On January 6, Beijing time, the Nets defeated the Pacers 129-121 on the road, ending a 3-game losing streak, while the Pacers suffered a 6-game losing streak. The Nets were not in a good shape in the first half of this game, and their performance on the defensive end was a mess, allowing the opponent to score 73 points in the first half and 13 points behind the opponent at halftime.
In the second half, the Nets began to fight back, and under the leadership of Durant, Irving and Harden, the team performed very well in the third and fourth quarters, including a wave of high-quality counter-attacks in the fourth quarter, successfully overtaking the score and widening the advantage to double digits. In the final moments, the Nets also didn't give the Pacers a chance to fight back. In the end, they also managed to beat the Pacers on the road and win the game.
The Pacers' overall performance in this game was not bad, always ahead of the Nets in the first three quarters, and held a 19-point lead at most. However, it is a pity that the Pacers can not withstand the Nets' crazy attack in the second half, the team's continuity on the offensive end is not enough, when the score is reversed, they have not been able to respond, many times can only watch the Nets complete the score, the team can be described as trying their best, but helpless, the overall strength of the Nets is above themselves, which also led to the team losing again at home.
In this game, Sabonis performed well, he had a triple-double of 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, and new signing Stephenson broke out, he scored 20 points in the first quarter, hit 4 three-pointers on the outside, and he got 30 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists in the whole game, becoming a Wizard, and 30 points in a single game was also his new high score in a single game this season. Unfortunately, the Pacers struggled to win with at least 30 points from both players, and they eventually lost to the Nets at home and suffered a 19-point reversal.
The biggest focus of this game is the return of Irving, who has finally made a comeback after missing 35 games, and he will start this game. After missing many games, Irving's comeback after the return is not bad, he played 32 minutes, 9 of 17 shots to get 22 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, the personal performance is not bad, his efficiency of holding the ball to break through and inside fouls is still very high, when the team needs to score, Irving can stand up, give the team a very big help in the game, the Nets can successfully reverse 19 points in this game, Irving's performance is indispensable.
In addition to Irving, Durant also ushered in an outbreak, he had 39 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in the whole game, the performance on the offensive end was still very strong, in the second half of the game, when the team was behind, Durant took over the team's offense, played a very good performance in the game, and he was also a big contributor to the team's victory. Harden had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, and the team scored in double figures for 6 people, and after Irving's return, the team finally ended its losing streak and won a big win. As the Nets' roster gradually becomes complete, it is believed that this team will gradually get back on track and achieve more victories in the next game.