The Indiana Pacers (1-0) and Brooklyn Nets (0-1) square off at the Barclays Center on Oct. 28, Friday for a 2016-2017 NBA Season encounter.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 7:30 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru the NBA League Pass.
Preview
Indiana opened the season on a high note with a 130-121 overtime victory versus the favored Dallas Mavericks at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Wednesday, as per ESPN.
All five starters of head coach Nate McMillan scored in double figures as the Pacers displayed an offensive clinic led by 20-year-old sophomore big man Myles Turner with 30 points on 13-for-19 field goal shooting. Turner capped his monster performance with 16 rebounds and four blocked shots, proving that he is one of the best young centers in the league right now.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle was impressed about Turner, saying that "He did a little bit of everything to hurt us. It was not just one thing he did. He was active and he got the ball in the basket."
Paul George had an impressive all-around game with 25 points, eight rebounds, and six assists while newly-acquired point guard Jeff Teague had 20 points, eight assists, and three steals.
The rest of the starting unit, Monta Ellis and Thaddeus Young, scored 19 and 11 points respectively and contributed a combined 12 boards and 11 assists in between them.
Meanwhile, the Nets dropped their season-opener to the Boston Celtics, 122-117, at the TD Garden also on Wednesday, via Fox Sports.
The team was amazing during the final quarter as they managed to trim the lead from as high 23 points to only five points in the final score, pulling off a 36-25 run in the fourth period.
"It's a reminder of how quickly things can turn in this league," said Stevens after the match.
Brooklyn was led by shooting guard Bojan Bogdanovic with 21 points and five rebounds while point guard Jeremy Lin, the new talk-of-the-town, had 18 points, three boards, and three assists.
Three bench players scored in double figures for head coach Kenny Atkinson, namely Justin Hamilton, Joe Harris, and Sean Kilpatrick, who fired 19, 16, and 13 points respectively. They were responsible for the Nets' huge run in the final quarter before Stevens put back in his starters to preserve their win.
Prediction
A huge win for Indiana with the momentum still on their side. It's hard to see how Brooklyn will defend the Pacers' scorers with Brook Lopez seemingly not in his top form at the moment.
