Indiana Pacers rookie Kam Jones had his first NBA marquee moment on Tuesday vs. the Brooklyn Nets. After trailing by 18 with Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith and T.J. McConnell sidelined, the Pacers fought back to tie the game in the final minutes.
With the score knotted at 110-110 with 17 seconds remaining, Jones salvaged a broken possession by draining a stepback three late in the shot clock. Indiana sealed the victory with a stop on the other end.
The most impressive aspect of Jones' shot was the sequence that preceded it. Jones had turned the ball over on Indiana's previous two possessions. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle praised the young guard for his short memory after his game-winning shot.
“He’s undaunted. He’s a confident kid. He just plays, and he always believes in himself. And he made the biggest shot in his life,” Carlisle said.
Jones started the game at point guard and finished the game with 11 points, two rebounds and six assists on 5-of-12 shooting in 31 minutes. To call his game-winning sequence unlikely would be putting it lightly.
Pacers rookie Kam Jones reacts to hitting game-winning during comeback vs. Nets
Jones, the No. 38 pick in June's draft out of Marquette, has averaged 3.1 points on .414/.200/.500 shooting splits in just 11.9 minutes per game across 18 appearances this season.
Tuesday marked the first clutch minutes of his career. Further, he was 0-of-5 from three before draining the game-deciding shot.
“I was just thinking of responding to [my previous two turnovers]. That's over with. I'll deal with that, learn from that later. Right then, it's let's do what we gotta do to win,” Jones said of the closing sequence. “When I had the ball those last few seconds, I pretty much knew I was shooting a three. I hadn't made any, but all my threes felt good all game. After my stepback, before I even went up and let it fly, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is good.'”
After trading their 2026 first-round pick, top-four protected, to the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac, the Pacers will be highly motivated to tank the rest of the season. That should give Jones ample opportunity to prove his worth in Indiana's backcourt during the coming months.
The 23-year-old is on a four-year, $8.7 million contract that features a team option in 2028-29.
