Rick Carlisle praises Indiana rookie who hit “shot of his life” to seal win over Nets

Indiana Pacers rookie Cam Jones had his first NBA moment on Tuesday vs Brooklyn Nets. After falling behind by 18 with Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhardt, Aaron Nesmith and TJ McConnell, the Pacers came back to tie the game in the final minutes.

With the score tied 110-110 with 17 seconds left, Jones salvaged a botched possession by draining a step-back three late in the shot clock. Indiana sealed the win with a stop at the other end.

The most impressive aspect of Jones’ shot was the sequence that preceded it. Jones previously turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle praised the young guard for his short memory after his game-winning 3-pointer.

“He’s fearless. He’s a confident kid. He just plays and always believes in himself. And he made the biggest shot of his life,” Carlyle said.

Jones started the game as the point guard and finished with 11 points, two rebounds and six assists on 5-of-12 shooting in 31 minutes. His sequence is unlikely to be a winning one, to put it mildly.

Pacers rookie Cam Jones reacts to winning the game during the comeback against the Nets

Jones, the 38th pick in June’s draft out of Marquette, is averaging 3.1 points on .414/.200/.500 shooting in just 11.9 minutes per game in 18 appearances this season. Tuesday marked the first minutes of his career. Further, he was 0-of-5 from three before exhausting his game with a decisive three.

“I was just thinking about responding to (my previous two reversals). It’s over. I’ll deal with it, learn from it later. In that case, let’s do what we have to do to win,” Jones said of the closing sequence. “When I had the ball in those last few seconds, I pretty much knew how to shoot a three. I didn’t make any, but all my threes felt good the whole game. After my step back, before I even went and let it go, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is good.'”

After trading their top-four-protected 2026 first-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac, the Pacers will be highly motivated to get through the rest of the season. That should give Jones ample opportunity to prove his worth in the Indiana backfield in the coming months.

The 23-year-old has a four-year, $8.7 million contract with a team option for 2028-29.