NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets (0-3) had proven to themselves that they could keep up with the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers after nearly erasing a 22-point deficit on the road. Given that Brooklyn was potentially one or two possessions away from notching their first win of the season, they were hoping to fix those issues against the visiting Indiana Pacers (2-1).
The Nets lost to the Pacers on Sunday 136-109 as Brooklyn seemingly dropped the ball on both ends of the floor after a first quarter where they trailed Indiana just 26-24. Guard Nolan Traore had 17 points and five assists in 25 minutes off the bench while forward Josh Minott had 15 points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes, also off the bench.
From the beginning of the second quarter,
the Nets weren't able to find their rhythm on either end of the court and they allowed Tyrese Haliburton to put up 24 points and 10 assists to lead both teams in those categories. Indiana has always played at a fast pace, but the Nets weren't able to keep up with their pace and their play on both ends of the floor suffered.
Here are the Nets player grades following Sunday's loss to the Pacers:
Egor Demin: D
Demin struggled with his shooting overall as he couldn't get anything going from behind the three-point line or driving to the rim. Despite Demin coming off his best game of the season Saturday against the Cavaliers, he wasn't able to carry that over and his ball-handling left plenty to be desired given the amount of times he turned the ball over.
Keon Ellis: B-
Ellis had arguably the best offensive game that he's had this season as he was perfect shooting the ball from the field and had success at all three levels of the court. Ellis was solid with the ball in his hands to find his open teammates and made plenty of plays getting into the defensive passing lanes over the course of this fast-paced matchup.
Michael Porter Jr.: F
From the beginning, it was clear that this wasn't going to be Porter's night as he couldn't find his rhythm to hit any of the shots that he normally makes. Porter used his length to pick up some steals, but he played just 21 minutes as the Nets had nothing for the Pacers after the first quarter.
Julius Randle: D
Similar to Porter, Randle didn't have it going on the offensive end of the court as the Pacers were crowding him whenever he touched the ball, making it hard for him to get consistent looks at the basket. Randle continued to put pressure on the opposing team by getting to the free-throw line, rebounding, and finding his teammates for open looks, but once again, the team as a whole struggled to respond.
Day'Ron Sharpe: C+
Sharpe had a tough matchup ahead of him with having to face Ivica Zubac, but with him leaving this game early due to injury, Sharpe was able to have his way to some degree against the rest of the Pacers' bigs. Sharpe could have been more of the presence on the boards, but it was clear that the Nets were a step slow against Indiana.
Josh Minott: B-
Minott began seeing minutes with Saturday's game against the Cavaliers and it seems like head coach Jordi Fernandez likes what he sees from him as he played even more against the Pacers. Part of that could be due to the blowout since the second quarter, but Minott gave his best effort rebounding and trying to be as active on the defensive end of the floor as possible.
Noah Clowney: C-
Clowney had a rough shooting game as he couldn't get his shot from anywhere on the floor, but he did a great job of being aggressive on his drives to get himself to the free-throw line. Clowney did a good job in the rebounding phase of the game, but the rest of his game was a struggle for him as well as the rest of the team on the defensive end of the court.
Chaney Johnson: C-
Johnson saw more playing time after how well he played against the Cavaliers, but his impact on both ends of the floor were somewhat muted compared to the impact that he's had on games in the past. Johnson did a good job of rebounding the basketball, but outside of that, there wasn't much else to point out about his performance other than his effort and hustle once again.
Mo Wagner: C+
Wagner had his best game of the season as he seemingly couldn't miss from anywhere on the floor despite having to go against solid bigs in Jay Huff and Pascal Siakam at times. Despite how well Wagner played on the offensive end of the floor, the defensive end of the court was the opposite, not just for him, but for the rest of his teammates as well.
Nolan Traore: B-
Traore had his best game of the season as he had repeated success driving to the rim and getting past his defender to either finish at the basket or find one of his teammates that became open because of his penetration. Traore scored the ball well at all three levels and he was efficient with the ball in his hands, but he will have to learn to be physical on the defensive end without fouling as much as he did in this one.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets player grades after 136-109 loss to Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers
