The Nets had been humiliated at home by this Pacers team a week ago.
asserted
Nets → humiliate → team
In Sunday’s rematch, they finally got their first win of the season.
asserted
they → get → season
They scratched, clawed and defended their way to a 98-90 victory over shorthanded Indiana before a sellout crowd of 17,274 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
asserted
They → scratch → Fieldhouse
Michael Porter Jr. led the way with a team-high 23 points to go with nine rebounds.
asserted
Jr. → lead → rebounds
Julius Randle had 20 points, six assists and five boards to go with a plus-17.
asserted
Randle → have → plus-17
Center Day’Ron Sharpe tallied his 20th career double-double with season highs of 15 points and 13 rebounds.
asserted
Sharpe → tally → points
The struggling offense sure didn’t look smooth or crisp, shooting 41.1 percent and 13-for-39 from deep.
asserted
offense → struggle → percent
But it was just enough against what was left of the injury-riddled Pacers.
asserted
what → leave → Pacers
Exactly a week earlier, the Nets (1-5) had suffered a 136-109 caning at Barclays Center.
asserted
Nets → suffer → Center
The game had devolved into a highlight-reel humiliation, with Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton even tossing the ball off the court to himself for a dunk more befitting an AND1 Mixtape.
asserted
Haliburton → devolve → Mixtape
The Nets gladly cashed in, coming in winless and in desperate need of a bounce back after Friday’s wretched loss to the Pistons.
asserted
Nets → cash → Pistons
“Obviously, [we need] a lot of improvement,” head coach Jordi Fernández had said beforehand.
asserted
Fernández → need → improvement
“The first time we played this team, we had an overall bad game.
asserted
we → play → game
I think we started and we fought in that first quarter, but then we couldn’t sustain anything, very similar to the last game against Detroit.
asserted
we → think → Detroit
“I think that we’re going to show the resilience and the intensity that we showed in Boston.
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we → think → Boston
And so, it’s a process.
asserted
it → ’ → ?
We’re gonna get there with consistency, but we believe we can do it.
asserted
we → go → it
And when we do it, we’re a very competitive team.”
asserted
we → do → it
The Nets showed the resilience and intensity they had in an overtime heartbreaker at Boston.
asserted
they → show → Boston
This time, they got over the hump and finally won.
asserted
they → get → hump
They got out of the gate fairly quickly — or Indiana was slow to start.
asserted
Indiana → get → gate
The Nets led 18-12 after a Porter free throw with 1:43 left in a tooth-and-nail first quarter.
asserted
Nets → lead → quarter
They were still clinging to a 43-40 edge at the break.
asserted
They → cling → break
The Nets came out of the locker room by scoring nine unanswered points, padding their cushion up to 12.
asserted
Nets → come → 12
They forced five straight misses and a turnover.
asserted
They → force → misses
Porter started the run on a four-point play off a Randle assist two minutes into the half.
asserted
Porter → start → half
Nolan Traore (16 points, six assists) followed with a 3-pointer of his own, then added a midrange to make it 52-40 with 8:42 left in the third quarter.
asserted
8:42 → follow → quarter
The Nets never truly lost momentum the rest of the way, holding Indiana at arm’s length.
asserted
Nets → lose → length
They saw their lead shaved down to three on an Andrew Nembhard 3-pointer that made it 75-72 with 9:29 to play but never any closer.
asserted
it → see → 9:29
They’re grinding in first gear and underachieving on that end of the floor.
asserted
They → grind → floor
“Our inability to run — and it’s just because we’re not trying to do it,” Fernández admitted.
asserted
Fernández → run → it
“We have too many guys trying to inbound the ball, too many guys trying to get the outlet, instead of getting to your spots early.
asserted
guys → have → spots
So, that extra effort is going to give us earlier shots, which are higher-quality shots, and our offense is just gonna have no problem with that.
asserted
offense → go → that
“Sometimes, when you struggle, you’ve just gotta identify the problem, present it to the group, and then get better.
asserted
you → struggle → group
I know there’s no time to practice, but there’s time to watch film, there’s time to walk through a lot of stuff.
asserted
I → know → stuff
We’re in four games in six nights, and that’s the beauty of this league: Games keep coming.
asserted
Games → ’re → league
We can improve.
asserted
We → improve → ?
So, they understand what they need to be better at.”
asserted
they → understand → what
The Aporia
