Pooh
03-08-2004, 05:51 AM
By Johnnie Clay - Pacers Insider.
March 8, 2004 - 1:30 AM.
During this Western Conference road trip, there was one common thread. That thread was give the Pacers a huge lead, then watch the home team make a game of it late.
That occurance reared its' head once again this evening, however the game had a more "comfortable" ending this time, as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Denver Nuggets 103-94 tonight.
The win gave the Pacers their first ever sweep on the road against Western Conference teams in franchise history, it also pushed their record against the "mighty" West to a NBA leading 18-6 this season. Their 47-16 record is once again the best in the NBA, as they head towards the home stretch of the season.
In the first half, the Pacers jumped out big leads, only to see the Nuggets slowly climb back. A 14-6 lead was quickly evaporated as the Nuggets cut the lead down to just three points, 23-20 late in the period, only to see the Pacers close out the first quarter with a 6-2 run, up by five points, 29-22 at the end of the one.
The Pacers carried their 6-2 run over to the second quarter, scoring four straight points to start the period, but the Nuggets had other plans, countering the Pacers' run with one of their own, again cutting the lead down to just two points, 33-31. Then it was the Pacers' turn, led by Anthony Johnson, (who started in place of the injured Jamaal Tinsley) the Pacers exploded with a 13-4 run to go up 53-41 at halftime.
Johnson, who scored 21 points tonight, talked afterwards about having to fill-in for the injured Tinsley, and the importance to contribute when giving the opportunity.
“Whenever guys go down others take pride in playing well." Johnson said. "It felt very good to produce. Guys swung the ball well and I knocked down some shots. We were able to get to our spots quickly and knock down the shots.”
The second half began like the first, with the Pacers running. A 12-2 run extended the Pacers' lead to 22 points, 65-43. But as in the last three games, no big lead is safe. The Nuggets started to chip away at that huge lead. Led by rookie sensation Carmelo Anthony, (who finished with 29 points), Earl Boykins and Rodney White, the Nuggets chopped the lead down to 14 points midway through the quarter, by the time the Pacers Kenny Anderson buried a three-pointer early in the fourth, the lead was just twelve, 82-70, with plenty of time left.
The Nuggets closed to within ten points, 85-75 with under nine minutes remaining. The Pacers were stumped and looked on as the Nuggets continue to get closer, and closer. An 11-3 run, put the Nuggets on the doorstep of upset the defeating the NBA's best team.
Just when it seemed as if the Pacers were about to fold up, Ron Artest stepped to the floor. Artest came up with a steal and passed to Anthony Johnson, whose basket gave the Pacers a four-point lead. It appeard that broke the back of the young Nuggets, it did not...as Carmelo Anthony's layup once again cut the Pacers lead down to just two points, 90-88 with under two minutes left.
Once again, someone had to step up for the Pacers. This time it was Jermaine O'Neal, whose three-point play put the Pacers up 93-88 with 1:36 remaining. The Nuggets became smothered up by the Pacers' defense. With their offense defeated, the Nuggets were forced to foul the Pacers, who made all nine of their free-throw attempts to close it out.
Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle spoke afterwards about the game.
“Denver is a team that showed real fight tonight after their game last night." Carlisle said. "Earl Boykins got them going. He is a tough guy to deal with. Carmelo Anthony did some spectacular things. They single covered Jermaine O’Neal and he was too much for them to handle. Jermaine has stepped up so many times this season. He is playing unselfishly and getting rebounds. We wanted to get a lead and keep building on it. We were able to get some big stops and some big steals. We have a lot of guys playing well right now. We are playing 10 or 11 guys every night, which is hard to do.”
Jermaine O'Neal led the Pacers with a huge night, scoring 31 points and 10 rebounds. Ron Artest struggled from the floor, going (2-15) for just 8 points, but Artest made up for the low scoring in other aspects with 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. Jeff Foster recorded a rare double-double this evening, scoring 11 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Jamaal Tinsely, as reported earlier did not play this evening due to a sprained toe suffered late in the first half of Friday night's 96-88 victory in Utah. Tinsley is listed as day-to-day however.
As a team, the Pacers shot 50% (37-74) from the floor, 40% (6-15) from the arc and 74% (24-31) from the free-throw line.
The only home game in a two-week span comes Tuesday night against Toronto in Conseco Fieldhouse. The Pacers beat the Raptors 83-77 on the road on Feb. 6 as Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest combined to score 47 points while the defense held the home team to 39 percent shooting. The Pacers have won five of the last six from Toronto.
Game Time Tuesday is at 7pm (EST).
March 8, 2004 - 1:30 AM.
During this Western Conference road trip, there was one common thread. That thread was give the Pacers a huge lead, then watch the home team make a game of it late.
That occurance reared its' head once again this evening, however the game had a more "comfortable" ending this time, as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Denver Nuggets 103-94 tonight.
The win gave the Pacers their first ever sweep on the road against Western Conference teams in franchise history, it also pushed their record against the "mighty" West to a NBA leading 18-6 this season. Their 47-16 record is once again the best in the NBA, as they head towards the home stretch of the season.
In the first half, the Pacers jumped out big leads, only to see the Nuggets slowly climb back. A 14-6 lead was quickly evaporated as the Nuggets cut the lead down to just three points, 23-20 late in the period, only to see the Pacers close out the first quarter with a 6-2 run, up by five points, 29-22 at the end of the one.
The Pacers carried their 6-2 run over to the second quarter, scoring four straight points to start the period, but the Nuggets had other plans, countering the Pacers' run with one of their own, again cutting the lead down to just two points, 33-31. Then it was the Pacers' turn, led by Anthony Johnson, (who started in place of the injured Jamaal Tinsley) the Pacers exploded with a 13-4 run to go up 53-41 at halftime.
Johnson, who scored 21 points tonight, talked afterwards about having to fill-in for the injured Tinsley, and the importance to contribute when giving the opportunity.
“Whenever guys go down others take pride in playing well." Johnson said. "It felt very good to produce. Guys swung the ball well and I knocked down some shots. We were able to get to our spots quickly and knock down the shots.”
The second half began like the first, with the Pacers running. A 12-2 run extended the Pacers' lead to 22 points, 65-43. But as in the last three games, no big lead is safe. The Nuggets started to chip away at that huge lead. Led by rookie sensation Carmelo Anthony, (who finished with 29 points), Earl Boykins and Rodney White, the Nuggets chopped the lead down to 14 points midway through the quarter, by the time the Pacers Kenny Anderson buried a three-pointer early in the fourth, the lead was just twelve, 82-70, with plenty of time left.
The Nuggets closed to within ten points, 85-75 with under nine minutes remaining. The Pacers were stumped and looked on as the Nuggets continue to get closer, and closer. An 11-3 run, put the Nuggets on the doorstep of upset the defeating the NBA's best team.
Just when it seemed as if the Pacers were about to fold up, Ron Artest stepped to the floor. Artest came up with a steal and passed to Anthony Johnson, whose basket gave the Pacers a four-point lead. It appeard that broke the back of the young Nuggets, it did not...as Carmelo Anthony's layup once again cut the Pacers lead down to just two points, 90-88 with under two minutes left.
Once again, someone had to step up for the Pacers. This time it was Jermaine O'Neal, whose three-point play put the Pacers up 93-88 with 1:36 remaining. The Nuggets became smothered up by the Pacers' defense. With their offense defeated, the Nuggets were forced to foul the Pacers, who made all nine of their free-throw attempts to close it out.
Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle spoke afterwards about the game.
“Denver is a team that showed real fight tonight after their game last night." Carlisle said. "Earl Boykins got them going. He is a tough guy to deal with. Carmelo Anthony did some spectacular things. They single covered Jermaine O’Neal and he was too much for them to handle. Jermaine has stepped up so many times this season. He is playing unselfishly and getting rebounds. We wanted to get a lead and keep building on it. We were able to get some big stops and some big steals. We have a lot of guys playing well right now. We are playing 10 or 11 guys every night, which is hard to do.”
Jermaine O'Neal led the Pacers with a huge night, scoring 31 points and 10 rebounds. Ron Artest struggled from the floor, going (2-15) for just 8 points, but Artest made up for the low scoring in other aspects with 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. Jeff Foster recorded a rare double-double this evening, scoring 11 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Jamaal Tinsely, as reported earlier did not play this evening due to a sprained toe suffered late in the first half of Friday night's 96-88 victory in Utah. Tinsley is listed as day-to-day however.
As a team, the Pacers shot 50% (37-74) from the floor, 40% (6-15) from the arc and 74% (24-31) from the free-throw line.
The only home game in a two-week span comes Tuesday night against Toronto in Conseco Fieldhouse. The Pacers beat the Raptors 83-77 on the road on Feb. 6 as Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest combined to score 47 points while the defense held the home team to 39 percent shooting. The Pacers have won five of the last six from Toronto.
Game Time Tuesday is at 7pm (EST).