Pooh
01-04-2004, 03:27 AM
By Johnnie Clay - Pacers Insider
January 3, 2004 - 11:00 PM
The Indiana Pacers won their fourth straight game this evening, defeating the New Orleans Hornets 91-84 at Conseco Fieldhouse. It was a highly fought contest...literally.
A shoving match between Indiana's Al Harrington and New Orleans' George Lynch escalated into a fight Saturday night, leading to the ejections of Harrington, Lynch and New Orleans center Jamaal Magloire.
The fight broke out with 9:15 to play in the fourth quarter when Harrington was called for a foul on Lynch near the Pacers' bench. After the foul, Lynch elbowed Harrington in the jaw and Harrington responded by first shoving Lynch, then tackling him into the Pacers' bench. A melee ensued, with several Hornets and Pacers piling into the area.
As several players, including Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest, tried to break up the fight, Magloire came from across the court and dived into the pile.
O'Neal tried to restrain Magloire and pull him away, and Magloire responded by shoving O'Neal.
After an extended delay, the three ejections were announced as played resumed. Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle view his opinion on the incident.
"Looking at the tape, it was two aggressive teams that got into a scuffle." Carlisle said. "I don’t see anyone getting suspended from either team but that’s my view. It’s two competitive teams in a high visibility game and things will escalate.”
“These were two very good basketball teams. When two good teams come together, tempers will flare." Ron Artest said of the incident. "I was just trying to keep Al (Harrington) out of it. That’s all I was trying to do. As far as the game, the key was for us to keep our heads up, play tough defense and go 48 minutes at both ends of the court.”
The incident seemed to spark the Hornets, who were trailing 75-57 at the time. They outscored the Pacers 26-17 after the fight, but came up short in the end and another game in the loss column behind the Pacers.
The Pacers came out firing, jumping out to an early 11-4 lead in the first quarter. The stunned Hornets were held to just 10 first quarter points, as the Pacers defense shut down their long range shooters, leading at the end of the first quarter 29-10.
The second quarter became a track meet, with both teams catching fire and shooting lights out. Led by Baron Davis, (who scored 35 points tonight to lead all scorers) the Hornets went to work on the Pacers lead. Indiana's defense remained solid throughout the rest of the quarter, heading into halftime up 50-39.
The third quarter saw the Pacers take control of the game. Running on all cylinders, the Pacers ran away and hid, extending their lead up to 20 points by the end of the quarter, 75-55.
And then there was the "fight."
After that, it was as if both teams had exchanged jerseys. The Pacers looked like a surfer who couldn't avoid the big wave, no matter how hard they paddled, the wave kept coming towards them.
Just as it seemed the Hornets were ready to take over, they ran out of steam. The Pacers awoke from their "funk" to push the lead back up to 10 points late in the game. Both teams exchanged free-throws late to conclude the scoring.
“That was a tough game. It was a grueling game." Carlisle said. "We played them well early and they made a run. We played them well in the third quarter and they made another run. We had a couple let downs, which will happen against a team like New Orleans. It’s tough when you’ve got Baron Davis coming at you like a freight train every time. He’s one of the best players in the league. As the game was winding down we were running out of bodies with ejections and foul outs. We needed everybody we had tonight."
Jermaine O'Neal led the Pacers with 26 points, 16 rebounds, his second consecutive double-double. Jamaal Tinsley showed Pacers fans tonight not to write him off so easily, scoring 18 points while handing out 9 assists. Reggie Miller led the Pacers early before cooling off after the first quater, scoring 11 points. Millers' two three-pointers early on, sent the Pacers on their way to victory tonight. Tinsley's counterpart, Fred Jones also contributed with 13 points, while Ron Artest cooled off quickly from last nights' 28 point performance against the Celtics, scoring just 9 points for the evening.
Overall, the Pacers shot 40% (28-70) and 78% (29-37) from the free-throw line. The Pacers also out rebounded (45-37) and out assisted (23-19) the Hornets tonight, enroute to their 25th win of the season, and second of the new year.
The victory tonight was the Pacers fourth in a row, extending their lead over the Hornets in the Central Division to 3 1/2 games, three out of their next four games are on the road, including a game with the defending league champion Spurs, who had their 13-game winning streak snapped this afternoon. The Pacers have a day off before playing the Miami Heat on Monday night.
Game Time Monday is at 7:30 pm (EST)
January 3, 2004 - 11:00 PM
The Indiana Pacers won their fourth straight game this evening, defeating the New Orleans Hornets 91-84 at Conseco Fieldhouse. It was a highly fought contest...literally.
A shoving match between Indiana's Al Harrington and New Orleans' George Lynch escalated into a fight Saturday night, leading to the ejections of Harrington, Lynch and New Orleans center Jamaal Magloire.
The fight broke out with 9:15 to play in the fourth quarter when Harrington was called for a foul on Lynch near the Pacers' bench. After the foul, Lynch elbowed Harrington in the jaw and Harrington responded by first shoving Lynch, then tackling him into the Pacers' bench. A melee ensued, with several Hornets and Pacers piling into the area.
As several players, including Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest, tried to break up the fight, Magloire came from across the court and dived into the pile.
O'Neal tried to restrain Magloire and pull him away, and Magloire responded by shoving O'Neal.
After an extended delay, the three ejections were announced as played resumed. Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle view his opinion on the incident.
"Looking at the tape, it was two aggressive teams that got into a scuffle." Carlisle said. "I don’t see anyone getting suspended from either team but that’s my view. It’s two competitive teams in a high visibility game and things will escalate.”
“These were two very good basketball teams. When two good teams come together, tempers will flare." Ron Artest said of the incident. "I was just trying to keep Al (Harrington) out of it. That’s all I was trying to do. As far as the game, the key was for us to keep our heads up, play tough defense and go 48 minutes at both ends of the court.”
The incident seemed to spark the Hornets, who were trailing 75-57 at the time. They outscored the Pacers 26-17 after the fight, but came up short in the end and another game in the loss column behind the Pacers.
The Pacers came out firing, jumping out to an early 11-4 lead in the first quarter. The stunned Hornets were held to just 10 first quarter points, as the Pacers defense shut down their long range shooters, leading at the end of the first quarter 29-10.
The second quarter became a track meet, with both teams catching fire and shooting lights out. Led by Baron Davis, (who scored 35 points tonight to lead all scorers) the Hornets went to work on the Pacers lead. Indiana's defense remained solid throughout the rest of the quarter, heading into halftime up 50-39.
The third quarter saw the Pacers take control of the game. Running on all cylinders, the Pacers ran away and hid, extending their lead up to 20 points by the end of the quarter, 75-55.
And then there was the "fight."
After that, it was as if both teams had exchanged jerseys. The Pacers looked like a surfer who couldn't avoid the big wave, no matter how hard they paddled, the wave kept coming towards them.
Just as it seemed the Hornets were ready to take over, they ran out of steam. The Pacers awoke from their "funk" to push the lead back up to 10 points late in the game. Both teams exchanged free-throws late to conclude the scoring.
“That was a tough game. It was a grueling game." Carlisle said. "We played them well early and they made a run. We played them well in the third quarter and they made another run. We had a couple let downs, which will happen against a team like New Orleans. It’s tough when you’ve got Baron Davis coming at you like a freight train every time. He’s one of the best players in the league. As the game was winding down we were running out of bodies with ejections and foul outs. We needed everybody we had tonight."
Jermaine O'Neal led the Pacers with 26 points, 16 rebounds, his second consecutive double-double. Jamaal Tinsley showed Pacers fans tonight not to write him off so easily, scoring 18 points while handing out 9 assists. Reggie Miller led the Pacers early before cooling off after the first quater, scoring 11 points. Millers' two three-pointers early on, sent the Pacers on their way to victory tonight. Tinsley's counterpart, Fred Jones also contributed with 13 points, while Ron Artest cooled off quickly from last nights' 28 point performance against the Celtics, scoring just 9 points for the evening.
Overall, the Pacers shot 40% (28-70) and 78% (29-37) from the free-throw line. The Pacers also out rebounded (45-37) and out assisted (23-19) the Hornets tonight, enroute to their 25th win of the season, and second of the new year.
The victory tonight was the Pacers fourth in a row, extending their lead over the Hornets in the Central Division to 3 1/2 games, three out of their next four games are on the road, including a game with the defending league champion Spurs, who had their 13-game winning streak snapped this afternoon. The Pacers have a day off before playing the Miami Heat on Monday night.
Game Time Monday is at 7:30 pm (EST)