Pooh
01-24-2004, 06:08 AM
By Johnnie Clay - Pacers Insider.
January 23, 2004 - 11:45 AM
Upon entering the dressing room after tonight's contest, Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle was informed that he was named the Eastern Conference Coach for this years' All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
That good news didn't improve his mood for the night.
Just as the Pacers ended the Pistons' 13-game winning streak the other night, the tables were quickly turned upon them. The Houston Rockets defeated the Indiana Pacers this evening, snapping their five-game winning streak, 78-74 at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The Pacers started out well, getting out to an early lead, but Van Gundy's defensive scheme began to take effect. After leading 25-23 at the end of the first quarter, the Rockets slowed down the tempo and put the clamps on the Pacers.
The Rockets' defense held the Pacers to under 20 points in the remaining three quarters. The crowd at Conseco Fieldhouse got a jolt of energy at the end of the half when Reggie Miller drained what appeared to be a long range three-pointer to pull the Pacers to within one point. Miller's buzzer-beater, which was clearly behind the arc, was ruled a two-pointer on the floor. Officials reviewed the replay to determine the shot was released in time, but did not correct it to reflect a 3-pointer.
The second half saw the game continue to go back and forth, as the Pacers would claw back to within a few points, only to have the Rockets go on a mini-run to push the lead back up to five points.
In the fourth quarter, the Pacers made a significant move, putting together a 13-5 run to take a 73-71 lead with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter. But Steve Francis and Yao Ming both made two free throws to put Houston back in front, while the Pacers produced just one free throw in their final six possessions, missing three shots and committing two turnovers, allowing Houston to escape with the victory.
The most critical possession came in the closing seconds. O'Neal had a chance to tie the game at the line, but missed the second free throw to leave the Pacers down 75-74 with 41 seconds left. Houston's Cuttino Mobley then threw a pass out of bounds, giving the Pacers another chance. But, running a one-sided play with Reggie Miller and Jermaine O'Neal, neither player could get open for a quality shot and O'Neal wound up forcing a 3-pointer that wasn't close. Mobley won the scramble for the rebound, was fouled and made the clinching free throws with 2.7 seconds remaining.
Carlisle talked about the last play. "Obviously it wasn’t what we wanted; but Houston did a good job defending it. In a game like this, I don’t like pointing at one possession late. We’ve got to forget about it and move on."
Carlisle was however proud of his teams performance, despite the outcome.
“I told the team it was a tough loss but it was a heck of a run at home. I thought we played hard but not always well. I didn’t like the outcome but I liked the effort. We just couldn’t get the ball in the basket often enough."
It's that type of mentality by Carlisle and the Pacers that has put them in the position where they are at, leading the Eastern Conference and putting their Coach into spotlight next month for the All-Star Game. Carlisle gave credit to the ones' who helped him to achieve this honor.
"It’s a great honor for our staff and our franchise." Carlisle said. "I haven’t talked to the team about it but when I do, I will thank them for their effort and the opportunity to do this. It’s a great honor and greatly appreciated because it doesn’t happen often.”
Jermaine O'Neal led the Pacers tonight with 31 points, however his counterpart, Ron Artest had a rough night. Artest scored just 9 points, when in fact, there was thought that he wouldn't even play. He was scratched from the line up an hour before game time, but after consulting Pacers' team Doctor Dan Dyrek, it was determined that Artest could indeed play. Coach Carlisle had no regrets about letting his soon-to-be All-Star guard play.
"He saw Dan Dyrek before the game and after he saw Dan, he was reassured he couldn’t do anymore damage." Carlisle said. "It was great Ron got out there and played. He showed why he is a big time gamer and an All-Star. He always has an impact on the game."
Artest later answered questions about his injury. "I felt I would give it a try and felt I could really help out." Artest said. "For me this was a very important game and we needed all the help we could get. As far as playing with this injury, I will play through it and make the adjustments to shooting, rebounding or whatever it takes until it gets better and I can return to my old game. This was just one game.”
The Pacers overall shot 37% (28-76) for the night, but it was at the free-throw line that proved to be the difference, shooting an un-Pacer like 65% (15-23) from the charity stripe.
The Pacers' Fred Jones summed up tonights' loss.
“We haven’t had games like this but you will have games like this." Jones said. "Offense or defense didn’t click. We can’t let this get to us because it will happen. We’ve got to keep our heads up, keep doing the things that we were doing that has made us a winner so far. We’ve got to go to Washington and play our game. We’ll be alright.”
The Pacers now hop on a plane for Washington for their final back-to-back game of the month. The Pacers won their first meeting against the Wizards 93-79 on Dec. 9th, outrebounding the Wizards 45-31. The Pacers have won 19 of the last 23 meetings.
Game Time Saturday is at 7pm (EST)
January 23, 2004 - 11:45 AM
Upon entering the dressing room after tonight's contest, Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle was informed that he was named the Eastern Conference Coach for this years' All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
That good news didn't improve his mood for the night.
Just as the Pacers ended the Pistons' 13-game winning streak the other night, the tables were quickly turned upon them. The Houston Rockets defeated the Indiana Pacers this evening, snapping their five-game winning streak, 78-74 at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The Pacers started out well, getting out to an early lead, but Van Gundy's defensive scheme began to take effect. After leading 25-23 at the end of the first quarter, the Rockets slowed down the tempo and put the clamps on the Pacers.
The Rockets' defense held the Pacers to under 20 points in the remaining three quarters. The crowd at Conseco Fieldhouse got a jolt of energy at the end of the half when Reggie Miller drained what appeared to be a long range three-pointer to pull the Pacers to within one point. Miller's buzzer-beater, which was clearly behind the arc, was ruled a two-pointer on the floor. Officials reviewed the replay to determine the shot was released in time, but did not correct it to reflect a 3-pointer.
The second half saw the game continue to go back and forth, as the Pacers would claw back to within a few points, only to have the Rockets go on a mini-run to push the lead back up to five points.
In the fourth quarter, the Pacers made a significant move, putting together a 13-5 run to take a 73-71 lead with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter. But Steve Francis and Yao Ming both made two free throws to put Houston back in front, while the Pacers produced just one free throw in their final six possessions, missing three shots and committing two turnovers, allowing Houston to escape with the victory.
The most critical possession came in the closing seconds. O'Neal had a chance to tie the game at the line, but missed the second free throw to leave the Pacers down 75-74 with 41 seconds left. Houston's Cuttino Mobley then threw a pass out of bounds, giving the Pacers another chance. But, running a one-sided play with Reggie Miller and Jermaine O'Neal, neither player could get open for a quality shot and O'Neal wound up forcing a 3-pointer that wasn't close. Mobley won the scramble for the rebound, was fouled and made the clinching free throws with 2.7 seconds remaining.
Carlisle talked about the last play. "Obviously it wasn’t what we wanted; but Houston did a good job defending it. In a game like this, I don’t like pointing at one possession late. We’ve got to forget about it and move on."
Carlisle was however proud of his teams performance, despite the outcome.
“I told the team it was a tough loss but it was a heck of a run at home. I thought we played hard but not always well. I didn’t like the outcome but I liked the effort. We just couldn’t get the ball in the basket often enough."
It's that type of mentality by Carlisle and the Pacers that has put them in the position where they are at, leading the Eastern Conference and putting their Coach into spotlight next month for the All-Star Game. Carlisle gave credit to the ones' who helped him to achieve this honor.
"It’s a great honor for our staff and our franchise." Carlisle said. "I haven’t talked to the team about it but when I do, I will thank them for their effort and the opportunity to do this. It’s a great honor and greatly appreciated because it doesn’t happen often.”
Jermaine O'Neal led the Pacers tonight with 31 points, however his counterpart, Ron Artest had a rough night. Artest scored just 9 points, when in fact, there was thought that he wouldn't even play. He was scratched from the line up an hour before game time, but after consulting Pacers' team Doctor Dan Dyrek, it was determined that Artest could indeed play. Coach Carlisle had no regrets about letting his soon-to-be All-Star guard play.
"He saw Dan Dyrek before the game and after he saw Dan, he was reassured he couldn’t do anymore damage." Carlisle said. "It was great Ron got out there and played. He showed why he is a big time gamer and an All-Star. He always has an impact on the game."
Artest later answered questions about his injury. "I felt I would give it a try and felt I could really help out." Artest said. "For me this was a very important game and we needed all the help we could get. As far as playing with this injury, I will play through it and make the adjustments to shooting, rebounding or whatever it takes until it gets better and I can return to my old game. This was just one game.”
The Pacers overall shot 37% (28-76) for the night, but it was at the free-throw line that proved to be the difference, shooting an un-Pacer like 65% (15-23) from the charity stripe.
The Pacers' Fred Jones summed up tonights' loss.
“We haven’t had games like this but you will have games like this." Jones said. "Offense or defense didn’t click. We can’t let this get to us because it will happen. We’ve got to keep our heads up, keep doing the things that we were doing that has made us a winner so far. We’ve got to go to Washington and play our game. We’ll be alright.”
The Pacers now hop on a plane for Washington for their final back-to-back game of the month. The Pacers won their first meeting against the Wizards 93-79 on Dec. 9th, outrebounding the Wizards 45-31. The Pacers have won 19 of the last 23 meetings.
Game Time Saturday is at 7pm (EST)