The Nets could blame their horrible start to the season on injuries and a tough schedule, but they had neither alibi Saturday against the Pacers.
There was no excuse for the Nets’ 125-116 loss before a sellout crowd of 17,732 at Barclays Center, in which they played horrific defense against a Pacers team expected to be lottery-bound.
“It was a disaster. How else do you say it? I didn’t see the will, didn’t see the desire or the connectivity necessary to get stops and get rebounds,” coach Steve Nash said. “We’ve just got to make a bigger commitment. It’s got to mean more. We’ve got to care more.”
This summer, Nash survived Kevin Durant trying to get him fired. Now, his Nets are 1-5 and look every bit like a team with no fight or motivation. They’ve been so wretched it raises the question of whether they’ve tuned out Nash.
Durant, the man who attempted to oust him, said no.
A dejected Kevin Durant and the Nets had no answers for Tyrese Haliburton (inset), who scored 26 points, and the Pacers in the Nets’ 125-116 loss. Corey Sipken; Getty Images“That’s on the individuals. We got to take pride individually,” Durant said. “Coaching matters, chemistry, all that stuff matters. But at the end of the day we’re individuals. So we got to be better as individuals. … Each guy’s just got to dig down deeper and be better.”
The Nets have to be much better. But are they willing to do what’s necessary?
On a night when Seth Curry, Joe Harris and Markieff Morris returned to the lineup, the Nets couldn’t slow the Pacers, who were playing without Myles Turner. They allowed Indiana to shoot 23-for-46 from 3-point range and showed little grit or pride.
“[We] have to look deep inside ourselves and what we want to do, what we want to accomplish,” Nash said. “Do we want to give up on this because it’s been difficult early, or do we want to stay the course and build something?
“We’ve lost a couple games. It’s shook our mentality hard and we’re not seeing the same competitive spirit, same purpose. If we don’t clean that up it’s not going to get better.”
Kyrie Irving, who scored 35 points, drives to the basket during the Nets’ 125-116 loss. Corey Sipkin The Nets have been habitual offenders, losing cutters, and abandoning the game plan when things get tough. They came in with the league’s worst defensive rating, and this loss won’t help.
Kyrie Irving poured in 35 points and Durant added 26, but no other Net topped 12 points. Meanwhile, the defense stayed very much on-brand: Terrible.
“This is an overall s–tty night,” Durant summed up succinctly. “Of course we’re pissed. We enjoy basketball. We like to win, though. Of course when we lose the game, it’s going to be a somber mood in the locker room.”
The Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton had 26 points on 6-for-10 shooting from behind the arc, while Bennedict Mathurin came off the bench with a team-high 32 while going 6-for-9 from deep.
“It’s been too easy for people to come in here and get comfortable against us, find a rhythm,” Irving said.
“Guys have to be accountable on the defensive end,” Ben Simmons said. “Guys are coming in here and putting up career highs and we’re just not clicking defensively. We’ve got to hold each other accountable.”
With the score tied at 82-all after a Durant dunk with 6:25 left in the third quarter, the Pacers scored seven unanswered points. A Buddy Hield 3-pointer, followed by consecutive Isaiah Jackson dunks gave Indiana a 89-82 lead with 4:58 left in the third.
The Nets never recovered, falling behind by as much as 118-103, after a Mathurin free throw with 4:04 to play.
The Nets will host the Pacers again Monday.
“We’ve got to make some decisions,” Nash said. “We have to really think hard about how committed we are to doing this.”
