At Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday night, the Pacers defeated the Nets 133-111 for the second time in less than two weeks.
For the first time this season, the Pacers are now 43-33, 10 games above.500. They lead the seventh-place Heat by one game and are still in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
With a 29-47 record, the Nets are now in 11th place and are not in the postseason picture. On Wednesday, the teams will play again in Brooklyn.
Tyrese Haliburton, an All-Star point guard, appears to have overcome his March slump and brought his jump shooting back with him from the West Coast.
Haliburton scored 14 points in the first quarter after making his first five shots, which included his first three-pointer. On 7 of 12 shots, he scored 21.
After making only 7 of 39 3-pointers and exactly one in five of his prior six games, Haliburton has made at least two of them in each of his last six games.
The Pacers had another outstanding defensive effort on Friday after limiting the Lakers to only 90 points. Granted, with all chance of making the playoffs virtually gone, the Nets seem mainly indifferent.
Pascal Siakam didn't play too much, but even with that, the blowout ensured that the Nets still don't have a viable answer for him.