The Brooklyn Nets closed out the home portion of their schedule Tuesday night against the Indiana Pacers, a game that carried real weight far beyond the final score. Brooklyn had beaten the Milwaukee Bucks at Barclays Center earlier in the evening, and a second win would have pushed the Nets deeper into the crowded race to the bottom.
The Nets came in with two straight wins, while Indiana arrived off a third straight loss after falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. The Pacers were one game behind the Wizards and two games ahead of Brooklyn in the standings race, and another Nets victory on the front half of a back-to-back would likely have dropped them into fourth or even fifth. If a three-way tie for third develops, the worst-case lottery outcome for Brooklyn on May 10 would be ninth.
The game tipped after 7:30 p.m. ET and was shown on YES Network, carried on WFAN radio and streamed by Gotham Sports. Kobe Brown, Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker were questionable, adding to a night that already reflected how thin both teams could be this late in the season.
Brooklyn had won the first meeting between the teams, and Indiana took the second, keeping the season series split as the teams met again in Brooklyn. Drake Powell was expected to try to make something happen for the Nets, while Micah Potter described the job in blunt terms: bring energy, be a connector, use his voice, set physical screens, create angles as defenses switch more often, hit open shots and make the right play. He also said he understood that injuries were changing roles from lineup to lineup.
That matters for Indiana as well, because the Pacers are looking ahead to the draft while trying to hold their place. Their pick is protected from 1-4 and from 10-30; if it lands anywhere else, it goes to the Los Angeles Clippers. Obi Toppin has been out for most of the year with leg injuries, but the Pacers expect him to be a major contributor on a championship-level team when they return to competitive play next season. Friday's injury report is expected to be more congested than usual, and that kind of uncertainty is now part of the late-season picture for both sides.
For the Nets, the night was about finishing at home and trying to manage the consequences of winning while everyone else around them was losing. For the Pacers, it was another step in a season that now seems to be measured as much by draft position and future fit as by the scoreboard in front of them.
