Pooh
02-11-2004, 05:15 AM
By Johnnie Clay - Pacers Insider.
February 10th, 2004 - 11:45 PM
Tonight's game was simple. Go in, get the victory and get out healthy...mission accomplished for the Pacers.
After a sluggish beginning, the Pacers put it in gear and throttled the Bulls 103-84 this evening at the United Center, giving them the best record in the NBA at the All-Star break.
The Bulls jumped out to an early 11-0 lead, but the Pacers clawed back quickly and narrowed the deficit to just four points, 13-7. Then the Pacers, led by Ron Artest and crew went to work, tying the game at 21-21 to end the first quarter.
The Pacers then fought off another run by the Bulls in the second quarter with one of their own. Austin Croshere scored 10 points in the quarter as the Pacers built a double-digit lead, something they would keep the rest of the night. The Bulls failed to capitalize on a golden moment midway through the quarter as Jermaine O'Neal was called for a technical foul. O'Neal was livid over a non-call after taking an inadvertent elbow to the mouth from the Bulls' Eddy Curry, and had to be restrained by Ron Artest and Reggie Miller.
Artest convered a three-point play and Miller followed with a 3-pointer to push the lead back up to 12 points. Their Pacers smothering defense then put the clamps down on the happless Bulls, as the Pacers waltzed into halftime leading 50-38.
The Pacers came out firing in the third quarter, scoring the first seven points of the second half to push the advantage to 57-38. The Bulls made just one basket in the first 6 minutes of the quarter as the Pacers extended the lead to 62-42.
A 13-0 run early in the fourth quarter made it 93-64. Though the Bulls countered with an 18-4 run that reduced the margin to 15 points, 97-82. The Bulls never got any closer as victory was assured for the Pacers.
"I thought our team played an inspired game tonight. It was a tough game because we're off for the break now." Coach Rick Carlisle said afterwards. "Some teams' minds can wander when you're facing that time off. The guys came on with a strong willed effort. There were a couple of things we talked about needing to do after our last game here: keep them off the boards and keep our turnovers down and efficiency up."
The Pacers themselves talked about the importance of tonight's win and what it means down the road.
"We did not want this to be a throw away game for us. A lot of teams look at the break and their minds wander." Reggie Miller said. "We wanted to come out and jump on this team early. We kept them down, we were focused. Everyone contributed tonight and we got the victory. With us making a coaching change a month before the season started, this team was in turmoil. Rick only had a month to prepare. We got out of the game quick and we kept it going. That was the most important thing."
"We take a lot of pride, but we haven't finished our job until we come back and finish the season out knowing what we did last year. We got off to a good start and we didn't finish the season out very well." Jamaal Tinsley said.
For Ron Artest, who led the Pacers tonight with 26 points, knew the importance of ending the "halfway" point on a winning note, through aches and pains as well.
"It was not a game I could really take off. Al (Harrington) wasn't playing, JB (Bender) could have filled the void, but he just got back and he's not in shape. It was important for us to get number 39 tonight." Artest said. "We didn't have anywhere to go today, just come in here and win. And now we can worry about what we need to worry about after the break. We weren't worried about the break."
The Pacers shot 48% from the floor and 74% from the free-throw line. Jermaine O'Neal scored 16 points and pulled in 10 rebounds, while Jamaal Tinsley scored 10 points as three of the five Pacers' starters went for double-figures for the night.
The bench once again shinned this evening as Austin Croshere led all bench scorers with 12 points and five rebounds. Fred Jones and Anthony Johnson scored 7 points each, while Scot Pollard scored 4 points while also grabbing 8 rebounds in his 20 minutes of playing time.
Tonight's game marked the return of Jonathan Bender and Kenny Anderson to the line up. Bender scored just 2 points in only nine minutes of playing time, while Anderson faired slightly better in his outing, scoring 6 points, hitting all three of his field-goals in his six minutes of playing time.
Al Harrington missed his second consecutive game due to a sore right knee. Harrington is expected to return after the All-Star break.
Speaking of the All-Star break, The Pacers enter the break with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 39-14, (their best record after 53 games in the franchise's NBA history) and 18-9 on the road. They also have the momentum of six victories in their last seven games.
As a majority of the Pacers take a well deserved time off, some aren't as lucky. The Pacers are sending two players to the All-Star Game (starter Jermaine O'Neal and reserve Ron Artest), as well Rick Carlisle and his coaching staff, and one player to the Slam-Dunk contest (Fred Jones).
After the festivities, the Pacers then return to work next Tuesday at home against the New Orleans Hornets. The Pacers are 2-0 against their Central Division rivals and a victory in either of the next two meetings (they square off again on Feb. 27) will clinch the season series.
Game Time Tuesday is at 7pm (EST).
February 10th, 2004 - 11:45 PM
Tonight's game was simple. Go in, get the victory and get out healthy...mission accomplished for the Pacers.
After a sluggish beginning, the Pacers put it in gear and throttled the Bulls 103-84 this evening at the United Center, giving them the best record in the NBA at the All-Star break.
The Bulls jumped out to an early 11-0 lead, but the Pacers clawed back quickly and narrowed the deficit to just four points, 13-7. Then the Pacers, led by Ron Artest and crew went to work, tying the game at 21-21 to end the first quarter.
The Pacers then fought off another run by the Bulls in the second quarter with one of their own. Austin Croshere scored 10 points in the quarter as the Pacers built a double-digit lead, something they would keep the rest of the night. The Bulls failed to capitalize on a golden moment midway through the quarter as Jermaine O'Neal was called for a technical foul. O'Neal was livid over a non-call after taking an inadvertent elbow to the mouth from the Bulls' Eddy Curry, and had to be restrained by Ron Artest and Reggie Miller.
Artest convered a three-point play and Miller followed with a 3-pointer to push the lead back up to 12 points. Their Pacers smothering defense then put the clamps down on the happless Bulls, as the Pacers waltzed into halftime leading 50-38.
The Pacers came out firing in the third quarter, scoring the first seven points of the second half to push the advantage to 57-38. The Bulls made just one basket in the first 6 minutes of the quarter as the Pacers extended the lead to 62-42.
A 13-0 run early in the fourth quarter made it 93-64. Though the Bulls countered with an 18-4 run that reduced the margin to 15 points, 97-82. The Bulls never got any closer as victory was assured for the Pacers.
"I thought our team played an inspired game tonight. It was a tough game because we're off for the break now." Coach Rick Carlisle said afterwards. "Some teams' minds can wander when you're facing that time off. The guys came on with a strong willed effort. There were a couple of things we talked about needing to do after our last game here: keep them off the boards and keep our turnovers down and efficiency up."
The Pacers themselves talked about the importance of tonight's win and what it means down the road.
"We did not want this to be a throw away game for us. A lot of teams look at the break and their minds wander." Reggie Miller said. "We wanted to come out and jump on this team early. We kept them down, we were focused. Everyone contributed tonight and we got the victory. With us making a coaching change a month before the season started, this team was in turmoil. Rick only had a month to prepare. We got out of the game quick and we kept it going. That was the most important thing."
"We take a lot of pride, but we haven't finished our job until we come back and finish the season out knowing what we did last year. We got off to a good start and we didn't finish the season out very well." Jamaal Tinsley said.
For Ron Artest, who led the Pacers tonight with 26 points, knew the importance of ending the "halfway" point on a winning note, through aches and pains as well.
"It was not a game I could really take off. Al (Harrington) wasn't playing, JB (Bender) could have filled the void, but he just got back and he's not in shape. It was important for us to get number 39 tonight." Artest said. "We didn't have anywhere to go today, just come in here and win. And now we can worry about what we need to worry about after the break. We weren't worried about the break."
The Pacers shot 48% from the floor and 74% from the free-throw line. Jermaine O'Neal scored 16 points and pulled in 10 rebounds, while Jamaal Tinsley scored 10 points as three of the five Pacers' starters went for double-figures for the night.
The bench once again shinned this evening as Austin Croshere led all bench scorers with 12 points and five rebounds. Fred Jones and Anthony Johnson scored 7 points each, while Scot Pollard scored 4 points while also grabbing 8 rebounds in his 20 minutes of playing time.
Tonight's game marked the return of Jonathan Bender and Kenny Anderson to the line up. Bender scored just 2 points in only nine minutes of playing time, while Anderson faired slightly better in his outing, scoring 6 points, hitting all three of his field-goals in his six minutes of playing time.
Al Harrington missed his second consecutive game due to a sore right knee. Harrington is expected to return after the All-Star break.
Speaking of the All-Star break, The Pacers enter the break with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 39-14, (their best record after 53 games in the franchise's NBA history) and 18-9 on the road. They also have the momentum of six victories in their last seven games.
As a majority of the Pacers take a well deserved time off, some aren't as lucky. The Pacers are sending two players to the All-Star Game (starter Jermaine O'Neal and reserve Ron Artest), as well Rick Carlisle and his coaching staff, and one player to the Slam-Dunk contest (Fred Jones).
After the festivities, the Pacers then return to work next Tuesday at home against the New Orleans Hornets. The Pacers are 2-0 against their Central Division rivals and a victory in either of the next two meetings (they square off again on Feb. 27) will clinch the season series.
Game Time Tuesday is at 7pm (EST).