Nets get revenge on short-handed Pacers for first win of season

Brooklyn Nets forward Julius Randle (30) shoots over Indiana Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith (23) in Indianapolis, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026.

INDIANAPOLIS — For much of Sunday night, the Nets couldn’t buy a basket.

By the end, they were no longer winless.

The Nets ground their way past the short-handed Pacers 98-90 before a sellout crowd of 17,274 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It wasn’t perfect or even easy, but it was enough.

“It wasn’t a pretty win, but it’s a win regardless. We got that zero out of that column, so we’re really happy about that,” Michael Porter Jr. said. “If you’re going to be a good team, eventually you’ve got to learn how to win games like this.

Brooklyn Nets forward Julius Randle (30) shoots over Indiana Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith (23) in Indianapolis, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. AP Photo/AJ Mast

“Neither team shot the ball well. Neither team cracked 100 points. That’s the type of games we want to win. It was good resilience. Sometimes, we let bad offense dictate our defense, and [Sunday,] we just kept going, grinding it out.”

The Nets (1-5) entered Sunday grinding in first gear, their offense struggling and sputtering.

It still wasn’t crisp. But against an Indiana team without Tyrese Haliburton, Ivica Zubac, Obi Toppin and T.J. McConnell, their defense, rebounding and improved attack got the job done.

A week earlier, they’d suffered a 136-109 loss to these Pacers, memorable for Haliburton tossing the ball off the court to himself for a dunk. The Nets bounced back in the rematch for their first victory.

“It feels good. I can sleep a little bit better,” Julius Randle said. “But we’ve got a lot to improve on. I’m happy for the group. We’ve been working real hard. We’re sticking together in tough moments. … But it’s just a start — we know we can be a lot better. We need to continue to grow and build off what we did.”

Brooklyn Nets forward Noah Clowney (21) dunks against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That beats coming unglued in tough moments, which they’d done all too often.

Porter had 23 points and nine rebounds. Randle added 20 points, six assists and five boards. More importantly, he finished a plus-17, and wasn’t a ball stopper. The Nets cut better and made themselves available to Randle, who released the ball quicker to find his teammates.

“We just had a good talk [Saturday] as far as our offense, how we can just help each other out, things that we can get into,” Randle said.

“We were on the same page. I got into positions where maybe it was isolation and guys knew what I was looking for, and get into screen-and-rolls. It’s more diverse for me how I can attack. And it’s all of us on the page. Coaches want us to run, get to the corners. We got more organized with our sets, what we were trying to do. We got quality shots. We didn’t make them all, but if we keep playing like that, I promise you we’ll have a good chance.”

The Nets led 18-12 after a Porter free throw with 1:43 left in an ugly first quarter.

They were still clinging to a 43-40 edge at the break but came out of the locker room with a 9-0 run. They forced five straight misses and a turnover.

Porter started the run on a four-point play off a Randle assist. Nolan Traore (16 points, six assists) followed with his own 3, then added a midrange to make it 52-40 with 8:42 left in the third quarter.

Michael Porter Jr. of the Brooklyn Nets handles the ball against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. NBAE via Getty Images

The Nets saw their lead shaved down to three on an Andrew Nembhard 3-pointer that made it 75-72 with 9:29 to play. They never let the Pacers get any closer.

Day’Ron Sharpe finished with 15 points, 13 boards, four assists and hit his only attempted 3.

The Nets shot just 41.1 percent and 13-for-39 from deep. But the ball didn’t stick, the shot quality was better, and they didn’t let misses seep into porous defense.

“The ball has energy, and everybody touched the ball, and then there was movement of the ball and movement of bodies,” head coach Jordi Fernández said. “These games that you’re buying into doing the right things and the shots don’t fall, but you’re playing defense and stay together, those are the most important ones to me.”