Chaney Johnson is the headline here because the Pacers beat the Nets on Sunday night while Ivica Zubac left with a left ankle sprain and did not return. The win came after the Pacers had worn their ABA Classic uniforms in Brooklyn and opened with their expected starting lineup for the first time this season.
Pacers open with five starters
The Pacers began with Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Ivica Zubac together for the first time this season, a useful data point for a group still trying to settle its rotation. Friday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks, when the Pacers were down by as much as 37 points, made the return to a full first unit the most relevant part of the night before the final score even settled in.
They still made the first half harder than it needed to be. Rick Carlisle said, "We had some turnovers in the first half that were a bit uncharacteristic," after the Pacers committed 13 turnovers and 15 fouls before halftime while the Nets attempted 23 free throws.
Zubac leaves on one foot
Zubac rolled his left ankle when his foot landed on Kelly Oubre's foot as both players pursued the same rebound, then was announced as questionable to return with a left ankle sprain. He never came back, and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported that he left the arena on crutches.
Carlisle added that X-rays were negative for a fracture and that Zubac had swelling, then laid out the short-term read on availability: "Pretty unlikely he'll play tomorrow night, but we'll see. Hopefully it'll be a day-to-day thing, but you never know. Maybe he'll feel a lot better in the morning. It's hard to say. I think it's probably unlikely. But I talked to him after the game and he said, 'I'll be alright'. He had one of these last year and he missed a little bit of time. And we actually sat him a pretty significant amount of time when we traded for him to make sure that he was completely 100% healthy. So I'm not sure if it's the same ankle or not. Hopefully it's not going to be too bad."
Siakam and Toppin steady the pace
Pascal Siakam gave the Pacers a stable scoring spine, finishing with 15 points on eight shot attempts in the first half, while Obi Toppin added two three-pointers, eight points, and four rebounds. Carlisle singled out Siakam afterward: "He's a great player," and, "His three-point stroke has looked really good this year. We just need him to keep playing his game."
That leaves the Pacers with a straightforward next-step problem: keep the starting group intact if Zubac is able to recover quickly, or adjust again if the ankle keeps him out. Monday night already looks unlikely for him, and the injury cuts into the one clean lineup look the Pacers got after a sloppy first half that still ended with a comfortable result.
