Nets guard Kyrie Irving puts up a basket past Pacers...

Nets guard Kyrie Irving puts up a basket past Pacers guard Buddy Hield in the first half of an NBA game at Barclays Center on Monday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke

Two days after a game that Steve Nash called “a disaster” and a 1-5 start that spurred a players-only meeting, the Nets on Monday looked another disaster in the eye and finally got out of their own way.

After squandering a 24-point lead, the Nets fended off the Pacers, 116-109, at Barclays Center — an effort that, though uneven, demonstrated more spunk and better defense than they had showed during a four-game skid.

They were paced by Kevin Durant, who had 36 points, seven assists and nine rebounds, along with Kyrie Irving (28 points) and Nic Claxton (19 points) — all of whom helped take over after the Pacers tied it at 100 in a game the Nets had led 48-24.

“I’m proud of them — effort, energy,” Nash said. “Not only did we build a lead, but when [the Pacers] had nothing to lose and came flying back, those are hard to hang on to. We had a lot of guys who were fatigued late in the game, and we were able to get stops.”

The Nets, playing without Ben Simmons (knee) and Seth Curry (ankle), were clinging to a 96-90 lead when a goaltending call on Irving nearly shifted the momentum. The Pacers took off on a 10-4 run and tied it at 100 on Chris Duarte’s layup.

The Nets, though, scored the next seven, all from Claxton and Durant. Joe Harris (four steals and a block) helped make a few key defensive stops down the stretch to keep it there.

Durant’s 25,754 career points moved him past Vince Carter (25,728) for 19th in NBA history; next up is Kevin Garnett (26,071). Durant also scored at least 25 points for the seventh straight game, the longest such opening stretch in Nets history.

“It means a lot,” Durant said. “My first NBA jersey was Vince Carter when he was in Toronto, so that’s a full-circle moment for me. Grateful for all my teammates along the way that helped me throughout these years, my coaches as well, everybody that chipped in and helped make me the player I am today.”

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