Porter Jr. scores 23 as Nets beat Pacers 98-90

Michael Porter Jr. scored 23 points and Nolan Traoré hit two 3-pointers in the final five minutes as the Brooklyn Nets beat the Indiana Pacers 98-90 on Sunday, November 1.

Porter Jr. went 7-of-16 from the field and grabbed 9 rebounds. An 11-0 run that started in the last second of the second quarter and carried into the third put Brooklyn ahead 52-40, its largest lead.

The Nets (1-5) won as the underdog, with the market giving Indiana a 58.7 percent chance before tip-off. The Pacers (2-5), who played without Obi Toppin because of low back soreness, never led by more than one point, in the first quarter.

Indiana cut into the lead in the fourth quarter, which it won 28-27. Andrew Nembhard's step-back 3-pointer made it 91-84, and Traoré answered from 25 feet on a Julius Randle pass with 4:08 left. Quenton Jackson's 3-pointer pulled the Pacers within 94-87, but Traoré hit from 27 feet, again set up by Randle, for a 97-87 lead with 3:25 to play.

Nembhard's 29-footer cut it to 97-90, and Indiana did not score again. Chaney Johnson made a technical free throw for the final point.

Traoré finished with 16 points and made four of his eight 3-point attempts. Randle had 20 points and 6 assists and made all six of his free throws. Day'Ron Sharpe posted a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Moritz Wagner added 14 off the bench.

Nembhard led Indiana with 23 points but made seven of 19 shots. Pascal Siakam scored 17 on 6-of-14 shooting and missed both of his 3-point tries. Aaron Nesmith went 0-of-4 from deep and was minus-15.

Brooklyn also won at the line, making 25 of 31 free throws to Indiana's 21 of 30.

Up next

Nets: at the New York Knicks on Monday, November 2.

Pacers: home against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, November 2.