NETS GAMENIGHT: #Nets (10-19) @ #Pacers (23-5)

Brooklyn Nets (10-19) @ Indiana Pacers (23-5)

Bankers Life Fieldhouse 7:30

TV: YES/NBATV – RADIO: CBS 880

[quote_simple]NETS STARTERS
The starting lineup tonight will be Deron Williams playing alongside Joe Johnson in the backcourt with Paul Pierce, Mirza Teletovic up front and the man in the middle Kevin Garnett.

The Nets are coming off a must win by beating Milwaukee last night 103-94 and now head to the visit the best team in the east in the Indiana Pacers.

The Nets don’t have Brook Lopez to offset the Pacers size for they will be going with Teletovic to give them some offense and hope he can matchup like he did prior with David West.

Brooklyn could really use a bigtime road win and doing it Indiana would certainly help the confidence level of this team.

[box]Injury News:

Andrei Kirilenko (back spasms) will be out again and he looks close to returning.[/box]

PACERS STARTERS

The Pacers starting lineup will be George Hill and Lance Stephenson in the backcourt with Paul George,David West and Roy Hibbert playing in the frontcourt.

The Pacers have not played since they beat down the Nets in Brooklyn on Dec 23rd and will surely best rested and ready to defend their homecourt where they are 13-1.

Brooklyn native Stephenson scored a career-high 26 against the Nets and George also had 26.

[quote_simple][box]Game Notes:

Indiana leads the NBA all-time series with the Nets 91-65, with a 55-24 record at home.

Indiana’s first win over Brooklyn this season ended a four-game losing streak against the franchise

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[box]WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Showing some heart

Pierce was also ejected for a flagrant foul on George Hill and subsequently fined $15,000 by the league. During a 20-4 run by the Pacers in the third quarter, Hill was going in for a layup when Pierce tried to wrap him up. His arm ended up going around Hill’s neck for a clothesline tackle and referees ruled it a flagrant 2 after review, an automatic ejection, though even Hill wasn’t sure it warranted that.

“It was a basketball play. I think back in the day, hard fouls was good,” he said. “So, it was a hard foul, but at the end of the day, don’t let it rattle you and that’s what I thought about.”

The foul should have been a flagrant 1 as it was nowhere near the type of foul that should have gotten him ejected.

At least he showed some heart and had a problem with all of the uncontested layups that his teammates have allowed this season.

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[box]INJURY REPORT

NETS

Andrei Kirilenko – doubtful (back spasms)

Brook Lopez  – OUT (ankle)

PACERS

NONE

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