Jarace Walker scores 25, but summer Pacers blow 15-point lead in overtime loss to Nets

The Pacers blew a 15-point second-half lead and lost 97-95 to the Brooklyn Nets on a jumper by Keon Johnson on Friday night in their first NBA Summer League game of the 2024 slate at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.

The Pacers are 0-1 heading into their second game Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Here are four observations.

Pacers blow two double-digit leads before overtime

The first half was ugly for both teams with abysmal shooting and turnovers, but the Pacers were getting better defense and rebounding than the Nets, so they had a 41-33 lead at the break and took a 55-42 lead with 4:33 to go in the third quarter.

The Nets outscored the Pacers 18-6 in the final 4:33 of the period, however and trailed just 61-60 at the end of the third. The Pacers responded with an 18-4 run to start the fourth quarter to take a 79-64 lead and they were up 83-69 with 4:40 to go, but collapsed yet again. The Nets went on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to seven points. The Pacers increased it to 87-79, but Nets forward Jalen Wilson's 3-pointer with 1:30 left sparked a 10-2 run the rest of the way. Wilson hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 89 with 16 seconds left. Pacers guard Quenton Jackson was fouled with 1.9 seconds to go but missed two free throws that could have won the game and the game went to overtime.

NBA Summer League Games employ the Elam Ending with a target score rather than timed play. The target score was 96 and the teams were tied at 95 when Johnson hit his turnaround jumper to win the game.

Jarace Walker scored inside and outside

After a rookie season in which he appeared in just 33 games but still showed promising signs of multi-dimensional talent and skill, forward Jarace Walker entered NBA Summer League as arguably the Pacers' most intriguing player. Pacers assistant and summer league coach Jannero Pargo said that in camp he was showing a much better sense of the Pacers' offensive and defensive systems and playing with much more confidence. Pargo said Walker would start at small forward, a sign of the Pacers' desire to use him as a more perimeter-oriented player with veteran power forwards Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin having each signed four-year contracts in the summer.

Walker's performance in Friday's Summer League opener showed signs of a lot of the improvements the Pacers had noticed behind the scenes. Though he and the rest of the players on both teams struggled to make shots from beyond the arc, Walker was one of the few who had any success in the mid-range, knocking down several jumpers outside the lane.

Walker also did an excellent job of moving without the ball to get quick post-ups and other easy looks around the rim and finish with power through contact. He finished 9 of 18 from the floor though he was 0 of 3 from 3-point range, matching Wilson with a game-high 25 points.

Walker did, however, struggle with turnovers, giving the ball away seven times. He had some excellent passes and finished with four assists, but the errant throws are an issue.

Obviously, Walker won't be an offensive priority when the season begins the way he is in Summer League so defense and rebounding will be necessary for him to get on the floor come the fall, but he showed positive signs on that end as well. He grabbed six rebounds and recorded two steals and a block.

Lots of turnovers, bad shooting on both sides

Summer League play can be ragged with makeshift teams coming together to play after short mini-camps and many of the most intriguing players in the event getting their first taste of professional basketball. And Friday's game was about as Summer League ragged as it gets.

The ball-handling was bad. The passing was worse. And the shooting from beyond the arc was abysmal.

The Pacers committed 28 turnovers and finished with just 34 field goals, making just 43.6% of their attempts. Twenty-seven of those turnovers came in the first three quarters. The Nets committed 21 turnovers of their own.

Neither team was great from inside the arc, but they were truly awful from outside of it. The Pacers made just 4 of 23 3-pointers. The Nets 9 of 36.

Oscar Tshiebwe dominated on the glass as usual

Despite earning G League Rookie of the Year honors last season, Oscar Tshiebwe may have an uphill battle toward maintaining even a two-way contract this season with the addition of center James Wiseman and three promising second round picks to the Pacers' roster. But on Friday night he reminded the Pacers again that he does one thing really, really well.

The G League's leading rebounder last season with 16.0 per game grabbed 19 rebounds on Friday night -- eight on offense and 11 on defense, helping the Pacers win the rebounding battle 58-56. He also scored 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting.