This time the Nets didn’t collapse down the stretch.
It was a frenetic fourth-quarter rally that fell just short, 108-103 before a sellout crowd of 17,274 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
After having blown a five-point lead in the final minute of Thursday’s loss at these same Pacers, this time the script was flipped. It just had a similar ending: a loss.
The Nets trailed by 20 early in the final period, and put together a 21-2 blitz to get within one. But they couldn’t get over the hump.
“Yeah, I think the fight, all the way through is important,” coach Jordi Fernández said. “Never give up. Down 20, having the chance to fight for the game, it talks a lot about how those guys, the work they put in every day. Not quitting when you’re down 20, it’s extremely important. We could’ve done things better, but I’m really proud of the way the guys played.”
The Nets fell back behind by nine with 15.9 seconds left, only to pull within two.
They tried to pressure the inbounds with 3.1 seconds remaining, but Tyrese Martin was whistled for a foul.
The Pacers iced it at the charity stripe.
The Nets (23-48) are a half-game ahead of Philadelphia for fifth in the lottery odds, and 1½ ahead of No. 7 Toronto.
The Nets host the Raptors on Wednesday, the middle of a three-game homestand sandwiched between the Mavericks on Monday and Clippers on Friday.
Trendon Watford, who was ejected Thursday and saw the Nets collapse after he left the floor, on Saturday led with a team-high 26 points, one shy of his career best.
Cam Johnson returned from injury with 20 points. But the Nets were without D’Angelo Russell (ankle) and Ziaire Williams (hamstring), the latter after having hit a career-high six 3-pointers on Thursday. The Nets could’ve used that scoring punch on Saturday.
The Nets couldn’t keep up with Indiana’s pace.
Tyrese Haliburton returned from his sore lower back, and led Indiana. He flirted with a triple-double, with 16 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.
Pascal Siakam had 26, and Myles Turner added 22.
Indiana — which had a 21-8 fast break edge — is 25-11 since Jan. 1, behind only Boston and Cleveland in the East.
The Nets gave up the first seven points of the night and trailed almost the whole game. They never led after 11-10 in the first quarter.
And down just 35-34 after Johnson’s turnaround bank shot with 8:07 left in the half, they allowed a lightning-quick 9-0 one-minute blitz.
Haliburton got the Pacers out on the break, and found Andrew Nembhard for a 3-pointer and 44-34 lead with 6:41 in the second quarter.
Watford, who was arguing with Haliburton postgame after having to be separated from Turner on Thursday, dunked to get the Nets within 79-70 with four minutes to play in the third. But they conceded the final 11 unanswered to close the period.
Siakam — possibly getting away with a travel — scored a layup with three seconds left to put the Nets in a 90-70 hole.
Brooklyn mounted a furious 21-2 run over the first 7 ½ minutes of the fourth.
After Martin’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to 92-89, he fed Nic Claxton for a breakaway dunk to pull the Nets within one with 4:30 to play.
But that’s as close as the Nets would get. Mathurin’s jumper stemmed the tide, and Siakam’s and-one made it 97-92 with 3:28 left.
