Nate Taylor

nate.taylor@indystar.com

Next up: Pacers at Bulls, 8 p.m., Saturday, Fox Sports Indiana

NEW YORK – Nate McMillan mentioned to his team throughout training camp about turning on the switch. As a former player and now the Indiana Pacers’ coach, McMillan knows how players prepare themselves for the start of the regular season when every one of the 82 games matter.

He expected his Pacers, a mostly veteran team, to turn that switch on Wednesday and play with energy, intensity and focus. The Pacers did in front of an energized home crowd. McMillan, at several points Friday, did not see the switch on within his players. No quarter better illustrated that than the fourth quarter.

The Brooklyn Nets, a team that many analysts predicted to be in the lottery come June, capitalized on the Pacers’ lackluster effort, in particular on defense, to produce an early surprise in the season. How did the Pacers' potent offense muster just 15 points in the final quarter? How did the Nets manage to turn a seven-point deficit into a 103-94 win? How did the Pacers’ defense collapse?

McMillan’s answer to each question was the same.

“We did not have that energy,” McMillan said. “Brooklyn tonight came out and played harder than we did. I thought their cuts were harder. I thought defensively they really got out and got after us, denying and pressuring us. They played with a sense of urgency that we talked we need every single night.”

Each highlight from the Nets was accompanied with the type of emotion the Pacers lacked. Justin Hamilton drove into the paint, scored over Myles Turner and screamed to the fans when he ran back on defense. Greivis Vasquez swished a transition 3-pointer and then, to the surprise of the crowd, did a shoulder shimmy. Sean Kirkpatrick made baskets and pumped his fist every time.

Perhaps the surprising production from the Nets’ trio of reserves was an indictment of the Pacers’ defense.

“They brought the fight to us,” said Paul George, who led Indiana with 22 points and nine rebounds. “We knew coming that this team doesn’t necessarily got the names, but they play hard and they play together. I thought they got comfortable early with their shot-making and it carried over.”

BOX SCORE: Nets 103, Pacers 94

The biggest name on the Nets’ roster created problems for the Pacers, too.

Friday’s game served as the Nets’ home opener and Brooklyn’s first chance to see Jeremy Lin, the team’s biggest offseason acquisition. When Lin had the ball in his hands early, the fans were eager to see him shoot. You could hear their anticipation that maybe, just maybe, he could have a performance similar to when he created Linsanity, that previous period in New York a few seasons ago when he scored points in bunches for the Knicks.

Lin, though, provided plenty for the Nets when he dribbled the ball. He was enough of a threat that the Pacers (1-1) had to swarm him whenever he drove into the paint. That scenario occurred a lot when Lin used the pick-and-roll as his tool to lead the Nets (1-1) in recording 21 points and nine assists.

“We played with our heart,” Lin said. “You saw that from a lot of guys.”

George, inside the Pacers’ locker room, could not say the same about himself and his teammates.

“We weren’t all the way there,” George said in terms of the Pacers’ energy. “We should be jacked up every night. It’s no excuses. It’s a new season, it’s a new year. There should be no point of being lazy or lackadaisical. We’ve got a new beginning. Everybody should be hyped about that.”

Far too often Friday, Jeff Teague struggled to stay attached to Lin once the Nets set their screen. With the Pacers not switching on defense, Myles Turner’s impact was compromised. Teague finished the game on the bench, as McMillan could not have him on the court once the Nets took the lead in the fourth quarter. Teague was poor on offense, too, with just four points on 2-of-13 shooting.

As almost an omen, McMillan addressed the state of his team’s defense before Friday’s game after the Pacers allowed 121 points in an overtime win Wednesday over the Dallas Mavericks. Two hours later, McMillan was left to readdress the glaring issues after Friday’s game.

“We’ve talked about this really throughout preseason: containing the ball and keeping the ball in front of you and playing defense without fouling,” he said. “They had us scrambling most of the game because of their penetration. When we got into a scramble, they were able to knock down some big 3’s.”

Thaddeus Young, in an effort to present solutions, said the Pacers will need more time, and more games, to find defensive cohesiveness. Young also said the Pacers can no longer underestimate teams the way they did with the Nets.

George agreed.

“It’s nothing to panic about,” George said. “We want to be playing great basketball later on. But we need to use this game as something, a platform, for us to get better.”

Injury report

Aaron Brooks, the Pacers’ projected backup point guard, missed Friday’s game because of a sore right knee. Brooks was available for Wednesday’s season opener, but McMillan chose not to play him. The injury has hampered Brooks since midway through the preseason. After the Pacers’ shootaround Friday, Brook was optimistic about soon making his Pacers debut.

“I’m hoping just to get out there and help out a little bit and see what I can do,” he said Friday morning. “Things have been pretty good. I just want to get a little game action to see how (the knee) really is.”

Rodney Stuckey left Friday’s game late in the first quarter with a right hamstring strain. Stuckey did not return and McMillan said his status for Friday’s game against the Chicago Bulls is unknown.

Call IndyStar reporter Nate Taylor at (317) 444-6484. Follow him on Twitter: @ByNateTaylor.

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Pacers at Bulls, 8 p.m. Friday, Fox Sports Indiana