Pooh
04-24-2004, 09:11 PM
By Johnnie Clay - Pacers Insider.
April 24, 2004 - 7:00 PM
The Indiana Pacers didn’t just disarm the Boston Celtics last night, they dismembered them piece, by piece.
A total team effort, the Pacers broke open a close game early and handed the Celtics their worst loss in playoff history 108-85 at the Fleet Center.
Led by their “bench mob”, the Pacers dominated in every aspect of the contest, leaving no doubt who has the best “team” in the NBA.
Al Harrington and Jonathan Bender each scored 19 points to lead the Pacers in scoring. The Pacers were in so much control that not one person on the team played more than 30 minutes, everyone got into the act.
Early on, the Pacers fell behind as what was to be expected. The Celtics had to come out with some kind of emotion; otherwise this series would be over and quickly.
After jumping out to an early 10-6 lead, the Pacers started to catch up. Jermaine O’Neal, Ron Artest and center Jeff Foster hit consecutive field goals to give the Pacers a 12-10 lead.
Both teams exchanged the lead for the remaining five minutes of the first quarter. It wasn’t until Al Harrington hit one of two free throws with under a minute left in the quarter that the Pacers seized the lead for good. A Ron Artest field goal with 7.4 seconds gave the Pacers a 23-20 lead at the end of the first quarter. It was downhill from there for the Celtics.
As the second quarter began, the Pacers started to slowly pull away. Al Harrington scored the first six points for the Pacers including one amazing dunk to give them 29-24 lead with 9:24 left to play. Then Jonathan Bender stepped in. Bender, who scored 21 points in game two was still on fire, scoring six quick points to give the Pacers a double-digit lead 37-26 as the rout was on.
Ron Artest, who returned to the lineup after his one game suspension smothered Boston’s Paul Pierce. The Defensive Player of the Year blanketed Pierce all night long, holding him to just 9 points on 4-17 shooting.
“He has a great gift.” Jonathan Bender said about Artest. “He goes out there and does what’s necessary to shut them down. He plays great defense.”
A 10-0 run put the Pacers up 50-30 with 3:25 left to play in the first half. The Celtics managed to put a late run together to close the deficit down to just thirteen points, 53-40 at halftime.
As the third quarter began, the Celtics came out with some intensity. Baskets by Ricky Davis and Mark Blount quickly made it a ten-point game 56-46. Jamaal Tinsley quickly stopped the Celtics run by draining a three pointer, followed by Jermaine O’Neal’s basket and foul shot to push the lead back up to thirteen.
“We just got a little frantic.” Rick Carlisle said about the opening minutes of the quarter. “We started playing a little too fast and had a couple of turnovers that turned into transition buckets and it was getting into Boston’s style of game. Our team is starting to understand that if we play our style, we’ll score plenty of points. But we’ve got to do it by controlling tempo, getting great shots, and putting ourselves in a position to defend. We bounced back. Tinsley hit a three to knock it back up to 10 and we were able to get the wheels back on the wagon.”
The “wagon” rolled on for a few more minutes before another Celtics run made it just a nine point game, 64-55 on a Paul Pierce field goal. The game seesawed for a couple of minutes until Ron Artest buried a three-pointer to end any chance of a Boston comeback.
The final quarter was shall we say, like watching “practice”. The Pacers continued the fantastic defense while draining shot after shot. The only time the Fleet Center crowd rose to its’ feet was to recognize Celtics legend and current Pacers President Larry Bird, who was in attendance.
Paul Pierce was held scoreless in the final quarter, most of his time was spend on the bench wondering whether or on Sunday will be his final game in a Celtics uniform or not. All he could do was look on as the Pacers starters and bench continued to score again and again. The Celtics did however get the last shot, a three-pointer by Jiri Welsch, but the damage was done.
The win put the Pacers up 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, with a chance to close things out on Sunday afternoon. Rick Carlisle talked about the urgency to get things done now.
“We have a lot of respect for Boston. They came out and played hard today, we just played better. We played one of our better games. We’re going to have to continue to do that. And the other reason is the last time this franchise was involved in a series where we were up 3-0, and we ended up in a sixth game against Philadelphia back in 2000. We know the hardest thing to do is to close out a series, whether you’re up 3-0 or in a seventh game. Its going to be important that we come out and we continue to get better at playing our game and make it so that Boston doesn’t get back on a plane and come back to Indiana for a game five.”
The Pacers themselves talked about the need to wrap things up now, by no means is this team looking ahead to whose next, their just taking it one game at time.
“We got to stay at the same sense of urgency to still come out and win but also get some rest for the second round.” Jermaine O’Neal said. “I think we are just going out and doing what we have to do, playing hard on both ends. I don’t think anyone is content on being up 3-0. We put ourselves in a great position, but its still not over. We still have to play the game. We should have no problem playing hard.”
“It means a great deal, (being up 3-0) but we’ve still got to come out in game four and close it off that’s the main thing we are looking at right now, not to get lackadaisical and just come in Sunday and take it.” Jonathan Bender said.
For the night, the Pacers shot 47% on (42-89) shooting, 36% from the arc (8-22) and 70% (16-23) from the free-throw line.
Jermaine O’Neal and Ron Artest rounded out the quarter of Pacers in double-figures, each scoring 14 and 15 points respectively. The remaining starting lineup of Jeff Foster, Reggie Miller and Jamaal Tinsley each scored 7 points a piece.
The Pacers bench or “Bench Mob”, as Al Harrington calls them, outscored the Celtics 58-31.
The Celtics had four of their five starters go for double-figures. Walter McCarty, Jiri Welsch, and Mark Blount each scored 11 points, while Chucky Atkins scored 12. Ricky Davis led the Celtics bench, or what there was of it, with 16 points.
For the night, Boston shot 42% (32-76) from the floor, 21% (3-14) from the arch and 78% (18-23) from the free-throw line.
Both teams return to the court on Sunday for game four. Can the Pacers continue to dominate and shut down Paul Pierce and win their first series since the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals? Will the Celtics finally show up and make things interesting? The answer to the last question will be determined sometime tomorrow. But judging by the way the series has gone, the long draught of first round exits by the Pacers could soon be over as early as tomorrow.
Game Time Sunday is at 1:00 PM (EDT).
April 24, 2004 - 7:00 PM
The Indiana Pacers didn’t just disarm the Boston Celtics last night, they dismembered them piece, by piece.
A total team effort, the Pacers broke open a close game early and handed the Celtics their worst loss in playoff history 108-85 at the Fleet Center.
Led by their “bench mob”, the Pacers dominated in every aspect of the contest, leaving no doubt who has the best “team” in the NBA.
Al Harrington and Jonathan Bender each scored 19 points to lead the Pacers in scoring. The Pacers were in so much control that not one person on the team played more than 30 minutes, everyone got into the act.
Early on, the Pacers fell behind as what was to be expected. The Celtics had to come out with some kind of emotion; otherwise this series would be over and quickly.
After jumping out to an early 10-6 lead, the Pacers started to catch up. Jermaine O’Neal, Ron Artest and center Jeff Foster hit consecutive field goals to give the Pacers a 12-10 lead.
Both teams exchanged the lead for the remaining five minutes of the first quarter. It wasn’t until Al Harrington hit one of two free throws with under a minute left in the quarter that the Pacers seized the lead for good. A Ron Artest field goal with 7.4 seconds gave the Pacers a 23-20 lead at the end of the first quarter. It was downhill from there for the Celtics.
As the second quarter began, the Pacers started to slowly pull away. Al Harrington scored the first six points for the Pacers including one amazing dunk to give them 29-24 lead with 9:24 left to play. Then Jonathan Bender stepped in. Bender, who scored 21 points in game two was still on fire, scoring six quick points to give the Pacers a double-digit lead 37-26 as the rout was on.
Ron Artest, who returned to the lineup after his one game suspension smothered Boston’s Paul Pierce. The Defensive Player of the Year blanketed Pierce all night long, holding him to just 9 points on 4-17 shooting.
“He has a great gift.” Jonathan Bender said about Artest. “He goes out there and does what’s necessary to shut them down. He plays great defense.”
A 10-0 run put the Pacers up 50-30 with 3:25 left to play in the first half. The Celtics managed to put a late run together to close the deficit down to just thirteen points, 53-40 at halftime.
As the third quarter began, the Celtics came out with some intensity. Baskets by Ricky Davis and Mark Blount quickly made it a ten-point game 56-46. Jamaal Tinsley quickly stopped the Celtics run by draining a three pointer, followed by Jermaine O’Neal’s basket and foul shot to push the lead back up to thirteen.
“We just got a little frantic.” Rick Carlisle said about the opening minutes of the quarter. “We started playing a little too fast and had a couple of turnovers that turned into transition buckets and it was getting into Boston’s style of game. Our team is starting to understand that if we play our style, we’ll score plenty of points. But we’ve got to do it by controlling tempo, getting great shots, and putting ourselves in a position to defend. We bounced back. Tinsley hit a three to knock it back up to 10 and we were able to get the wheels back on the wagon.”
The “wagon” rolled on for a few more minutes before another Celtics run made it just a nine point game, 64-55 on a Paul Pierce field goal. The game seesawed for a couple of minutes until Ron Artest buried a three-pointer to end any chance of a Boston comeback.
The final quarter was shall we say, like watching “practice”. The Pacers continued the fantastic defense while draining shot after shot. The only time the Fleet Center crowd rose to its’ feet was to recognize Celtics legend and current Pacers President Larry Bird, who was in attendance.
Paul Pierce was held scoreless in the final quarter, most of his time was spend on the bench wondering whether or on Sunday will be his final game in a Celtics uniform or not. All he could do was look on as the Pacers starters and bench continued to score again and again. The Celtics did however get the last shot, a three-pointer by Jiri Welsch, but the damage was done.
The win put the Pacers up 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, with a chance to close things out on Sunday afternoon. Rick Carlisle talked about the urgency to get things done now.
“We have a lot of respect for Boston. They came out and played hard today, we just played better. We played one of our better games. We’re going to have to continue to do that. And the other reason is the last time this franchise was involved in a series where we were up 3-0, and we ended up in a sixth game against Philadelphia back in 2000. We know the hardest thing to do is to close out a series, whether you’re up 3-0 or in a seventh game. Its going to be important that we come out and we continue to get better at playing our game and make it so that Boston doesn’t get back on a plane and come back to Indiana for a game five.”
The Pacers themselves talked about the need to wrap things up now, by no means is this team looking ahead to whose next, their just taking it one game at time.
“We got to stay at the same sense of urgency to still come out and win but also get some rest for the second round.” Jermaine O’Neal said. “I think we are just going out and doing what we have to do, playing hard on both ends. I don’t think anyone is content on being up 3-0. We put ourselves in a great position, but its still not over. We still have to play the game. We should have no problem playing hard.”
“It means a great deal, (being up 3-0) but we’ve still got to come out in game four and close it off that’s the main thing we are looking at right now, not to get lackadaisical and just come in Sunday and take it.” Jonathan Bender said.
For the night, the Pacers shot 47% on (42-89) shooting, 36% from the arc (8-22) and 70% (16-23) from the free-throw line.
Jermaine O’Neal and Ron Artest rounded out the quarter of Pacers in double-figures, each scoring 14 and 15 points respectively. The remaining starting lineup of Jeff Foster, Reggie Miller and Jamaal Tinsley each scored 7 points a piece.
The Pacers bench or “Bench Mob”, as Al Harrington calls them, outscored the Celtics 58-31.
The Celtics had four of their five starters go for double-figures. Walter McCarty, Jiri Welsch, and Mark Blount each scored 11 points, while Chucky Atkins scored 12. Ricky Davis led the Celtics bench, or what there was of it, with 16 points.
For the night, Boston shot 42% (32-76) from the floor, 21% (3-14) from the arch and 78% (18-23) from the free-throw line.
Both teams return to the court on Sunday for game four. Can the Pacers continue to dominate and shut down Paul Pierce and win their first series since the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals? Will the Celtics finally show up and make things interesting? The answer to the last question will be determined sometime tomorrow. But judging by the way the series has gone, the long draught of first round exits by the Pacers could soon be over as early as tomorrow.
Game Time Sunday is at 1:00 PM (EDT).