When the Nets and Indiana Pacers faced off on Saturday night, the Pacers seemed to be able to get just about everything that they wanted on the offensive end as a result of poor Brooklyn defense.
The Pacers set a franchise record with 23 three-pointers, making 50 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc in a 125-116 win.
But when the two sides went head-to-head again just two days later, the Nets played with much better defensive intensity as the Pacers shot just 28.2 percent from three-point land in a 116-109 Nets win.
“It was very important for us to get a response," Steve Nash said after the game. "The win is nice but I care much more about the process, and I thought our process was great, our spirit was great, we were connected, played hard, were willing to do the extra things, the little things… So, really proud of the group’s effort.”
“I think just from the beginning of the game a much more aggressive mindset, both ends of the ball,” added Joe Harris. “They’re a young, talented team, so if you let them find their rhythm a lot of those guys can score and make a lot of plays, so tonight the emphasis was just to come out and make sure we were aggressive, especially defensively.”
The Nets led by as many as 24 points in the second quarter, but Indiana wouldn’t go down without a fight. Led by young players like Chris Duarte, who finished the night with 30 points, the Pacers cut the lead down to two points late in the fourth quarter, but the Nets were able to maintain their aggressive play and snap their four-game losing streak.
“They’re a tough team to keep a big lead on, the way that they play: A lot of pace, a lot of three-point shooting, they spread you out, they fly around, they shoot threes, they get you in transition as well, so a lead is never safe with them,” said Nash. “I was really more proud of the guys for sticking with it and having the resilience… Proud of just the overall effort, toughness, resilience and playing together and playing hard.”
“I just thought that the sense of urgency was there,” said Kevin Durant, who scored a game-high 36 points. “Guys know and respected this team and knew they can get hot on us, which they did there a couple spurts throughout the game, but we stayed poised. In the league now teams can run off and hit a couple of threes, timely threes, and get back into the game, so I think we did a good job of keeping them in front of us and we were able to get a win.”
As Nash pointed out, the Nets scored more points in Saturday’s loss than they did in Monday’s win, but their defensive effort made the difference at the end of the day.
“I think the big thing with us defensively is just making sure everybody’s locked in,” Harris said. “Scheme, communicating, and then just individually everybody guarding their yard, making it tough … It’s about individual ownership and the end of the day and everybody guarding their yard.”