Pooh
03-10-2004, 04:34 AM
By Johnnie Clay - Pacers Insider.
March 9, 2004 - 11:30 PM.
For nearly a half, Ron Artest had no answer for Vince Carter. Artest, playing his first home game back after successful hand surgery definately had his hands full tonight. Carter went for 21 first half points, but Artest regrouped and shut out the All-Star in the second half, holding him to just seven points in regulation and no points in overtime, as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Toronto Raptors 94-84 at Conseco Fieldhouse this evening.
In the first half, led by Carter, the Raptors shot nearly 60% as they led by one point, 26-25 at the end of the first quarter. The Raptors continued their hot shooting, extending their lead to four points, 50-46 at halftime. While Toronto was on fire, the Pacers were not, strugging all first half to find an answer for Carter, and newly acquired point guard Rod Strickland, who scored 8 points and 11 assists during that amazing first half run.
"He (Carter) came out on fire." Ron Artest said. "I got more help from the team. I couldn’t do it by myself, I had to have help from my team.”
In the third quarter, the Pacers went on an frantic 9-0 run led by Reggie Miller, taking the lead away from the Raptors 57-53. The Pacers managed to extend the lead to seven points, (64-57) late in the third quarter, but Vince Carter nailed back-to-back three-pointers to trail by only one, (64-63) to begin the fouth quarter.
In that quarter, the Raptors caught the Pacers and put together a seven point lead of their own, 73-66 with nearly nine minutes left to play. Led by Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal, the Pacers once again put on a furious run take the lead back, 79-75 with three minutes remaining. The Raptors quickly tied the game at 79-79, in the closing minutes of regulation. It appeared the Pacers were going to win the game in regulation after Artest hit two free-throws, putting the Pacers up 81-79. However, Rod Strickland broke through the Pacers defense to tie the game at 81-81 with 1:54 left.
Vince Carter had two chances to put the Raptors ahead in the final 30 seconds of regulation, including a wide open look with eight seconds left, neither shot went in thankfully as the game headed into overtime.
“We got to overtime and felt relieved we had five more minutes to play ball." Ron Artest said. "If it didn’t go to overtime, they probably would have won tonight."
In overtime, the Pacers were a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off, and go off it did. Outscoring the Raptors 13-3, it was never close. Reggie Miller and Jamaal Tinsley each hit three-pointers as the shot-clocks went off, essentially breaking the backs of the Raptors. A Jermaine O'Neal basket put the Pacers up 89-81 with 2:41 left. The Raptors only basket was scored by Chris Bosh, as nothing went right for them in the overtime. Vince Carter tried, but missed a three-pointer to try to stop the bleeding, but it continued. Jamaal Tinsley, who returned to the line up tonight after missing Sunday's game with a sprained toe, hit two free-throws to put the game away.
The win was the Pacers' 48th of the season, matching all of their wins from last season. It also extended their current winning streak to six games. Coach Rick Carlisle talked afterwards about tonight's thrilling victory.
“I thought our guys did a great job hanging in there and finding a way to win. Toronto did a great job making play after play after play. The most significant stat in the first half was they had 11 fouls and we had five, which shows we weren’t aggressive enough." Carlisle said.
"We did a much better job in the second half picking up our intensity. We had some pretty good opportunities (offensively) in regulation; but couldn’t convert. Once we got to overtime our crowd kept our energy up and Jamaal hit a big three-pointer. That got us started. And Reggie Miller’s three-pointer with the shot clock winding down was important. When you’re having a season like you’re having you find a way to do it. That’s a credit to our players. Our guys are doing a good job staying in the present, dealing with the next opponent. That’s where we have to stay. For us, getting to the playoffs and winning in the playoffs are what it’s all about.”
Jermaine O'Neal echoed his coaches' sentiments.
“Toronto’s a dangerous team. Vince Carter is obviously a factor out there and they’ve got a lot of guys who can make big shots. It’s a situation where you want to make them play catch-up. We wanted to force some stops. Tonight we were able to get some stops in overtime. That’s how we’ve been playing all year. It’s a unique situation. Most guys don’t have 10 guys who can play. We’ve got 10 guys who can contribute in such a major way.”
The Pacers were led tonight by their "dynamic duo" of Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal. Artest led the Pacers with 23 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. His counterpart Jermaine O'Neal was a beast on the boards, pulling down 18 and scoring 20 points. When Artest and O'Neal score more than 20 points each, the Pacers are unbeatable.
Reggie Miller scored 12 points and hauled in 5 rebounds, while it doesn't look like Jeff Foster puts up mind-boggling numbers night in and night out, he does make a difference though. Foster scored just 2 points, but pulled down 6 rebounds, yet it was his clutch rebound and pass to Reggie Miller, who buried a buzzer beating three during overtime that was a difference maker.
Jamaal Tinsley returned to the lineup tonight with a double-double, 12 points and 11 assists. Tinsley also had 6 rebounds and had 5 steals as well, showing why he's becoming a better all-around player as the season moves on.
And speaking of moving on, that is what the Pacers will be doing now. After two days off, the Pacers travel to the Fleet Center to face the Boston Celtics. Even though the Celtics are just 28-36, the Pacers know they still are a tough team, last years' humiliating defeat in the playoffs proved that. This is the final regular season meeting between the two teams, (barring a possible first round match up) with the Pacers up 2-1, with the Pacers winning the last two games, the most recent, an 99-88 victory on January 31, at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Game Time Friday is at 7:30 PM (EST).
March 9, 2004 - 11:30 PM.
For nearly a half, Ron Artest had no answer for Vince Carter. Artest, playing his first home game back after successful hand surgery definately had his hands full tonight. Carter went for 21 first half points, but Artest regrouped and shut out the All-Star in the second half, holding him to just seven points in regulation and no points in overtime, as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Toronto Raptors 94-84 at Conseco Fieldhouse this evening.
In the first half, led by Carter, the Raptors shot nearly 60% as they led by one point, 26-25 at the end of the first quarter. The Raptors continued their hot shooting, extending their lead to four points, 50-46 at halftime. While Toronto was on fire, the Pacers were not, strugging all first half to find an answer for Carter, and newly acquired point guard Rod Strickland, who scored 8 points and 11 assists during that amazing first half run.
"He (Carter) came out on fire." Ron Artest said. "I got more help from the team. I couldn’t do it by myself, I had to have help from my team.”
In the third quarter, the Pacers went on an frantic 9-0 run led by Reggie Miller, taking the lead away from the Raptors 57-53. The Pacers managed to extend the lead to seven points, (64-57) late in the third quarter, but Vince Carter nailed back-to-back three-pointers to trail by only one, (64-63) to begin the fouth quarter.
In that quarter, the Raptors caught the Pacers and put together a seven point lead of their own, 73-66 with nearly nine minutes left to play. Led by Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal, the Pacers once again put on a furious run take the lead back, 79-75 with three minutes remaining. The Raptors quickly tied the game at 79-79, in the closing minutes of regulation. It appeared the Pacers were going to win the game in regulation after Artest hit two free-throws, putting the Pacers up 81-79. However, Rod Strickland broke through the Pacers defense to tie the game at 81-81 with 1:54 left.
Vince Carter had two chances to put the Raptors ahead in the final 30 seconds of regulation, including a wide open look with eight seconds left, neither shot went in thankfully as the game headed into overtime.
“We got to overtime and felt relieved we had five more minutes to play ball." Ron Artest said. "If it didn’t go to overtime, they probably would have won tonight."
In overtime, the Pacers were a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off, and go off it did. Outscoring the Raptors 13-3, it was never close. Reggie Miller and Jamaal Tinsley each hit three-pointers as the shot-clocks went off, essentially breaking the backs of the Raptors. A Jermaine O'Neal basket put the Pacers up 89-81 with 2:41 left. The Raptors only basket was scored by Chris Bosh, as nothing went right for them in the overtime. Vince Carter tried, but missed a three-pointer to try to stop the bleeding, but it continued. Jamaal Tinsley, who returned to the line up tonight after missing Sunday's game with a sprained toe, hit two free-throws to put the game away.
The win was the Pacers' 48th of the season, matching all of their wins from last season. It also extended their current winning streak to six games. Coach Rick Carlisle talked afterwards about tonight's thrilling victory.
“I thought our guys did a great job hanging in there and finding a way to win. Toronto did a great job making play after play after play. The most significant stat in the first half was they had 11 fouls and we had five, which shows we weren’t aggressive enough." Carlisle said.
"We did a much better job in the second half picking up our intensity. We had some pretty good opportunities (offensively) in regulation; but couldn’t convert. Once we got to overtime our crowd kept our energy up and Jamaal hit a big three-pointer. That got us started. And Reggie Miller’s three-pointer with the shot clock winding down was important. When you’re having a season like you’re having you find a way to do it. That’s a credit to our players. Our guys are doing a good job staying in the present, dealing with the next opponent. That’s where we have to stay. For us, getting to the playoffs and winning in the playoffs are what it’s all about.”
Jermaine O'Neal echoed his coaches' sentiments.
“Toronto’s a dangerous team. Vince Carter is obviously a factor out there and they’ve got a lot of guys who can make big shots. It’s a situation where you want to make them play catch-up. We wanted to force some stops. Tonight we were able to get some stops in overtime. That’s how we’ve been playing all year. It’s a unique situation. Most guys don’t have 10 guys who can play. We’ve got 10 guys who can contribute in such a major way.”
The Pacers were led tonight by their "dynamic duo" of Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal. Artest led the Pacers with 23 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. His counterpart Jermaine O'Neal was a beast on the boards, pulling down 18 and scoring 20 points. When Artest and O'Neal score more than 20 points each, the Pacers are unbeatable.
Reggie Miller scored 12 points and hauled in 5 rebounds, while it doesn't look like Jeff Foster puts up mind-boggling numbers night in and night out, he does make a difference though. Foster scored just 2 points, but pulled down 6 rebounds, yet it was his clutch rebound and pass to Reggie Miller, who buried a buzzer beating three during overtime that was a difference maker.
Jamaal Tinsley returned to the lineup tonight with a double-double, 12 points and 11 assists. Tinsley also had 6 rebounds and had 5 steals as well, showing why he's becoming a better all-around player as the season moves on.
And speaking of moving on, that is what the Pacers will be doing now. After two days off, the Pacers travel to the Fleet Center to face the Boston Celtics. Even though the Celtics are just 28-36, the Pacers know they still are a tough team, last years' humiliating defeat in the playoffs proved that. This is the final regular season meeting between the two teams, (barring a possible first round match up) with the Pacers up 2-1, with the Pacers winning the last two games, the most recent, an 99-88 victory on January 31, at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Game Time Friday is at 7:30 PM (EST).