Pacers have another great 4th quarter to beat Nets, Kevin Durant

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INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers rallied from yet another double-figure deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 128-117 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday night. It's their seventh win in which they have trailed by at least 10 points.

The Pacers rebounded from their loss to Minnesota on Wednesday night and have now won eight of their last 10 games, improving to 11-7. The Nets fell to 9-11.

Here are four observations.

Pacers take over in the fourth quarter

The Nets took control early, shooting 62.5% from the floor in a 35-23 first quarter, and they maintained a steady advantage through the first three quarters. They led by as many as 12 and were up 94-88 going into the fourth.

But the Pacers opened the final period with an 11-2 surge to take the lead, and extended it to 20-4 to go up double-digits. The Nets got back into it as Kevin Durant finally found a shooting rhythm after two ugly quarters and scored 20 of his 36 points in the fourth on 8 of 10 shooting. However, the Pacers hung on through Brooklyn's onslaught and went back up double figures. They outscored Brooklyn 40-23 in the quarter, shooting 12-of-19 from the field including 4-of-7 from 3 and grabbing five steals for 12 points off turnovers.

The Pacers finished with 13 steals in the game while the Nets, a long-limbed team that likes to create turnovers, managed just two.

"We got more aggressive as the game went on," coach Rick Carlisle said. "(Point guard) T.J. McConnell added a lot to this game in the fourth quarter with his activity and ball pressure and just overall presence. ... It just felt like we outlasted them, which is what we were gonna have to do."

Rookie Bennedict Mathurin helped spark the run. Mathurin was 2 of 10 from the field in the first three quarters for just four points, but he scored 16 in the fourth alone

"We knew KD and Kyrie (Irving) had played most of the third and we talked in the third, 'We have to win these minutes with those two off the floor and just build off that," point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. "We went on a big run to start the fourth. We told Ben it was his time to go. He started going and we just kept building off of that."

Myles Turner comes to play again

It became apparent right out of the gate that the Nets' stars intended to put up big numbers and that the Pacers were going to have a hard time stopping them, and Myles Turner seemed determined to answer.

The Pacers' 6-11 center followed up a 31-point performance in the Pacers' loss to Minnesota with 23 points and eight rebounds on Friday. He dropped 15 on the first half on 6-of-8 shooting and he was the first of the Pacers to hit a 3-pointer after Indiana started 0-of-8. He finished 9-of-11 from the field, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

Buddy Hield has a complete offensive performance

Pacers veteran wing Buddy Hield has been grinding through some shaky offensive nights. Monday night against Orlando he scored just nine points, shooting 3-of-13 from the field and 1-of-10 from 3-point range. He was a little better on Wednesday, but still 5-of-16 from the floor, 3-of-11 from 3 for 13 points.

On Friday night, though, his outside stroke was back and he also found other ways to score, making plays off the dribble and by getting separation for easy layups with cuts. He finished with 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including five 3-pointers on eight attempts.

"Overall, he was great," coach Rick Carlisle said. "He was unafraid. He puts the ball in the basket."

Tyrese Haliburton was outstanding on both ends

Tyrese Haliburton has been as good as any point guard in the NBA so far this season but even by his lofty standards his line on Friday night was outstanding. He struggled shooting the ball, but got to the rim and finished with ease and got others involved before he started finding his own offense. He finished with 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting even though he was just 1 of 6 from 3. He finished with 15 assists against zero turnovers, hitting double figure assists for the 13th time in 18 games and going without a turnover for the first time all year.

"You like at Haliburton's line," Carlisle said. "Twenty-one points and 15 assists and zero turnovers is phenomenal against this team."

Pacers 128, Nets 117

BROOKLYN (117): Durant 15-31 3-4 36, O'Neale 3-8 0-0 9, Claxton 6-6 0-0 12, Irving 8-17 1-1 20, Simmons 8-8 4-5 20, Edwards 0-1 0-0 0, Morris 1-4 0-0 3, Harris 0-3 0-0 0, Curry 5-9 0-0 14, Duke Jr. 0-0 0-0 0, Mills 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 47-88 8-10 117.

INDIANA (128): Hield 9-15 3-3 26, Smith 2-6 5-6 10, Turner 9-11 3-4 23, Haliburton 7-15 6-6 21, Nesmith 3-7 3-4 10, Jackson 2-6 2-4 6, Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Mathurin 6-15 6-9 20, Brissett 1-3 0-0 2, McConnell 3-6 2-2 8. Totals 43-86 30-38 128.

BKN 35 30 29 23 — 117

IND 23 34 31 40 — 128

3-Point Goals—Brooklyn 15-41 (Curry 4-6, O'Neale 3-7, Irving 3-9, Durant 3-12, Mills 1-1, Morris 1-3, Harris 0-3), Indiana 12-34 (Hield 5-8, Turner 2-3, Mathurin 2-7, Nesmith 1-4, Smith 1-4, Haliburton 1-6, Brissett 0-1, Johnson 0-1). Fouled Out_Brooklyn 1 (Simmons), Indiana None. Rebounds_Brooklyn 38 (Claxton 11), Indiana 41 (Turner 8). Assists_Brooklyn 27 (Durant 8), Indiana 28 (Haliburton 15). Total Fouls_Brooklyn 28, Indiana 11. A_15,404 (20,000)

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers beat Nets, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons