Indiana Pacers Blog – Page 37 – NBA Blog

Nets rally late, beat Pacers 89-84 in OT

Brooklyn figured out how to win without its most versatile offensive player Monday night.

Feed Brook Lopez early and often, keep Reggie Evans active on the glass and put the ball in Joe Johnson’s hands with the game on the line.

It may need to keep that formula a while longer.

Lopez scored 25 points, Evans grabbed 22 rebounds and Johnson tied the score with a 10-foot bank shot to force overtime before closing it out with four straight free throws to give the Nets an 89-84 victory—their first in six tries at Bankers Life Fieldhouse…

Brooklyn (30-22) needed every one of those plays to turn things around.

They came into Monday night with three losses in four games, including a 111-86 shellacking at home Sunday. They had lost five straight in Indianapolis, one of the best home teams in the league this season, and had been struggling badly to score, too. Plus, they were missing guard Deron Williams who was diagnosed with synovitis, an inflammation of the ankle joint linings. He received platelet rich plasma treatment on both ankles and isn’t expected to return to the floor until after the All-Star break.

But without Williams, the Nets stayed focused.

They had only 11 turnovers, forced the normally proficient Pacers to shoot just 34.4 percent, limited All-Star forward Paul George to five points on 1-of-10 shooting, and rallied late in regulation in a game that looked all but lost. Then, in overtime, the Nets refused to let this one slip away…

David West Indiana’s other big scorer, got poked in the eye by Lopez 60 seconds into the game. When he returned to start the second half, he didn’t look like himself. He was just 2 of 11 from the field with seven points and six rebounds and missed three straight midrange shots at the end of regulation, the last a 14-footer that bounced off the front of the rim as time expired…

George Hill led the Pacers with 22 points and six assists while Lance Stephenson and Jeff Pendergraph each had 14. It was a season-high for Pendergraph, whose previous best was six.

— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

Danny Granger should return for Pacers soon

The Pacers may get their fifth starter from last season — Danny Granger — back as early as Wednesday against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Granger, out all season with a left knee injury, went through his first full-court practice Sunday.

The Pacers must decide if it’s important for Granger to play before the All-Star break next weekend or wait until Feb. 20 against the New York Knicks.

Granger is staying in Indianapolis over the break to continue working out.

“I thought he looked great,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said about Granger’s first extensive practice. “We have to see how his body responds, obviously. Have him go through another practice Tuesday and see where we’re at. I think it could be helpful to get his feet wet on Wednesday, but we have to make sure he feels good.”

— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

Pacers home game attendance is terrible

The slogan goes, “In 49 states, it’s just basketball. But this is Indiana.” That must be a reference to the Indiana Hoosiers rather than the Pacers, who continue to be among the NBA bottom feeders in attendance. They are currently 26th in the NBA, averaging 14,592 fans in a building that seats 18,165.

The Pacers have had just four sellouts this season; opening night, both Miami games and against Chicago earlier this week.

While they have increased attendance by 1,320 fans a game from last season, that’s still not enough.

“It’s very disappointing,” Pacers guard and Indianapolis-native George Hill said. “The fans show up when we play the marquee teams, but they show up wearing the marquee team’s clothes. We feed off them. As much as we can get people there, the better off we’re going to be.”

— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

Pacers hold Sixers to 69 points

Weary or not, the Indiana Pacers found the energy to beat the Philadelphia 76ers.

Roy Hibbert had 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Pacers to an 88-69 victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

The Central Division-leading Pacers won their third game in three nights. Paul George, George Hill and David West each scored 15 for the Pacers, the only team to play back-to-back-to-back games this season.

“We got in here before the game and we just looked each other in the eyes, and I knew it,” George said of a team meeting. “I knew we had to go out, fight for each other, rely on each other and do everything possible to get a win.”

Indiana has won five in a row overall to move a season-best 12 games above .500. The Pacers snapped a three-game road losing streak and won for just the third time in 10 games away from home.

“We got ourselves up for this one in the locker room before the game,” West said. “We had to. A lot of guys didn’t have a lot out there physically, and we had to lean on each other. But we did that, we relied on defense, and slowing the game down, and we got it done.”

Jrue Holiday had 17 points for the Sixers, who saw their season-best three-game winning streak end.

Rookie Arnett Moultrie had a season-high 12 points and Lavoy Allen added 12.

— Reported by Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press

Pacers tie up Bulls in Central with 111-101 win

Indiana suddenly has a shooting touch to go with its tough defense.

The combination is just too much.

David West scored 29 points Monday night and All-Star Paul George finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, leading the Pacers past Chicago 111-101 for a 14th consecutive home win and into a tie with the Bulls for the Central Division lead.

”We’re just playing together, every game I feel like we’re playing sharper,” West said. ”We still need to pick it up defensively, we’re slipping in that regard, but in terms of the offense and how we’re moving the ball and what we’re looking for, it’s just game-by-game improvement.”

It shows.

Three nights after shooting a season-high 55.7 percent in a relatively easy win over defending NBA champion Miami, Indiana shot 52.7 percent against a Bulls defense that is ranked No. 2 in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage. The only team ahead of the Bulls is the Pacers, and Indiana never trailed in the second half Monday…

Starting guards Derrick Rose (left knee) and Kirk Hinrich (right elbow) and starting center Joakim Noah (right foot) all sat out again with injuries, and they had another scare late in the first quarter when Marco Belinelli crashed to the floor clutching his right ankle. He returned later and finished with a season-high 24 points. Nate Robinson finished with 19 points, nine assists and five rebounds, and Carlos Boozer had 10 points and five rebounds as he returned from a right hamstring injury…

It was Indiana’s first regular-season home win over Chicago since March 18, 2011. … The Bulls are 6-20 all-time at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. … Bulls guard Marquis Teague finished with two points in his first pro appearance in his hometown. … The Bulls lost for only the third time in nine games.

— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

Pacers expect Danny Granger return date to be before All-Star game

Pacers coach Frank Vogel says Danny Granger could be back on the court before the All-Star break in mid-February.

Granger has been out all season with a patellar tendinosis in his left knee, but was cleared to participate in full contact practice for the first time Thursday. Vogel says he worked for 20 minutes in half-court sets.

In early November, the Pacers said Granger could miss up to three months after getting an injection in his injured knee. Granger has been mostly quiet since the announcement.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Pacers re-assign Miles Plumlee to D-League yet again

The Indiana Pacers today re-assigned Miles Plumlee to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s NBA Development League affiliate. The assignment is the record 120th of the 2012-13 NBA and NBA D-League seasons, while Plumlee is one of a record 51 players who have been assigned to the NBA D-League this season.

Plumlee (6-11, 255, Duke) re-joins the Mad Ants following six previous assignments when he played in 11 games and averaged 12.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 31.3 minutes. He has appeared in seven games for the Pacers this season, averaging 0.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 3.6 minutes.

Selected 26th overall by the Pacers in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft, Plumlee was a four-year member of the Blue Devils, where he won an NCAA Championship in 2010.

Plumlee is expected to be in available tonight when the team travels to play the Canton Charge at 7 p.m. ET.

Indiana Pacers re-sign free agent Sam Young

Free agent Sam Young has an NBA job again. The Indiana Pacers announced Monday they have re-signed Young to a contract.

The Pacers originally signed Young on Sept. 12, 2012 and waived him on Jan. 6, 2013. He played 28 games with the Pacers, averaging 3.6 points and 2.9 rebounds.

Young is a 6-6 small forward/shooting guard who played three NBA seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers. He has career averages of 6.3 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game. He was a second-round pick (36th overall) of the Grizzlies in the 2009 NBA Draft.

The 26-18 Pacers are currently the 5th seed in the Eastern conference.

Pacers won’t rush Danny Granger into lineup

Indiana Pacers small forward Danny Granger is still progressing on schedule with the rehabilitation of his left knee.

The Pacers would like for him to play before the All-Star break next month. But they’re also looking at the possibility of holding him out until after the break to ensure that he’s ready for the stretch run of the season.

“That’s definitely a consideration,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “The week or so before the All-Star break, we’ll look to see if it makes sense to play him then or wait until after the break.”

Granger, whose season has consisted of two preseason games, has been cleared to do all team non-contact activities.

— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

Jazz edge Pacers 114-110 in overtime

Al Jefferson scored 25 points and Paul Millsap had 21, leading the Utah Jazz to a 114-110 overtime victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.

Utah scored the first six points in overtime after blowing a 97-89 lead with 2:44 left in regulation. Gordon Hayward coughed up three turnovers to Indiana’s George Hill in the final minute of the fourth.

Paul George scored 24 points, David West added 23 and Hill had 22 for Indiana (26-18), which lost for the third time in four road games. The Pacers outrebounded the Jazz 41-28.

Hayward scored 15 points, but had the ball stolen from him three times on the final three possessions for Utah in regulation…

The Pacers trimmed the lead to three on Roy Hibbert’s basket with 4:22 left. Then Jefferson took over, making a free throw and a pair of baskets to increase Utah’s advantage to eight.

Indiana closed the second quarter with a 9-0 run to take a 48-45 halftime lead. West closed the run with a jumper.

Indiana shot 62.5 percent (20 of 32) from the field in the first half. … Hibbert finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds. … Utah went 3 for 10 from 3-point range, compared to 7 for 21 for Indiana.

— Reported by John Coon of the Associated Press