The Nets had a chance to play spoiler on Monday, but without Deron Williams, they just didn't have the firepower to hang with the eighth-place Pacers at the Prudential Center, losing another early lead before falling 102-98.
The Nets played without Damion James, who's suffering from soreness in his surgically repaired foot.
The Nets held the Pacers to just 15 points in the first quarter and led by 12 midway through the second. But Indiana cut the lead to two by halftime and went ahead with a 9-0 run to start the third. Another 9-0 run late in the period put the Pacers up 11. The Nets made a late run but Sundiata Gaines and Sasha Vujacic eached missed threes to tie in the final seconds.
The Nets shot just 40 percent for the game. Brook Lopez led them again with 20 points, with Gaines adding 18 off the bench. Kris Humphries' double-double streak came to an end. He finished with nine points and 14 boards. In his first extended minutes as a Net, Brandan Wright had two points on 1-for-6 shooting and four rebounds in nine and a half minutes. The Nets didn't have a player older than 29 on the court for the fifth straight game.
- Boxscore - NBA.com
- Game Highlights (Video) - NBA.com
- Pacers-Nets notebook - Jake Appleman - NBA.com
- Roy Hibbert scores 24 as Pacers sweep Nets - Tom Canavan - AP
-
Nets rookie F Damion James out with sore foot - Tom Canavan - AP
- Nets likely kill playoff hopes with 102-98 loss to Pacers - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
- Nets' Damion Jones sidelined again with foot injury - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger
- Nets can forget about keeping playoff Pace - Fred Kerber - New York Post
-
Nets' James scratched because of pain in repaired foot - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Nets lose again with Williams out indefinitely, this time to Pacers, 102-98 - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
- Rapid Reaction: Pacers 102, Nets 98 - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
-
All it took was key miss for reality to set in - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Gaines 'all right' after hard fall - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
-
Nets rookie F Damion James out with sore foot - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Nets blow lead, lose 4th straight - Al Iannazzone - The Record
-
Nets notes: rookie Damion James rests - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- Frenzied finish not enough to lift Nets - Al Iannazzone - The Nets Insider
- Post Game Plus (Video) - Nancy Newman - YES Network
- From The Booth (Video) - Ian Eagle & Jim Spanarkel - YES Network
- Avery Johnson Press Conference (Video) - YES Network
- Brook Lopez Interview (Video) - Jessica Taff - YES Network
- Pre-Game: Avery Johnson Interview (Video) - Jessica Taff - YES Network
- Gaines Gets Career-High 18, NETS Can't Come Back - Ben Couch - New Jersey Nets
- Pacers bounce back - Mike Wells - Indianapolis Star
- Price sent to bench - Mike Wells - Indianapolis Star
-
Vogel gets on his team - Mike Wells - Indianapolis Star
-
Granger, Collison Solid In Second Half, Help Pacers Survive Nets - Tom Lewis - Indy Cornrows