Pooh
04-21-2004, 05:06 AM
“Bench Mob” Buries Celtics 103-90, Lead Series 2-0.
By Johnnie Clay – Pacers Insider.
April 20, 2004 – 11:30 PM.
The Indiana Pacers had slept their way through two and a half quarters tonight. Sluggish from the start, they never found a rhythm. Twice during the third quarter, the Pacers closed the Celtics lead down to just a single point, only to see it slip away from them. Rick Carlisle needed something to change the flow of the game, that something was the Pacers’ bench, dubbed the “Bench Mob” by Al Harrington.
The “Mob” of Austin Croshere, Anthony Johnson, Fred Jones and Jonathan Bender broke the Celtics late in the quarter, and then shattered them in the fourth, to send the Pacers to a thrilling 103-90 victory at Conseco Fieldhouse tonight, taking a 2-0 lead in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
The Pacers were already short-handed, playing without Ron Artest, who only minutes after receiving his award for Defensive Player of the Year was suspended for leaving the bench during Saturday’s contest.
Artests’ absence was felt early on as the Pacers went on small runs throughout the first quarter, at times building their lead up to six points on different occasions. Chucky Atkins and Paul Pierce speared headed the Celtics attack. Atkins’ 6 points and Pierce’s 4 points put the Pacers on their heels.
The only consistent thing in the Pacers offense was Jermaine O’Neal, who scored 7 points. The Pacers were missing rebounds, taking bad shots, completely out of sync, trailing 22-17 at the end of the first quarter.
A three-point shot by Fred Jones, and three consecutive field goals by Al Harrington, put the Pacers in a position to take the lead from the Celtics. Jermaine O’Neal and Fred Jones hit baskets to twice tie the game, only to see the Celtics hit three-pointers and go to the free-throw line to seize it right back.
The frustration was beginning to show, and it came to head just as the second quarter ended. Reggie Miller tripped Jiri Welsch as time expired. Miller received a technical for his action as the confused and bewildered Pacers stumbled into the locker room, trailing 46-41.
"I told the team we were trying to do things too fast, we were too excited.” Rick Carlisle said on the Pacers slow first half. “Our spacing was off. We focused on getting guys in the right place on the court and keeping a good tempo. Our focus was to get stops and then get good shots."
The third quarter didn’t start off any better for the Pacers. Jiri Welsch started the quarter off by hitting the technical free throw from the first half, then Walter McCarty buried a three-pointer, giving the Celtics and 11-point lead.
Back-to-back three pointers from Jamaal Tinsley and Reggie Miller once again brought the Pacers within striking distance. The Celtics continued to keep the Pacers at arms’ length until Tinsley’s three-pointer with 7:39 left, tied the contest at 54-54 until an O’Neal free throw gave the Pacers a slim one-point lead. Then the Celtics pushed away again. Both teams went on small scoring spurts throughout the rest of the quarter. Chucky Atkins’ two free throws gave the Celtics a 69-61 lead with under 30 seconds remaining. Then the “mob” went into action.
Austin Croshere scored 4 points in under 30 seconds, sending the sell-out crowd into a frenzy as the Pacers ended the third quarter down by only four points, 69-65.
In the fourth quarter, the “Mob” struck over and over. A 10-1 run gave the Pacers a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. Croshere, and Jonathan Bender buried shot after shot, while the Celtics went ice cold. Bender and Fred Jones each hit three-pointers, giving the Pacers a 12 point lead, (85-73) with six minutes left to play.
Bender and Jones continued to hit baskets over and over, much do the delight of the fans and the Pacers starters on the bench watching it. Jermaine O’Neal was enjoying it so much; he was hesitant to go back onto the court, fearing it would break up a rhythm.
“I struggled big time and was not sure that I wanted to back in the game because Bender, Fred and Austin were really picking us up.” O’Neal said. “We had good chemistry with that group and I just wasn’t sure that I could come in and keep that chemistry going.”
O’Neal eventually did “join in”, and his free-throw with under three minutes left, ended the competitive phase of the game, the rest was just icing on the cake.
Afterwards, Coach Rick Carlisle talked about tonight’s come from behind victory.
“Obviously it was a very tough game. We knew it was going to be coming it, for a lot of reasons, not just because we were missing Ron Artest.” Carlisle said. “Game 2 in a series is always tough. The losing team makes good adjustments and comes out fired up. I don’t feel we experienced a letdown, if anything we came out too energized."
"Our second team did a good job in the second quarter of settling down. I can’t say enough about our second team. They obviously won this game for us tonight. Guys like Fred Jones, Austin Croshere and Jonathan Bender have really kept themselves focused. It’s a huge credit to them to be able to step up when it counts in the playoffs. I also felt Al Harrington was huge tonight. His rebounds, along with Jermaine’s, kept us in the game. For whatever reason our starters tonight struggled. They just weren’t in sync."
The Pacers quietly congratulated each other after the victory; their thoughts were on Ron Artest, who could only watch at home as the Pacers took a 2-0 advantage in the series. Artest was there however, in spirit and in person…sort of. Artests’ father, Ron Sr. was in attendance. Afterwards, Jermaine O’Neal dedicated tonight’s victory to Ron, even going as far as wearing a jersey with his number #23 on during the press conference afterwards.
“We wanted to get this one for Ron because we knew how bad he wanted to be here.” O’Neal said.
And somewhere in Indianapolis, Ron Artest smiled and said, “Way to go guys…way to go.”
The Pacers shot 45% (41-92) from the floor, 39% (9-23) from the arc and 63% (12-19) from the free-throw line.
Jermaine O’Neal led the Pacers tonight with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Al Harrington filled in nicely for the suspended Artest, scoring a double-double, 12 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Jamaal Tinsley scored 15 points and handed out 6 assists.
Then, there was the “Bench Mob”.
Croshere had 10 points and 5 rebounds, Fred Jones chipped in with 17 points and 3 rebounds, and Jonathan Bender had 11 pounds and 7 rebounds. Johnson’s 5 points rounded out the scoring as the Pacers bench easily outscored the Celtics by an eye-popping 43 to 11.
The Celtics shot 40% (27-67) from the floor, 28% (5-18) from the arc and 82% (31-38) from the free-throw line. It was that high percentage from the charity stripe that kept the Celtics in the game.
Paul Pierce’s 27 points led the Celtics. Pierce didn’t have to worry about Artest smothering him this evening, but he still found it rough, going 7-18 from the floor, getting a majority of his points from the free-throw line, hitting 13 of 16. Chucky Atkins had another solid outing, scoring 21 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Mark Blount was the only Celtic who scored a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Walter McCarty rounded out the Celtics in double-figures with 12 points. Only Jeri Welsch missed out on the double-scoring barrage, scoring 9 points on 3 or 8 shooting.
Both teams now take two days off before resuming the series Friday night at the Fleet Center in Boston. The Celtics will have the home court with them this time as they look to save some face, otherwise they will be staring elimination square in the face come Sunday. The Pacers will be at full strength as they welcome back Ron Artest to the lineup after serving his one game suspension.
Game Time Friday is at 7:30 PM (EDT).
By Johnnie Clay – Pacers Insider.
April 20, 2004 – 11:30 PM.
The Indiana Pacers had slept their way through two and a half quarters tonight. Sluggish from the start, they never found a rhythm. Twice during the third quarter, the Pacers closed the Celtics lead down to just a single point, only to see it slip away from them. Rick Carlisle needed something to change the flow of the game, that something was the Pacers’ bench, dubbed the “Bench Mob” by Al Harrington.
The “Mob” of Austin Croshere, Anthony Johnson, Fred Jones and Jonathan Bender broke the Celtics late in the quarter, and then shattered them in the fourth, to send the Pacers to a thrilling 103-90 victory at Conseco Fieldhouse tonight, taking a 2-0 lead in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
The Pacers were already short-handed, playing without Ron Artest, who only minutes after receiving his award for Defensive Player of the Year was suspended for leaving the bench during Saturday’s contest.
Artests’ absence was felt early on as the Pacers went on small runs throughout the first quarter, at times building their lead up to six points on different occasions. Chucky Atkins and Paul Pierce speared headed the Celtics attack. Atkins’ 6 points and Pierce’s 4 points put the Pacers on their heels.
The only consistent thing in the Pacers offense was Jermaine O’Neal, who scored 7 points. The Pacers were missing rebounds, taking bad shots, completely out of sync, trailing 22-17 at the end of the first quarter.
A three-point shot by Fred Jones, and three consecutive field goals by Al Harrington, put the Pacers in a position to take the lead from the Celtics. Jermaine O’Neal and Fred Jones hit baskets to twice tie the game, only to see the Celtics hit three-pointers and go to the free-throw line to seize it right back.
The frustration was beginning to show, and it came to head just as the second quarter ended. Reggie Miller tripped Jiri Welsch as time expired. Miller received a technical for his action as the confused and bewildered Pacers stumbled into the locker room, trailing 46-41.
"I told the team we were trying to do things too fast, we were too excited.” Rick Carlisle said on the Pacers slow first half. “Our spacing was off. We focused on getting guys in the right place on the court and keeping a good tempo. Our focus was to get stops and then get good shots."
The third quarter didn’t start off any better for the Pacers. Jiri Welsch started the quarter off by hitting the technical free throw from the first half, then Walter McCarty buried a three-pointer, giving the Celtics and 11-point lead.
Back-to-back three pointers from Jamaal Tinsley and Reggie Miller once again brought the Pacers within striking distance. The Celtics continued to keep the Pacers at arms’ length until Tinsley’s three-pointer with 7:39 left, tied the contest at 54-54 until an O’Neal free throw gave the Pacers a slim one-point lead. Then the Celtics pushed away again. Both teams went on small scoring spurts throughout the rest of the quarter. Chucky Atkins’ two free throws gave the Celtics a 69-61 lead with under 30 seconds remaining. Then the “mob” went into action.
Austin Croshere scored 4 points in under 30 seconds, sending the sell-out crowd into a frenzy as the Pacers ended the third quarter down by only four points, 69-65.
In the fourth quarter, the “Mob” struck over and over. A 10-1 run gave the Pacers a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. Croshere, and Jonathan Bender buried shot after shot, while the Celtics went ice cold. Bender and Fred Jones each hit three-pointers, giving the Pacers a 12 point lead, (85-73) with six minutes left to play.
Bender and Jones continued to hit baskets over and over, much do the delight of the fans and the Pacers starters on the bench watching it. Jermaine O’Neal was enjoying it so much; he was hesitant to go back onto the court, fearing it would break up a rhythm.
“I struggled big time and was not sure that I wanted to back in the game because Bender, Fred and Austin were really picking us up.” O’Neal said. “We had good chemistry with that group and I just wasn’t sure that I could come in and keep that chemistry going.”
O’Neal eventually did “join in”, and his free-throw with under three minutes left, ended the competitive phase of the game, the rest was just icing on the cake.
Afterwards, Coach Rick Carlisle talked about tonight’s come from behind victory.
“Obviously it was a very tough game. We knew it was going to be coming it, for a lot of reasons, not just because we were missing Ron Artest.” Carlisle said. “Game 2 in a series is always tough. The losing team makes good adjustments and comes out fired up. I don’t feel we experienced a letdown, if anything we came out too energized."
"Our second team did a good job in the second quarter of settling down. I can’t say enough about our second team. They obviously won this game for us tonight. Guys like Fred Jones, Austin Croshere and Jonathan Bender have really kept themselves focused. It’s a huge credit to them to be able to step up when it counts in the playoffs. I also felt Al Harrington was huge tonight. His rebounds, along with Jermaine’s, kept us in the game. For whatever reason our starters tonight struggled. They just weren’t in sync."
The Pacers quietly congratulated each other after the victory; their thoughts were on Ron Artest, who could only watch at home as the Pacers took a 2-0 advantage in the series. Artest was there however, in spirit and in person…sort of. Artests’ father, Ron Sr. was in attendance. Afterwards, Jermaine O’Neal dedicated tonight’s victory to Ron, even going as far as wearing a jersey with his number #23 on during the press conference afterwards.
“We wanted to get this one for Ron because we knew how bad he wanted to be here.” O’Neal said.
And somewhere in Indianapolis, Ron Artest smiled and said, “Way to go guys…way to go.”
The Pacers shot 45% (41-92) from the floor, 39% (9-23) from the arc and 63% (12-19) from the free-throw line.
Jermaine O’Neal led the Pacers tonight with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Al Harrington filled in nicely for the suspended Artest, scoring a double-double, 12 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Jamaal Tinsley scored 15 points and handed out 6 assists.
Then, there was the “Bench Mob”.
Croshere had 10 points and 5 rebounds, Fred Jones chipped in with 17 points and 3 rebounds, and Jonathan Bender had 11 pounds and 7 rebounds. Johnson’s 5 points rounded out the scoring as the Pacers bench easily outscored the Celtics by an eye-popping 43 to 11.
The Celtics shot 40% (27-67) from the floor, 28% (5-18) from the arc and 82% (31-38) from the free-throw line. It was that high percentage from the charity stripe that kept the Celtics in the game.
Paul Pierce’s 27 points led the Celtics. Pierce didn’t have to worry about Artest smothering him this evening, but he still found it rough, going 7-18 from the floor, getting a majority of his points from the free-throw line, hitting 13 of 16. Chucky Atkins had another solid outing, scoring 21 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Mark Blount was the only Celtic who scored a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Walter McCarty rounded out the Celtics in double-figures with 12 points. Only Jeri Welsch missed out on the double-scoring barrage, scoring 9 points on 3 or 8 shooting.
Both teams now take two days off before resuming the series Friday night at the Fleet Center in Boston. The Celtics will have the home court with them this time as they look to save some face, otherwise they will be staring elimination square in the face come Sunday. The Pacers will be at full strength as they welcome back Ron Artest to the lineup after serving his one game suspension.
Game Time Friday is at 7:30 PM (EDT).