And there it is. The Nets are no longer winless.
Brooklyn finally broke through Wednesday night inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It wasn’t always pretty, things got tight late and they lost their leading scorer along the way, but Jordi Fernández’s group outlasted the Indiana Pacers for a 112-103 victory, their first of the 2025-26 season.
It was hardly flawless, but it marked the first time all season the Nets maintained defensive discipline and poise when it mattered most. Every player had a hand in it on both ends.
Brooklyn entered the night without four of its five rookies, but its veterans were healthy aside from Haywood Highsmith, and a new starting lineup of Terance Mann, Cam Thomas, Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton set the tone early, holding the severely shorthanded Pacers to 29.6% shooting in the first quarter — the Nets’ best defensive period of the season.
Back from a one-game absence, Porter started hot, going 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc as the Nets built a 15-6 lead. Indiana answered with a 7-0 run while Brooklyn missed its next seven shots, but the Nets regrouped to take a 25-18 lead at the end of the first quarter, their first time holding an advantage after one this season.
However, while the opening quarter brought a few small wins for Brooklyn, it also delivered a potentially costly blow. Moments after missing a midrange jumper, Thomas limped off the court with 6:25 left and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. The Nets later diagnosed it as left hamstring tightness. The 24-year-old missed 59 games last season because of injuries to the same hamstring.
To make matters worse, the Pacers opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run to reclaim the lead. The period turned into a back-and-forth battle, but Indiana closed strong with an 11-4 burst over the final 3:33 to take a 59-54 advantage into halftime. The Pacers shot a scorching 64% in the quarter, led by 10 points from Ben Sheppard and eight from Jay Huff, while Mann kept Brooklyn close with 11 points. Porter had already poured in 20 of his game-high 32 points by the break.
The second half opened with a bit of chaos. Porter forced a turnover in the backcourt, and after officials awarded Brooklyn possession, he buried another 3-pointer. The sequence sent Pacers coach Rick Carlisle into a fury that led to his ejection.
Brooklyn briefly pulled ahead in the third quarter, but any momentum it built was undone by Huff and Pascal Siakam, who combined for 15 points in the period. Clowney went 4-for-5 from the field, yet the Nets still entered the fourth trailing by three.
A 32-20 fourth-quarter run sealed Brooklyn’s first win of the season, with Claxton, Tyrese Martin and Jalen Wilson leading the charge. The Nets clamped down defensively, holding Indiana to 33.3% shooting and forcing four turnovers, converting 18 total giveaways into 23 points.
Clowney added 17 points and four rebounds in his second straight start, while Claxton posted his team-leading third double-double of the season with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Porter notched his third 30-point outing in seven games as a Net.
Siakam led the Pacers with 23 points, six rebounds and nine assists.
Next up for Brooklyn is a Friday home matchup against the Detroit Pistons at Barclays Center.
