Indiana Pacers Blog – Page 51 – NBA Blog

Danny Granger says Joakim Noah played dirty

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:

Danny Granger had to be restrained from going after Bulls center Joakim Noah as the teams exchanged handshakes on the court at the end of the Bulls’ series-ending 116-89 win.

Granger accused Noah of playing dirty throughout the game, taking cheap shots at Pacers, including forward Josh McRoberts, who was ejected in the third quarter.

Granger was in the hallway outside the locker room using expletives to describe Noah’s play.

“Everybody saw what Josh did and he got ejected,” Granger said. “Nobody caught what happened first. It’s always the second man. (Noah) was playing dirty the whole game. My teammates got caught with it and nothing happened.”

McRoberts was ejected in the final seconds of the third quarter for throwing an elbow at Noah. The former Carmel High School standout said he was retaliating for an “elbow to his throat” from the Bulls center.

Rose, Bulls eliminate Pacers, 116-89 in Game 5

The AP reports:

Derrick Rose scored 25 points, Luol Deng added 24 and Chicago finally played like a top seed, knocking off the Indiana Pacers 116-89 in Game 5 to wrap up their first-round playoff series Tuesday night…

Rose seemed just fine after spraining his left ankle in Game 4. He had it taped and acknowledged he was a bit apprehensive at first, but he wound up hitting 8 of 17 shots. He dominated in the early going and came up big in the third after the Pacers pulled within four. He scored 10 points over the final six minutes after returning with four fouls, and Chicago ended the quarter on a 23-8 run to blow the game open.

The Bulls hit 14 of 31 3-pointers, including five by Keith Bogans (15 points) and three each by Deng and Rose. Deng also had seven assists and six rebounds.

Joakim Noah added 14 points and eight rebounds, and the Bulls won a playoff series for the first time since they swept Miami in the first round in 2007 and only the second time since the championship era. It was clearly their most impressive performance of the postseason even though Carlos Boozer scored just two points…

Danny Granger scored 20 for the Pacers and had some strong words afterward for Noah. He accused Noah of throwing elbows that ultimately led to a technical foul for A.J. Price after an altercation with Tyler Hansbrough and an ejection by Josh McRoberts later in the game.

Derrick Rose OK to play Game 5 vs Pacers despite ankle sprain

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports:

Derrick Rose OK to play despite ankle sprain

Derrick Rose participated in the walkthrough portion of Tuesday’s morning shootaround and got individual shots up afterward, reiterating he planned to play on his sprained left ankle as the Chicago Bulls try to close out the Indiana Pacers in Game 5.

“It’s good,” Rose said. “I gotta get treatment and then I’m out there. (Monday), it was a little stiff. Today, I got more more motion in it.”

Coach Tom Thibodeau said of Rose: “He’s feeling better. We’ll see how he feels before the game.”

Pacers beat Bulls 89-84 to avoid elimination

The AP reports:

The Pacers sent the red and black-clad swarm back home disappointed. After fourth-quarter collapses in each of the first three games, Indiana avoided elimination by holding off a furious rally to beat the Bulls 89-84 in Game 4 of the first-round Eastern Conference series on Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers not only faced superstar guard Derrick Rose and the pressure of a 3-0 deficit in the series, they dealt with an unexpected roadblock—a hostile environment on its home floor at Conseco Fieldhouse. The crowd shocked Pacers center Jeff Foster, who has played for the Pacers for his entire 12-year NBA career…

Danny Granger led the Pacers with 24 points, including four free throws in the final 14.1 seconds while being booed. He said the team remembered its earlier failures in the series…

Chicago’s Carlos Boozer missed a 3-pointer that could have tied the game in the closing seconds. The Bulls were looking to set up Luol Deng for the final shot.

“I caught the ball at the elbow and I was supposed to set a backscreen for Luol,” Joakim Noah, who led the Bulls with 21 points and 14 rebounds, said…

Rose, who averaged 32.7 points in the first three games, finished with 15 points and 10 assists. He sprained his left ankle late in the first quarter and scored eight points on 3-for-16 shooting the rest of the way.

D-Rose leads Bulls past Pacers for 3-0 lead

The AP reports:

Derrick Rose was beaten up and shaken up by Indiana’s trapping defense, which was intent on shutting him down at all costs.

The Chicago Bulls guard struggled all game long and even lost his cool at times, but he still found a way to be the difference-maker. He scored 23 points, including the go-ahead layup with 17.8 seconds left, to help the Bulls beat the Pacers 88-84 on Thursday night and take a 3-0 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series…

Danny Granger had a chance to give the Pacers the lead, but his 3-pointer was off, and Chicago’s Ronnie Brewer rebounded. Brewer was fouled, and he made two free throws with 1.1 seconds left to put the game out of reach…

Rose made up for his shooting difficulties by making 13 of 15 free throws. Chicago can close out the series on Saturday…

Luol Deng had 21 points and Korver added 12 for the Bulls.

Granger, who led the Pacers with 21 points, said the Pacers wanted something better than the contested 26-footer that bounced off the rim with 2.2 seconds remaining.

InsideHoops.com notes: It was a brick-fest (or a defensive struggle, if you prefer that), as the Bulls shot 38.9% while the Pacers hit 37.9%. But the Bulls hit an impressive 9-of-20 three-pointers, the Pacers a miserable 1-of-10. Rebounding was even, but the Bulls won the assist battle, 20-11… Pacers point guard Darren Collison was limited in his return from brief injury, scoring nine points on eight shot attempts and only creating two assists with four turnovers.

Live fan discussion of this game took place in this forum topic.

Rose scores 36, Bulls top Pacers 96-90 in Game 2

The AP reports:

Rose scores 36 as Bulls top Pacers 96-90 in Game 2

Two playoff games, two dramatic victories for the favored Chicago Bulls, and all is right in Carlos Boozer’s eyes.

Derrick Rose scored 36 points, Boozer added 17 points and 16 rebounds, and top-seeded Chicago escaped with another comeback victory over Indiana, beating the Pacers 96-90 on Monday night in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series…

Rose went wild again, scoring eight points over the final 4 minutes. Kyle Korver, who made a tiebreaking 3-pointer in Chicago’s opening 104-99 victory Saturday, connected from long range to make it 90-85 with just over a minute left.

The Pacers still wouldn’t go away.

A.J. Price drew a foul on Rose and hit three free throws to get Indiana within two with 23.4 seconds remaining. But Luol Deng made two free throws, Mike Dunleavy missed a 3-point attempt at the other end and Ronnie Brewer hit two foul shots to help the Bulls hold on…

The Pacers were right there even though they lost Darren Collison to a sprained left ankle late in the first half. Collison said X-rays were negative but he isn’t sure if he will be available for Thursday night’s Game 3 at Conseco Fieldhouse…

Granger led Indiana with 19 points, but Tyler Hansbrough struggled, finishing with just six points on 2-of-12 shooting after scoring 22 points in the opener.

Rose scores 39, Bulls beat Pacers 104-99 in Game 1

The AP reports:

Derrick Rose scored 39 points and found Kyle Korver for a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 48 seconds left, helping top-seeded Chicago stage a late rally to beat the Pacers 104-99 in their playoff opener on Saturday.

“We knew it was going to be a hard game,” Rose said. “From the beginning I guess we weren’t prepared for it. Next time I think we’ll be ready.” …

Rose again showed why he is an MVP favorite even though he was off target. He missed each of his nine 3-point attempts but made 19 of 21 at the foul line and finished with six rebounds and six assists.

Luol Deng added 18 points and Korver finished with 13, no shot bigger than that 3…

Granger led Indiana with 24 points, and Tyler Hansbrough shook off an elbow from Kurt Thomas to finish with 22. Darren Collison scored 17, but had just two in the second half, and the Pacers came up just short in their first playoff game in five years.

2011 NBA Playoffs first round schedule

The 2010-11 NBA regular season is in the books, with all 30 teams in action Wednesday night. The NBA playoffs begin Saturday.

The first round matchups in the East are: Bulls vs Pacers, Heat vs 76ers, Celtics vs Knicks, and Magic vs Hawks.

The West’s first round matchups are: Spurs vs Grizzlies, Lakers vs Hornets, Mavericks vs Blazers, and Thunder vs Nuggets.

The complete first round series-by-series NBA playoffs schedule is here.

Pacers guard Lance Stephenson demoted for violating team rules

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:

Lance Stephenson’s ongoing immaturity issues could be pushing him closer to the door with the Indiana Pacers.

Any chance of Stephenson playing in the final two regular-season games or the playoffs ended Saturday, when coach Frank Vogel said Stephenson was demoted for violating team rules.

“He’ll be the fourth point guard through the playoffs,” Vogel said. “This is being done for disciplinary reasons. T.J. (Ford) will be our third point guard.”

Stephenson had been expected to play in the final two games but will assume the role formerly held by Ford, who has not played since Jan. 28.

Vogel declined to say what Stephenson did to warrant those actions. He did say, though, that there are no legal issues involved with Stephenson.

Pacers score 136, clinch playoff spot

The AP reports:

Granger helps Pacers clinch playoff berth

Danny Granger scored 25 points, and the Indiana Pacers clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2006 with a 136-112 victory against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

The Pacers needed a win and a Charlotte loss to Orlando to clinch a spot in the postseason. As the Pacers’ game ended, the Orlando-Charlotte game was in overtime, and the Conseco Fieldhouse staff put the game on the Jumbotron. Many fans stayed to cheer to the Magic on to a 111-102 win.

Paul George scored a career-high 23 points and Darren Collison added 15 points and 11 assists for the Pacers, who posted their second-highest point total of the season.

Jordan Crawford scored 29 points and Andray Blatche added 23 for Washington.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.