brooklyn is a Friday house matchup in opposition to the Detroit Pistons at Barclays Middle.
