NEW YORK _ The future will have to wait for the Nets. For the first time this season, coach Kenny Atkinson rested veteran Bojan Bogdanovic and replaced him with 2016 first-round pick Caris LeVert in a starting lineup that included second-round rookie Isaiah Whitehead and 2015 first-round pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson against the Pacers on Friday night at Barclays Center. But that trio totaled only eight points as the Nets fell into a 19-point third-quarter hole.
But the promise of the young trio gave way to the determination of a veteran second unit that wiped out that deficit early in the fourth quarter and revived the Nets' faltering offense to make a late charge that ultimately fell short in a 106-97 loss to Indiana. It was the Nets' eighth straight loss and 19th loss in their last 20.
The Pacers' lead shrank to eight early in the fourth, and the Nets' second unit was firing on all cylinders as Sean Kilpatrick hit a 3 that was followed by two more from Quincy Acy, the second of which gave the Nets their only lead at 85-83 with 8:37 to play. But the Nets hit a cold streak in which they made one of seven shots and committed three turnovers as the Pacers extended their lead to 94-89. The Nets got within three in the final two minutes but missed several point-blank attempts at the rim.
Brook Lopez led the Nets (9-41) with 23 points, Kilpatrick had 18 and Joe Harris had 15. Whitehead was scoreless, LeVert had four points, shooting 1-for-9, and Hollis-Jefferson had four points for the Nets. Jeff Teague and Paul George topped the Pacers (27-22) with 24 points apiece.
The temptation following Atkinson's decision to start LeVert along with Hollis-Jefferson and Whitehead was to suggest the future began Friday night for the Nets' youthful core. But the coach cautioned against jumping to that conclusion.
"It was really more about reading who's playing well and trying some different lineup combinations to see how it works," Atkinson said. "It wasn't as big-picture as you think. It was more that those two guys (Hollis-Jefferson and Whitehead) were playing well, and I felt we needed a little change, change it up a little.
"All that being said, nothing is written in stone. I'm not saying this is going to be the lineup for the rest of the season. I think a little competition within your roster is a healthy thing. It keeps guys on their toes."
Atkinson expressed his pleasure at how well Trevor Booker handled his move to the second unit in terms of his attitude and his strong play off the bench. At the same time, he said Whitehead and Hollis-Jefferson "earned their promotion to the first unit. It's not gifted to them, but they've earned it. It's good to see their progression and now throw Caris in there getting a chance tonight. We'll see a little bit of the future together. Really good, early signs. So, we're happy."
Those positive signs translated into poor execution at the outset as the Nets had trouble getting their offense in gear. They shot only 25.0 percent from the field in the opening quarter, and they trailed by as many as 14 points in the second quarter.
By halftime, the Pacers led 56-46, and their starters had outscored the Nets' starters, 41-19. Both LeVert and Whitehead were scoreless in the first half. When Pacers point guard Teague scored seven straight points early in the third quarter, he ignited an 11-0 surge that pushed their lead to 67-48.
That's where the Nets' veterans took over and began to clean up the mess and get back into the game. Spencer Dinwiddie, who lost his starting job to Whitehead, hit two 3s in a 22-6 Nets run that cut their deficit to five shortly before the third period ended with the Nets trailing, 80-74. The second unit played terrific defense in that stretch, holding the Pacers scoreless on nine of 11 possessions at one point.
