The AP reports: The 90-88 victory Wednesday night was Indiana’s 17th straight home win against the Heat, but it wasn’t certain until Wade’s desperation 3-point shot went halfway down and rimmed out at the buzzer. “I thought it was (going in) for a quick second, then I saw he shot it a little to the left and that’s why it rolled out,” said Danny Granger, who led Indiana with 28 points. “Fortunately, he missed it.” … Wade, the NBA scoring leader at almost 30 points a game, had 21 points but was just 5-of-24 from the field, including 2-of-11 in the second half… Haslem finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds, and O’Neal had 13 points and three blocks but only two rebounds. Ford added 20 points and Jarrett Jack 13 for the Pacers. Jeff Foster, starting in place of injured Troy Murphy, had a season-high 16 rebounds.
Category: Indiana Pacers Blog
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Pacers move TJ Ford to bench
The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports: T.J. Ford has been in this position before. He knows from his experience with the Toronto Raptors that complaining won’t get him far. That’s why the Indiana Pacers point guard is taking the high road after his recent demotion. Pacers coach Jim O’Brien replaced Ford with Jarrett Jack at point guard against Charlotte on Saturday. Ford is taking it in stride, and handling the situation with professionalism. “I know how to handle this situation better than I did in the past,” said Ford, who was involved in a point guard controversy with the Raptors last season. “It’s not a big issue to me. Just do what you’re supposed to do, whether they put you in the game or not. It’s your job to be ready and be prepared for whatever happens. “I’m not a person that asks questions or reasons why certain things happen. He’s the coach and he has the right to make whatever adjustments he wants.”
Jack scores 31, Pacers rout Bobcats 108-83
The AP reports: A night after getting into an on-court argument with T.J. Ford, Jarrett Jack replaced T.J. Ford at point guard and scored 31 points on 13-of-14 shooting, leading the Indiana Pacers to a dominating 108-83 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats to snap a five-game losing streak… Danny Granger added 21 points and Brandon Rush—who started in Jack’s old spot at shooting guard—scored 15 for Indiana, which outscored Charlotte 33-9 in the third quarter in their best performance in weeks… Gerald Wallace, who had scored at least 25 points in the past three games, got into early foul trouble and finished with three points on 1-of-4 shooting. Raja Bell scored seven points on 3-of-9 shooting that included a 10-second sequence where he threw up an airball and was called for a flagrant foul. Felton shot 3-for-13.
Trail Blazers beat Pacers 95-85
The AP reports: Greg Oden had four points and seven rebounds in his first pro game in his hometown, and the Trail Blazers beat the Indiana Pacers 95-85… Brandon Roy, who led the Trail Blazers with 20 points, said he has tried to encourage Oden… Travis Outlaw had 15 points, and Steve Blake added 14 points and eight assists for the Trail Blazers. Indiana’s Danny Granger had 35 points and 10 rebounds in his first start since leaving a game Feb. 18 against Charlotte because of a partially torn tendon in his right foot. Indiana coach Jim O’Brien had little to say about Granger’s performance.
Bargnani scores 27, Raptors beat Pacers 110-87
The AP reports: Two huge third-quarter dunks from Shawn Marion put the Toronto Raptors on the road to a rout. Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh took care of the rest. Bargnani scored 27 points, Bosh had 15 points and 13 rebounds and the Raptors used a big second half to beat the Indiana Pacers 110-87 on Sunday, snapping a seven-game losing streak with their biggest margin of victory this season… Pops Mensah-Bonsu scored a career-high 21 points and Jose Calderon added 15 points and 12 assists for Toronto, which had not won since a 118-110 home victory over Minnesota on Feb. 24… Troy Murphy had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, with T.J. Ford adding 15 and Jarrett Jack 13.
Johnson scores 30 as Hawks beat Pacers 101-87
The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 30 points for the third straight game, and Al Horford finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds in the Hawks’ fourth straight victory, 101-87 over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. Improving to 24-7 at home, Atlanta increased its lead over fifth-place Miami to two games in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks’ 38 wins are one more than their total from last season, when they advanced to the playoffs for the first time in nine years… T.J. Ford, who scored Indiana’s last 14 points, finished with 29. Troy Murphy pulled down 14 rebounds—all defensive—for the Pacers, who have lost two straight and three of four.
Streaking Jazz beat Pacers for 12th straight win
The AP reports: The Utah Jazz prefer not to think about their longest winning streak since 1999. Mehmet Okur’s 24 points helped the Jazz beat the Indiana Pacers 112-100 on Tuesday night for their 12th straight victory, moving them one game closer to the franchise record of 15 consecutive set twice during the 1996-97 season. “Don’t jinx us,” Utah forward Carlos Boozer said… Paul Millsap had 22 points and nine rebounds, Ronnie Brewer scored 18 and Deron Williams added 12 assists for the Jazz (41-23), who haven’t lost since falling 116-96 at Golden State on Feb. 8… Jarrett Jack and Ford each had 21 points for Indiana (28-38), which continues to battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers finished with 22 turnovers, resulting in 26 Utah points.
Indiana Pacers have financial problems
The Indianapolis Star (Brendan O’Shaughnessy) reports: The Indiana Pacers are losing about $30 million this season and cannot continue to shoulder the millions of dollars it costs to operate Conseco Fieldhouse. That was the announcement Monday to the Capital Improvement Board from CIB Vice President Pat Early, who has been in discussions with team officials about the financial problems both organizations face. Operating Conseco Fieldhouse costs the Pacers roughly $15 million a year. If the team can’t make those payments, it would fall to the CIB, which already is struggling with a budget shortfall of $20 million this year.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Pacers fans don’t go see their team play. Indiana gets under 14,000 fans per home game. If I owned the team, I’d probably be looking to move or sell right about now. Though, with the current rough economy it’s hard to pull off any of that.
Al Harrington on MTV Cribs
New York Knicks forward Al Harrington and his house were recently featured on a new episode of MTV Cribs.
The 6,800 square foot house in Las Vegas, Nevada has five bedrooms and 6 bathrooms.
Harrington introduced himself at the door alongside his fiance, Michelle.
It was a true Cribs type of house: extremely large, insanely perfect, and absurdly beautiful, with perfect furnishing, an amazing pool, truly a dream home.
Harrington also introduced his personal chef, Jay Gross.
Al went out of his way to plug Protege basketball. He was wearing a Protege t-shirt. And when he opened his fridge to show what food and drinks were stored in there, his Protege basketball sneaker, the A3H, was sitting inside, in front of the food. Al, of course, kidded around, pretending to be surprised it was there, and then declared that “it’s so hot, I got to leave it in the Fridge.”
Elsewhere in the house, Harrington’s cousin, NBA player Dahntay Jones, was in a red-walled video game room.
The majority of the crib appears to have yellow, beige and off-white walls.
Amazing place. It looks exactly like a much smaller version of the InsideHoops.com guest house.
As is a Cribs tradition, Harrington also showed his cars: His everyday car, a white 2008 S5-50 Mercedes with tinted windows. And a blue 2009 Rolls Royce that he just got last week.
Rough life, but someone has to live it.
Mike Dunleavy out after surgery
The Indiana Pacers announced Friday that guard Mike Dunleavy underwent successful surgery for removal of a bone spur and repair of his right patellar tendon.
At the direction of the team, the surgery was performed by Dr. Richard Steadman at the Steadman-Hawkins clinic in Vail, Co., with the Pacers’ medical staff, Dr. Tim Hupfer, physical therapist consultant Dan Dyrek and head physical therapist/athletic trainer Josh Corbeil, in attendance.
Recovery will be lengthy and no timetable has been set. Dunleavy will miss the remainder of this season. Rehabilitation will begin immediately and will be under the supervision of the Pacers’ medical staff in Indianapolis. Updates will be forthcoming when appropriate.