Finallly, the Indiana Pacers have made it back to the playoffs, or have they?
The Indiana Pacers have been one of the NBA’s worst teams for half of a decade and although they’re not great this year, the Pacers are in control of their own post season fate.
Playoff basketball hasn’t been in Indiana since the 2005-06 season when the Pacers got bounced in the first round in six games, 4-2, by the New Jersey Nets. The current streak of four non-playoff seasons is the longest stretch of missing summer NBA basketball in Indiana since the Pacers went on a five year drought from 1981-86.
Thankfully for coach Frank Vogel, this year’s squad won’t match the mark of defeat. Or could it?
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Pacers Host Injury-Plagued Houston Team Tonight
The Indiana Pacers will host the Houston Rockets tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse.
This is just one game removed from the infamous 54-point third quarter in which the Pacers blew out the Nuggets. Indiana will hope to ride the offensive streak from that night against a Houston team that is plagued by injuries.
Aaron Brooks will not see action for weeks after going down with an injury. After discussing more minutes for Yao Ming, he hurt his leg. While he is expected to be back in a week or so this is a huge concern for the career-plagued season of the seven-foot-six center.
Brandon Rush is finally back, where he played well off the bench behind a finally-good shooting Mike Dunleavy. It also seems as though coach O’Brien likes Tyler Hansbrough backing up Roy Hibbert – where Hansbrough and McRoberts are getting a lot of time together down low.
The game will start at 7:00 ET, where the Pacers will hope to take advantage of the Brooks and Yao-less Rockets.
Pacers Crush Nuggets–Drop 54 in 3rd
The Indiana Pacers beat the Denver Nuggets 144-113, lighting up the scoreboard with a near-perfect 3rd quarter.
Josh McRoberts missed a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining – the only shot the Pacers missed in the 3rd quarter. Making their first 20 shots of the quarter, the Pacers scored 54 in the 12 minutes.
Mike Dunleavy had a monster game, scoring 24 of his 31 points in the 3rd. Previously he had been in a shooting slump for the early season – and was due for a break out.
Collison added 29, Hibbert had three blocks, while Hansbrough and Rush added 20 and 16 points off the bench. Carmelo Anthony was held to just 13 points – on five of 15 from the field.
The win brings the Pacers to 3-3. They will host the Houston Rockets on Friday night and then play in Cleveland on Saturday.
Pacers Dunleavy and Foster Injury Update
The Indiana Pacers have two players on injury watch.
Jeff Foster is the more serious of the two. According to reports he will be out for at least two weeks.
The injury happened when Foster was working out with teammates on Wednesday in Philadelphia. He sprained his ankle in the shootaround. Foster has yet to appear in a game this season for the Pacers.
Mike Dunleavy is still expected to start on Tuesday against the Nuggets in Indianapolis. With a sprained knee it is certainly not serious with this news – as rumors have been spreading about Rush (who is able to play Tuesday now) possibly overtaking Dunleavy’s starting spot (injuries irrelevant).
We’ll have to see how Dunleavy plays with the knee – who is already not shooting well this season. Don’t worry about Foster playing anytime soon.
Pacers Play Three Good Quarters, Lose 94-90 to Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks picked up the win over the Indiana Pacers, winning 94-90 in Indianapolis on Friday night.
John Salmons played well for Milwaukee, leading all scorers with 22 points. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute also had a good game with 10 points and 15 rebounds.
The Pacers had four starters in double figures in terms of scoring. Roy Hibbert posted a great line with 14 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks, and four assists.
Leading by six points after three quarters, the Pacers were outscored 24-14 in the fourth quarter. Shots stopped falling for the Pacers which led for another unfortunate loss, similar to the opening game when the Pacers had a great shot at beating the Spurs.
Both teams didn’t shoot particularly well: the Pacers at 38.7% and the Bucks at 38.6%.
The Pacers have lost a couple of games now in the fourth quarter and are experiencing the highs and lows of their youth (see winning easily over the Sixers and then getting routed by them the next game).
Next for the Pacers are the Denver Nuggets – the Pacers host them on Tuesday at 7:00 PM EST.
Pacers “Pathetic”, Lose 101-75 to 76ers
Roy Hibbert was spot on when he described the game as “pathetic” as the Indiana Pacers lost to the Philadelphia 76ers 101-75.
The loss puts the Pacers even at 2-2 for the season, while the 76ers get their first win and go to 1-4 for the season.
Elton Brand led the 76ers with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while five other Sixers went into double figures.
The Pacers were a horrible 31.5% from the filed. Granger was 2-14, Collison 4-16, Hibbert 4-12–and so on. Only two Pacers scored 10 points or more: Collison with 11 and McRoberts with 10 points.
The 76ers shot 46.9% from the field in what was a nightmare game for the Pacers.
The Pacers will need to forget about this one: they host the Milwaukee Bucks this Friday.
Can the Pacers Make it Three Straight?
The Indiana Pacers travel to Philadelphia to play the 76ers in back-to-back matchups after the win on Saturday.
The Pacers electrified the home fans for their opener at Conseco Fieldhouse, with a couple of thundering dunks that you need to look at – really – to grab the 99-86 win.
Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala started – replacing Evan Turner in the lineup – at the guard positions with 12 points. Brand also had 12 but was inefficient from the field.
These players will be key yet again for the Pacers as they look to contain the dangerous team, at times at least. Keeping Andre Iguodala from dominating will be important for the Pacers to climb to 3-1, which would be a nice position to be in prior to playing the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday in Indianapolis.
Roy Hibbert distributing and scoring in the high/low post, Granger being his usual self, and with strong play from Darren Collison and company – the Pacers may be 3-1 after the repeat matchup with the Sixers.
If Iguodala is held to under 20/25 points and the Pacers play good defense, a turnover-prone-less game with decent shooting from the Pacers could keep them atop of the Central with the Chicago Bulls.
Indiana Pacers Win Second Game in a Row–99-86 over 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers have won all three games thus far, losing 99-86 for the second win for the Indiana Pacers.
After going back and forth for part of the first half, the Pacers made a move and took the initiative – Darren Collison provided a spark in the third quarter, dunking on (literally) Lou Williams (one of the two must-see highlights from the game; you will need to see the T.J. Ford pass for the other dunk on the 76ers as well).
Now 2-1 on the season and heading to Philadelphia for another game with the Sixers on Wednesday, the Indiana Pacers were very impressive Saturday night. Edging the Sixers in rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks helped with the slightly lower shooting percentage for the Pacers (41.6% to 43.9%).
Danny Granger led with 22 points, where Hibbert, Dunleavy, and Collison all ended up in the mid-teens in terms of scoring. Roy Hibbert had a double-double on the night with 14 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and one block – quite the stat line for the big man who is averaging just under five assists per game thus far.
The home opener was electric for the rejuvenated home crowd who gave a standing ovation as time expired. This game was very good to see for Pacers fans – who boast a unique blend of young talent which seems to be working right now.
Jeff Foster was inactive, reportedly for matchup purposes – according to Jim O’Brien.
The young Pacers look to make it three straight – and two in a row – with a rematch with the 76ers Wednesday. Follow PacersCentral on Twitter and Facebook for more coverage before the next game.
Indiana Pacers top Charlotte Bobcats 104-101, Granger Leads with 33
The Indiana Pacers grab their first win of the regular season, topping the Charlotte Hornets with a score of 104-101.
The tightly-contested game was led by Danny Granger for the Pacers who led all scorers with 33 points (with two blocks). The 31-21 fourth quarter favored the Pacers, where they launched the come back.
However, late in the fourth quarter Granger fouled out of the game and needed a key basket. That unlikely basket came from Tyler Hansbrough who hit the clutch mid-range jump shot for a crucial basket. He finished with 12 points.
D.J. Augustin missed tying the game with a 3-point shot, where Stephen Jackson followed suit as the buzzer sounded from what could have easily been a game heading to overtime. Gerald Wallace led the Bobcats with 29 points and six rebounds.
A huge problem from the Pacers first game was turnovers – luckily that was not the case as they had only nine the entire game. It actually became a problem for the Bobcats as they ended up with 17 on the night.
Overcoming the 45-34 stat line as the Pacers were outrebounded by the Bobcats, the Pacers led in assists (25-17), steals (5-3), and blocks (11-7).
Roy Hibbert finished with an interesting stat line: 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four blocks. In another interesting dynamic, Darren Collison and T.J. Ford both played 24 minutes, with Ford playing down the stretch; perhaps it had a lot do with Collison’s two for 10 shooting night.
The Indiana Pacers play their first game at home tomorrow night as they host the Philadelphia 76ers.
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