The Indiana Pacers hosting the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night featured two big storylines. First, it was the season debut of Kyrie Irving, who will start playing in only road games for the Nets. Second, it was Lance Stephenson's (second) homecoming to Indiana. He was recently signed by the team and played his first home game as a Pacer since 2018.

Stephenson was met with a huge ovation from the crowd and put on a show worth celebrating. In the first quarter, he scored 20 consecutive points for the Pacers in less than seven minutes. Several of the league's best players, including Irving, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade have never scored that many consecutive points.

Stephenson only missed one shot in his first-quarter explosion, helping the Pacers take a lead over the title-contending Nets at the end of the period. He became the first bench player to score 20 points in a single quarter.

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Ultimately, the Pacers lost 129-121. They took a 13-point lead into halftime and dropped 73 points on one of the league's best defenses thanks to Stephenson. Brooklyn flipped the script in the second half, though, which featured a dominant fourth quarter that allowed them to win the game. They now sit at 24-12, making them the second seed in the Eastern Conference currently, while the Pacers sit at 14-25, good enough for just 13th place.

Stephenson is not equipped to be an offense-carrying player but he brings the funk and confidence as if he were one. Even though he won't help the Pacers make up ground in the standings, he is a welcome addition for Indiana as they head towards a rebuild.