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It took a heated altercation to wake up the Indiana Pacers during Thursday's matchup with the Brooklyn Nets. With the Nets leading 84-79 with 4:48 remaining, Trendon Watford shoved Andrew Nembhard after a Pacers bucket. Myles Turner came to his teammate's defense, initiating a bench-clearing scuffle, during which Brooklyn head coach Jordi Fernandez got bumped and fell into the second row.
Watford received two technical fouls and was ejected, while Turner and Nembhard received one technical each. Indiana finished regulation on a 12-7 run to force overtime before closing out a 105-99 win.
Fernandez addressed the fight postgame.
“You don’t wanna see any of your teammates getting ejected, but [Trendon] was out there fighting, fighting for all of us,” he said. “Again, you don’t want to get to that point, but at the end of the day, nothing happened. It was just two teams playing hard. They were competing. We were competing. The physicality was great.”
Trendon Watford just got into it with Andrew Nembhard and Myles Turner. Jordi Fernandez ran over to break it up and got shoved into the second row.
Quite the scene. pic.twitter.com/slYorkYD7G
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) March 21, 2025
Watford's ejection proved critical for a Nets team that has struggled to generate offense down the stretch of recent losses. The 6-foot-8 point-forward had posted 15 points and two assists on 6-of-11 shooting in 26 minutes before exiting.
Nets blow another fourth-quarter lead after Trendon Watford-Myles turner brawl
Despite Watford's absence, a Ziaire Williams three gave the Nets a five-point lead with 1:42 remaining. However, a Benedict Mathurin jumper pulled the Pacers within three in the final minute.
After an Indiana stop, Keon Johnson fouled Mathurin on a three-point attempt with 14 seconds remaining. The Pacers guard drained three free throws to send the game into overtime.
Williams buried another three to give the Nets a 99-98 lead with 1:15 remaining in the extra period. However, Indiana closed on a 7-0 run, during which Brooklyn shot 0-of-3 with two turnovers.
The Pacers attempted 13 of their 31 free throws in overtime. Brooklyn attempted 18 during the loss, a disparity Fernandez was quick to point out postgame.
“They had good composure, they pressured us, they created points off turnovers… And then it came down to the free-throw disparity. A 13-shot difference with a team that we shot [a] similar [number of] paint shots,” the Nets coach said. “I find it hard to believe, but it's part of the game. That's something that I cannot control, which way the whistle is gonna go. Obviously we had a great veteran crew that has called a lot of games.”
“Again, we got punished at the free-throw line, and they didn't,” he later continued. “I just don't think with a game that was that physical against [a team] picking up full-court with low scoring, it doesn't seem like it makes sense. But it was a good battle with a good competitive team.”
The Nets attempted 20 more field goals than the Pacers, a product of forcing 22 turnovers and grabbing 14 offensive rebounds. However, they shot just 36-of-101 (35.6 percent) from the field and 14-of-50 (28 percent) from three.
Indiana was without Tyrese Haliburton (low back soreness), while Brooklyn was missing Cam Johnson (rest).
Williams led the Nets with 22 points while draining a career-high six threes on 12 attempts. D'Angelo Russell added 22 points and six assists on 7-of-22 shooting.
Mathurin posted a game-high 28 points and 16 rebounds on 10-of-17 shooting. Turner added 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting with 10 rebounds and five blocks.
The loss marks the Nets' 12th in their last 14 games. Fernandez's squad has held a fourth-quarter lead in six of their last seven defeats. They've led by seven or more in the final period of four of those losses.
Following Thursday's outcome, Brooklyn holds a half-game lead on the Philadelphia 76ers and a one-game lead on the Toronto Raptors for fifth place in the draft lottery standings with 12 remaining.
