Watch: Jalen Smith gets ejected after scuffle with Dennis Schroder in Pacers win over Nets

The Brooklyn Nets’ post-season aspirations suffered a significant blow on Monday night during their match against the Indiana Pacers. Positioned on opposite ends of the playoff picture, the Pacers secured their hold on the 6th spot.

Despite the Pacers’ dominance throughout the game, the focal point shifted away from on-court performances. Instead, an incident involving Dennis Schroder and Jalen Smith captured attention, providing spectators with a noteworthy topic amidst the one-sided game.

Video: Jalen Smith and Dennis Schroder in heated encounter

Things got out of hand when the Brooklyn Nets visited the Indiana Pacers, resulting in the ejection of Indy’s Jalen Smith. Coming back from the halftime trailing by 75-47, the Nets’ guard Dennis Schroder decided to step up in the third quarter.

While proceeding with the ball toward the basket, Schroder got obstructed by Jalen Smith, who wasn’t letting him through easily. Smith threw his arms in the air to block the shot as the German guard tried to shoot. During his unsuccessful landing attempt, Schroder’s hand inadvertently struck the face of the Indiana center, causing him to lose his composure.

Failing to contain his anger, Smith responded by pushing Schroder towards a couple seated courtside, who were enjoying popcorn. However, both players were quickly restrained by their teammates and coaching staff, preventing further escalation.

Following the incident, “Stix” was ejected from the game after receiving a flagrant 2 foul for his actions against Schroder, while Schroder himself received a technical foul. Despite the altercation, Smith notably contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds to the Pacers’ dominant victory, which was spearheaded by Tyrese Haliburton.

Pacers annihilate Nets with help from Tyrese Haliburton

Despite receiving a blow with Jalen Smith’s ejection, the Indiana Pacers displayed their worth with superstar Tyrese Haliburton leading the side from the forefront. The 2-time All-Star showed his outstanding performance in 26 minutes by scoring a game-high 27 points, 13 assists and 4 rebounds while converting four 3-pointers out of the seven shots he attempted.

The unconventional shooter took 60% of the shots from the floor. Pascal and Toppin added 15 and 14 points respectively to the 133-111 win. While shooting at 58% in the initial half, the dominant Indiana team ensured that the Nets were held at 38%.

Impressed with the team’s performance, Haliburton said, “We did a good job pushing the pace.” “We were getting stops and running. That ultimately let to shots going in. We were playing the right way,” said the point guard assessing the game in a post-match interview.

Even though Mikal Bridges, Cam Thomas and Watford gave good individual performances by putting up 19, 22, and 21 points respectively, they couldn’t secure a win for the Brooklyn franchise. The two teams will face off again on Thursday and hopefully with less violence and more actions in the game.