Brooklyn's final home game became disastrous against a team that's been on the same boat as the Nets.
The Brooklyn Nets' home season finale ended in disastrous fashion. And reignited some top pick NBA Draft chatter after falling to the Indiana Pacers 123-94 on Thursday night.
Both teams have been constantly mentioned as contenders to land the top overall pick in the draft. Brooklyn was projected to land the No. 3 pick more than a week ago and taking Arkansas star Darius Acuff Jr.
Now it appears the Nets are reigniting top pick chatter after this one-sided defeat.
Indiana jumped on Brooklyn early by taking the 31-14 lead after the first quarter. The Pacers even led by as many as 32 at one point.
The visitors even witnessed seven different players reach double figures on the evening. Obi Toppin led the charge by dropping 26 points. Micah Potter added 18 points to finish second on Indiana. Ethan Thompson chipped in 15 points, while both Jarace Walker and Jay Huff added 14.
Brooklyn, again, took the rout in front of its fans for one more game. However, Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez became thankful for the fan support despite a rigid campaign.
"The loyalty and the support has been amazing, especially going into a season that we didn’t win a lot of games,” Fernández said with reporters afterward. “But all our guys worked and played hard, got better, and to feel the support for what we’re trying to do and the plan we have is pretty special.”
Fernandez loved the way the Nets competed despite facing some fierce circumstances, including dealing with the late season injury pileup that saw Michael Porter Jr. and Egor Demin go down.
“I think that it’s a group that is going to represent the borough and go out there and fight and get better,” he said. “Not always going to be perfect, but I think that we give our best and we compete.”
Again, he couldn't help but be thankful for the fans who attended the last home game during one of the worst seasons in Nets history.
"To appreciate what they do for us,” he said. “It means a lot, from the support that we get in our events that are not in the arena, like Practice in the Park and all the other community events."
Fernandez ended with dropping one last message directed toward the fans.
"We’re going to keep working, getting better and competing so when they watch us play, they’re proud of what we’re doing," he said.
E.J. Liddell led the way with 26 points. Ben Saraf turned in 19 points to claim second on Brooklyn. Tyson Etienne delivered 14 points.
Brooklyn also watched a trio of players score 11: Trevon Scott, Malachi Smith and Jalen Wilson.