The Brooklyn Nets found themselves shorthanded in the backcourt, with both Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. missing their matchup against the Indiana Pacers. But despite those absentees, the Nets found a way to beat the Pacers, 98-90, to claim their first win of the season (1-5).
As Brett Spiegel of ClutchPoints notes, the Nets win leaves just one winless team left in the entire NBA: the 0-6 Sacramento Kings.
Michael Porter Jr. paced the Nets with a team-high 23 points along with nine rebounds against the Pacers, who were also without All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton due to a hamstring injury. Julius Randle had 20 points, while Nolan Traore continued his strong play of late with 16 points and six assists. Andrew Nembhard led the way for the Pacers with 23 points in Haliburton's absence, while Pascal Siakam added 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez moved Traore to the starting lineup after his 17-point performance in a 136-109 blowout loss to the Pacers, and last year's No. 19 pick is making the most out of his opportunity. In his three starts, he is averaging 13.3 points and 3.7 assists in 26.7 minutes per game.
The Nets will be on the second night of a back-to-back tomorrow as they take on their city rivals, the defending NBA champion New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. After being rested against the Pacers, Mikel Brown Jr. will likely return to the lineup against the Knicks. The No. 6 pick in this year's draft is averaging 10.3 points and 4.3 assists while coming off the bench to start the season.