Pooh
03-04-2004, 07:44 AM
By Johnnie Clay - Pacers Insider.
March 4, 2004 - 3:30 AM.
When the chips are down, and the Pacers need that special "spark" to send them on their way to victory, they need only to look to the man affectionally known as "Uncle Reggie", Reggie Miller.
Once again, Miller delivered when called upon, hitting a three-pointer with 1:49 left in overtime, to send the Pacers to a dramatic and thrilling 101-94 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night.
Miller was able to get a clean look, an opportunity which didn't happen much tonight, as Miller went 2-5 shooting, his three-pointer was only his second bucket of the night, scoring just 6 points in only 34 minutes.
"I didn't have to shoot much,'' Miller said afterwards. "I'm blessed to be on a team where I've got a lot of young guns who are offensively talented, so I pick and choose. Obviously, I felt that we were somewhat in dire straits once we got into overtime. I felt like if I could kind of bait Bobby Simmons into going for a steal right there with six seconds left on the shot clock, I could get a pretty good look at the three. He did exactly what I wanted him to do and I hit the three.''
One would've never thought the game would've went into overtime, judging by the opening minutes of tonight's contest.
The Pacers quickly jumped out to an 11-1 lead, taking advantage of poor Clippers shooting. All of that changed in a hurry as the Clippers started to heat up, cutting the Pacers lead to just six points, 27-21 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Clippers continued to press the Pacers. Their defense clamped down on the Pacers, as Elton Brand scored 12 points during a furious 20-9 Clippers run to seize the lead, 47-41. Then Ron Artest, in only his second game back from successful thumb surgery, drilled two three-pointers, putting the Pacers back on top. However, the Clippers countered to take the lead back, 52-51 going into halftime.
The fury of the first two quarters became a distant memory as the third quarter began. Both teams were very sloppy, as the Pacers turned the ball over nine times, (21 total for the night) while the Clippers were held scoreless for nearly six minutes. By the time the quarter ended, the Clippers still maintained a small lead, up 68-66.
The final quarter saw seven ties and six lead changes, as neither team took charge. Yet it was the Clippers who were on top late, but Ron Artest's short jump shot with 10 seconds left, tied things up at 87-87. Artest scored eight of the Pacers' nine points during those furious last minutes of regulation.
"Ron kept us in the game and got us into overtime,'' Reggie Miller said afterwards.
Now it was up to the Pacers defense to stop the Clippers just one last time. Eddie House's despiration three-pointer was deflected by Jamaal Tinsley, and the game headed into overtime.
The overtime started off like the third quarter, with each team missing shots. Jamaal Tinsley's 3-pointer with 3:05 remaining, ended the scoring drought, giving the Pacers an 92-87 lead. That lead however, didn't last long as Corey Maggette's three with 2:14 left tied the score. That set the stage for Reggie Miller, or as fans like to call it..."Miller Time."
Miller's shot-clock beating three-pointer, pushed the Pacers ahead for good at 95-92. The Clippers failed to get any closer as the Pacers finished out the scoring from the free-throw line to seal the game.
Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle talked about the dramatic win.
"Ron (Artest) played well tonight. I’m dumbfounded he is back from surgery after twelve days and playing at this level." Carlisle said. "Foster did a good job too. He did a good job keeping a body on Brand. Jeff is one of the underrated defensive players in the NBA. He’s a good rebounder as well.”
"We didn’t have our first big spurt until overtime. We made just enough stops and just enough plays to pull this one out. Reggie made a big shot. Who better to have spotting up for a wide open three.”
Just as in last night's game, there was some "suspense and drama".
The "suspense" occurred when Jamall Tinsley left the game midway through the third quarter, suffering a bruised left wrist in a fall. Kenny Anderson filled in until Tinsley returned midway through the fourth quarter.
The "drama" took place when Ron Artest pulled Quentin Richardson to the floor in a battle for a rebound. No foul was called, just a jump ball, prompting boos from the crowd. While the teams were lining up for the jump, Bobby Simmons and O'Neal were hit with double technical fouls for exchanging shoves.
The Pacers shot 45% (34-76) from the floor and 50% shooting (11-22) from the arc. The Pacers also enjoyed a good night shooting from the free-throw line, shooting 79% (22-28) .
Ron Artest led the Pacers tonight with 25 points, and 5 rebounds. Artest also led the Pacers in one other glaring statistic, committing seven turnovers. Jermaine O'Neal had another rough night shooting, going (8-19) from the floor, but managed to score 19 points and 17 rebounds. Jamaal Tinsley continued to shine during this road trip, scoring 17 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, while the spark plug from the bench came from Fred Jones who scored 12 points, many of them came via the free-throw line, going (7-8) from the stripe.
Tonight's win was their league leading 21st of the season, it also assured them of a winning record on the road for only the second time in their NBA history. Their 45-16 record keeps them even with Sacramento and Minnesota for the NBA's best record.
The Pacers now have a day off before starting up again Friday night in Utah. The Pacers beat the Jazz 94-80 on Feb. 22 at Conseco Fieldhouse, however they needed a strong fourth quarter to pull away. The Pacers are 6-17 all-time in Salt Lake City.
Game Time Friday is at 9:00pm (EST).
March 4, 2004 - 3:30 AM.
When the chips are down, and the Pacers need that special "spark" to send them on their way to victory, they need only to look to the man affectionally known as "Uncle Reggie", Reggie Miller.
Once again, Miller delivered when called upon, hitting a three-pointer with 1:49 left in overtime, to send the Pacers to a dramatic and thrilling 101-94 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night.
Miller was able to get a clean look, an opportunity which didn't happen much tonight, as Miller went 2-5 shooting, his three-pointer was only his second bucket of the night, scoring just 6 points in only 34 minutes.
"I didn't have to shoot much,'' Miller said afterwards. "I'm blessed to be on a team where I've got a lot of young guns who are offensively talented, so I pick and choose. Obviously, I felt that we were somewhat in dire straits once we got into overtime. I felt like if I could kind of bait Bobby Simmons into going for a steal right there with six seconds left on the shot clock, I could get a pretty good look at the three. He did exactly what I wanted him to do and I hit the three.''
One would've never thought the game would've went into overtime, judging by the opening minutes of tonight's contest.
The Pacers quickly jumped out to an 11-1 lead, taking advantage of poor Clippers shooting. All of that changed in a hurry as the Clippers started to heat up, cutting the Pacers lead to just six points, 27-21 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Clippers continued to press the Pacers. Their defense clamped down on the Pacers, as Elton Brand scored 12 points during a furious 20-9 Clippers run to seize the lead, 47-41. Then Ron Artest, in only his second game back from successful thumb surgery, drilled two three-pointers, putting the Pacers back on top. However, the Clippers countered to take the lead back, 52-51 going into halftime.
The fury of the first two quarters became a distant memory as the third quarter began. Both teams were very sloppy, as the Pacers turned the ball over nine times, (21 total for the night) while the Clippers were held scoreless for nearly six minutes. By the time the quarter ended, the Clippers still maintained a small lead, up 68-66.
The final quarter saw seven ties and six lead changes, as neither team took charge. Yet it was the Clippers who were on top late, but Ron Artest's short jump shot with 10 seconds left, tied things up at 87-87. Artest scored eight of the Pacers' nine points during those furious last minutes of regulation.
"Ron kept us in the game and got us into overtime,'' Reggie Miller said afterwards.
Now it was up to the Pacers defense to stop the Clippers just one last time. Eddie House's despiration three-pointer was deflected by Jamaal Tinsley, and the game headed into overtime.
The overtime started off like the third quarter, with each team missing shots. Jamaal Tinsley's 3-pointer with 3:05 remaining, ended the scoring drought, giving the Pacers an 92-87 lead. That lead however, didn't last long as Corey Maggette's three with 2:14 left tied the score. That set the stage for Reggie Miller, or as fans like to call it..."Miller Time."
Miller's shot-clock beating three-pointer, pushed the Pacers ahead for good at 95-92. The Clippers failed to get any closer as the Pacers finished out the scoring from the free-throw line to seal the game.
Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle talked about the dramatic win.
"Ron (Artest) played well tonight. I’m dumbfounded he is back from surgery after twelve days and playing at this level." Carlisle said. "Foster did a good job too. He did a good job keeping a body on Brand. Jeff is one of the underrated defensive players in the NBA. He’s a good rebounder as well.”
"We didn’t have our first big spurt until overtime. We made just enough stops and just enough plays to pull this one out. Reggie made a big shot. Who better to have spotting up for a wide open three.”
Just as in last night's game, there was some "suspense and drama".
The "suspense" occurred when Jamall Tinsley left the game midway through the third quarter, suffering a bruised left wrist in a fall. Kenny Anderson filled in until Tinsley returned midway through the fourth quarter.
The "drama" took place when Ron Artest pulled Quentin Richardson to the floor in a battle for a rebound. No foul was called, just a jump ball, prompting boos from the crowd. While the teams were lining up for the jump, Bobby Simmons and O'Neal were hit with double technical fouls for exchanging shoves.
The Pacers shot 45% (34-76) from the floor and 50% shooting (11-22) from the arc. The Pacers also enjoyed a good night shooting from the free-throw line, shooting 79% (22-28) .
Ron Artest led the Pacers tonight with 25 points, and 5 rebounds. Artest also led the Pacers in one other glaring statistic, committing seven turnovers. Jermaine O'Neal had another rough night shooting, going (8-19) from the floor, but managed to score 19 points and 17 rebounds. Jamaal Tinsley continued to shine during this road trip, scoring 17 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, while the spark plug from the bench came from Fred Jones who scored 12 points, many of them came via the free-throw line, going (7-8) from the stripe.
Tonight's win was their league leading 21st of the season, it also assured them of a winning record on the road for only the second time in their NBA history. Their 45-16 record keeps them even with Sacramento and Minnesota for the NBA's best record.
The Pacers now have a day off before starting up again Friday night in Utah. The Pacers beat the Jazz 94-80 on Feb. 22 at Conseco Fieldhouse, however they needed a strong fourth quarter to pull away. The Pacers are 6-17 all-time in Salt Lake City.
Game Time Friday is at 9:00pm (EST).