For the Nets, the endgame was galling.
For their tanking efforts, the end result might’ve been good.
Brooklyn blew a huge late lead and fell 115-110 to tanking rival Indiana before a crowd of 16,779 at Barclays Center on Wednesday night.
The Nets (15-38) squandered an 18-point cushion, and had a final chance to tie but watched a clean 3-point look by rookie Egor Dëmin sail just wide.
But Brooklyn might have avoided a pyrrhic victory. They’re still fifth in the lottery standings, but now just a game behind Washington, Indiana and New Orleans/Atlanta, all essentially tied from second through fourth. The Nets are 1.5 games clear of the sixth-place Jazz pending Utah’s game against Sacramento.
After the Nets had blown an 18-point lead, Day’Ron Sharpe had a steal and layup to knot it at 110-all with 38 seconds left, but Kam Jones hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds to play.
Dëmin got an open look, but just missed and Indiana iced it at the line.
The Nets were outscored 31-20 in the fourth quarter, and were just 1-of-7 from deep.
Brooklyn played without three starters. But rookie Nolan Traore led the way with another big game, 20 points and eight assists. Sharpe stood in for starting center Nic Claxton with a double-double (19 points and 12 rebounds), while Dëmin added 13 points, five boards and five assists.
Brooklyn’s first run came midway through the first. Clinging to a 13-9 edge, they mounted a 12-2 run, capped by a Sharpe bucket for a 25-11 lead.
It was still 74-64 after Indiana’s Ben Sheppard found Kobe Brown for a layup.
Brooklyn reeled off eight unanswered points to pad the cushion to 82-64 midway through the third. Sharpe kicked out to Ziaire Williams for a 3-pointer that gave the Nets their biggest lead of the evening.
It was still 86-70 after Traore’s skip pass to Williams with 4:31 left in the third. But Brooklyn couldn’t protect that lead, helplessly watching it bleed away.
The Nets conceded an extended 30-11 run that spanned the third and fourth. They watched Indiana knot it at 97-all on Peter’s 3-pointer, and take the lead for good on another by Potter. The latter left Brooklyn down 100-97 with 7:11 left.
Traore tied it at 105-all on a high-difficulty turnaround in the lane, and a Dëmin corner 3-pointer put the Nets back ahead 108-106 with 2:04 to play.
Sharpe had a steal and layup to knot it at 110-all with 38 seconds left, but Jones’ 3-pointer with seven second left turned out to be the winner.
Jarace Walker led the Pacers with a game-high 23 points.