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Indiana Pacers forward Paul George has been fined $25,000 for public criticism of the officiating, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.
George made his comments in the postgame press conference following the Pacers’ 102-90 loss to the Miami Heat on May 26, at AmericanAirlines Arena.
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Good news for the Indiana Pacers: they’ll have their best scorer Saturday as the team visits the Miami Heat for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The series is currently tied 1-1.
Under the care of the Pacers’ medical staff, Paul George has spent the past three days engaged in the NBA’s Return-to-Participation Exertion Protocol as part of the NBA’s Concussion Policy. George remained symptom free after each step of the process. The Pacers staff consulted with Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, the NBA’s Director of Concussion Management, throughout George’s progress through the protocol and today cleared him to return to normal basketball activity.
George will participate in tomorrow’s shootaround and barring any unforeseen complications, he will play in Saturday’s game at the Miami Heat.
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Here’s what Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert said to media at practice in between games 2 and 3 of the Pacers vs. Miami Heat Eastern Conference Finals series. Game 3 is Saturday night in Miami. The series is currently tied 1-1.
Question: Roy, the mentality this year as compared to last year, how has this been different compared to last year?
Roy Hibbert: We’re going in with more experience. We’re getting ready for two hard-fought battles.
Question: Why do you think you guys have been so good on the road? You’ve won like five straight. You’ve actually played better on the road than at home.
Hibbert: Just focus. We’re a tough team. It is what it is. Trying to get as many wins as possible when we get on the road.
Question: Are you guys more comfortable on this stage this year? It just seems like you guys are more relaxed.
Hibbert: We’re good.
Question: How about Paul, whether he’s going to play or not? How does that look?
Hibbert: I haven’t heard anything.
Question: Are you all prepared, if you have to go without 24?
Hibbert: Yes. The next man will step up.
Question: Does that mean more of Roy Hibbert, more baskets, more post‑up?
Hibbert: We’re a team. Whatever the team needs me to do, I’ll do.
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Tuesday night, Indiana Pacers forward Paul George took a knee to the back of his head during the fourth quarter of the Eastern Conference Finals game against Miami. Immediately after the play, George exhibited no symptoms of a concussion and, in response to questions from the Pacers’ medical staff, he denied dizziness, nausea, and issues with his vision. He was also active and aware of his surroundings. As a result, the Indiana medical staff did not suspect a concussion.
Following the game, George stated for the first time that he “blacked out” on the play. As a result of this statement, the team conducted the NBA-mandated concussion assessment, which did not reveal any active symptoms of concussion.
Because of the statement and Indiana’s ongoing evaluation and management of potential concussions, George underwent further testing and evaluation Wednesday morning. He has been diagnosed by the team’s consulting neurologist with a concussion, based on his post-game reporting that he had briefly lost consciousness during the game. He will begin the NBA-mandated protocol for return-to-participation after a diagnosed concussion.
Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, Director of the NBA Concussion Program, has been in contact with the team medical staff and stated, “The Indiana Pacers medical team followed the NBA concussion protocol and there was no indication of concussion during the game. This case illustrates that concussion evaluation is an ongoing process and manifestations of the injury may not always present immediately.”
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Indiana Pacers guard Lance Stephenson has been fined $5,000 by the NBA for violating the league’s anti-flopping rules during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The incident occurred with 3:37 remaining in the third quarter of Indiana’s 87-83 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday, May 20, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
To view the play, click on this link.
Paul George scored 24 points, David West had 19, and the Indiana Pacers protected their home court with a 107-96 victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Indiana led wire-to-wire and never even gave the Heat a chance to tie the score after starting the game with a 5-0 lead.
Game 2 is Tuesday in Indiana. The home team has won all five meetings this season.
Dwyane Wade scored 27 points and LeBron James had 25 for the two-time defending NBA champions, who lost for only the second time in 10 playoff games.
Indiana had a 30-point first quarter for the first time since Feb. 27, extended the lead to 19 in the third and Miami couldn’t get closer than nine the rest of the way.
For months, people wondered what happened to the Indiana team that dominated the first half of the NBA season.
On Sunday, those Pacers suddenly reappeared.
— Associated Press
The Heat committed 26 fouls compared to 15 for the Pacers. The worst of it, of course, was a flagrant by Mario Chalmers on Watson with 9:22 left in the game. Chalmers first hit Watson with a common foul as Watson drove the basket. The Heat’s starting point guard then pushed Watson into press row, which was located on the baseline.
Chalmers was assessed a flagrant foul for the unnecessary shove and Watson was awarded four foul shots. His free throws gave the Pacers a 15-point lead.
An 18-foot turnaround jumper by Lance Stephenson put the Pacers ahead by 13 points with 7:37 to play and Indiana led by double digits for the remainder of the game.
— Miami Herald
It didn’t take 30 minutes of basketball Sunday for all five Pacers starters to reach double figures in scoring, and each starter made an impact in his own way.
Hill knocked down shots early. West punished the Heat inside on mismatches, ignoring his trusted jump shot to bully his way into the post. Paul George picked off shots in the flow of the offense, and Lance Stephenson provided crucial buckets in a big second quarter in particular. Miami struggled all game with Hibbert, who was never dominant but always present, scoring and rebounding consistently.
Starters combined to score 94 of Indiana’s 107 points in Game 1.
— Indianapolis Star
Sunday in Washington, the Indiana Pacers won a tight Game 4, beating the Wizards 95-92. In the win, Paul George shot 12-of-20, including 7-of-10 from three-point range to finish with 39 points, 12 rebounds, no assists, and two steals. Here are some George video highlights:
Wednesday in Indiana, the Pacers beat the Wizards 86-82 to tie their second-round playoff series at one win apiece. In the victory, Pacers center Roy Hibbert, who has famously struggled in the playoffs as well as for much of the second half of the NBA regular season, stepped up and shot 10-of-13 for 28 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 33 minutes. Here are some Game 2 Hibbert video highlights:
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The Indiana Pacers announced Wednesday center Andrew Bynum will miss the remainder of the NBA Playoffs and will not be with the team.
“We want to thank Andrew and our medical staff for trying to get the issues with his knee resolved,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “We wish him the best in the future.”
Bynum was signed as a free agent Feb. 1, and played in just two games with averages of 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds.
Paul George scored a playoff career-high 30 points and Roy Hibbert finally came up big to lead the Indiana Pacers past the Atlanta Hawks, 92-80 on Saturday night in Game 7.
Indiana staved off elimination for the second time in three days. It’s the first time since mid-March the Pacers’ regular starters have won back-to-back games.
Instead of becoming the sixth top seed to lose in the first round of the current 16-team playoff format, the Pacers will be back on their home floor Monday night against Washington in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Kyle Korver scored 19 points and Jeff Teague had 16 for Atlanta, which won just 38 games in the regular season but proved to be a tough opponent for the Pacers…
Hibbert, who scored 20 points total in the first four games, had a series-high 13 points and seven rebounds. Lance Stephenson finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, and George added 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double in the playoffs…
The Pacers finished with a 55-38 rebounding edge and with Hibbert clogging the way, the Hawks were forced to rely primarily on 3-pointers. Atlanta wound up just 11 of 44 from beyond the arc, most coming as it tried to dig out of a double-digit deficit.
— Associated Press
It nearly cost the Pacers the series earlier, but in the end, coach Frank Vogel’s faith in Roy Hibbert paid off. The maligned center gets eight points and three rebounds in the first quarter. That was huge, considering the Pacers were extraordinarily sloppy at that point. Hibbert finishes with13 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots. The haters become lovers. He gets a standing ovation when he heads to the bench for a third-quarter breather.
The Hawks get little offensively from All-Star forward Paul Millsap, who finished with 15 points and was just 6-for-21 from the field. He was 0-for-9 in the first half when the Hawks looked like they might keep the game close. Millsap’s lack of production allowed the Pacers to clamp down on Atlanta’s Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver after both got off to hot starts. Teague’s driving dunk attempt on the final play of the first half is blocked by Indiana’s Ian Mahinmi and he’s barely a factor after that, scoring six second-half points.
Atlanta nearly pulled off the first-round upset because of its strong 3-point shooting and its ability to get to the line early and often. Both went missing on Saturday. The Hawks were just 11-for-44 from 3-point range and 13-for-16 from the line.
While Millsap was struggling, Pacers star forward Paul George is terrific, scoring a playoff career-high 30 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Lance Stephenson has 19 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.