Reserve Obi Toppin collected a season-high 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Indiana Pacers seized control in the first quarter and rolled to an 123-94 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday in New York.
The game featured teams with the NBA’s second- and third-worst records.
The Pacers (19-61) won for the fourth time in their past 25 games and beat the Nets for the second time in three meetings this season. Indiana, which has two more wins than the league-worst Washington Wizards, cruised to its second-most-lopsided win of the campaign.
Toppin, the only available player to appear in the NBA Finals last season for Indiana, made 11 of 14 shots in 19 minutes, including a powerful alley-oop dunk with about nine minutes left in the fourth. Toppin played in his 22nd game of the season and made his fourth start as part of a lineup with nine available players.
Micah Potter added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Pacers, who shot 52%, scored 80 points in the paint and outrebounded Brooklyn 66-43. Ethan Thompson contributed 15 points while Jarace Walker finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Jay Huff also had 14 points.
The Nets (20-60) lost for the 13th time in 16 games and are three games above the Wizards for the NBA’s worst record with just two games remaining.
E.J. Liddell led the Nets with a career-high 26 points and a career-best 10 rebounds. He made 10 of 16 shots and set his career high for scoring in a third straight game.
Rookie Ben Saraf added 19 and Tyson Etienne contributed 14 as the Nets shot 38.5% and were held under 100 points for the 26th time.
Toppin scored 12 points and the Pacers held a 31-14 lead through the opening quarter. The Pacers kept pulling away and took their first 30-point lead on a three-point play by Huff with 2:33 left before holding a 63-37 advantage by halftime.
Indiana never let the lead slip below 18 in the third and brought a 98-72 edge into the fourth quarter.
