Pooh
01-03-2004, 05:42 AM
By Johnnie Clay - Pacers Insider
January 2, 2004 - 11:45 PM
Continuing their recent trend of slow starts but fast finishes, the Pacers fell behind by 15 points late in the first half, then dominated the rest of the game behind Ron Artest, whose 28 points led the offense and five steals spearheaded a disruptive defense as the visitors turned thirngs around in the second half for a 103-92 victory in Boston on Friday night.
Leading by one entering the fourth quarter, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stuck with a small lineup featuring a front line of Al Harrington and Austin Croshere, and it paid off in the form of a 13-0 run that put the visitors up 86-72 and the Celtics never fully recovered. Reggie Miller scored nine points in the run on a trio of 3-pointers.
But in the beginning, it appear like another typical Celtics/Pacers game. The Celtics leading and the Pacers losing.
In the first quarter, Mike James proved an unstoppable force for the Celtics, racking up 13 points in the quarter. Boston put together a 12-2 run early to build a 17-9 lead but the Pacers scored eight unanswered to tie it. Boston then had an eight-point run of its own to rebuild a 28-19 lead, and it was 30-25 at the break. The Pacers committed five turnovers in the period.
With Jiri Welsch doing damage from the perimeter, the Celtics put together another big run, this time 13-3, for their biggest lead of the game, 46-31, midway through the second period. But the Pacers finally stopped hoisting 3-pointers and began working the ball inside and finished the half on a 14-5 run to cut the lead to 54-48 at the break. The Celtics got just 10 points from Paul Pierce, but James and Welsch combined for 27. The Pacers got 16 from Artest and 13 from O'Neal.
The third quarter began with Ron Artest on the point for an active, extended defense, the Pacers forced nine turnovers and took control of the tempo. A 12-6 run to open the period tied it at 60-all, and a 13-2 run made it 73-68 before the Celtics scored the final four of the period. Artest scored nine in the period to bring his total to 25.
Leading by one entering the fourth quarter, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stuck with a small lineup featuring a front line of Al Harrington and Austin Croshere, and it paid off in the form of a 13-0 run that put the visitors up 86-72 and the Celtics never fully recovered.
Reggie Miller scored nine points in the run on a trio of 3-pointers. Reggie Miller fueled the Pacers early run from the 3-point line, as they built an 86-72 lead, but the Celtics had one more brief spurt, closing to 90-80 on a Pierce jumper with 6:54 left. But the Pacers went right inside to O'Neal, who scored to start a nine-point run that pushed it to 99-80 and that was that.
"The question for our team right now is, can we put together 48 minutes of solid defense and good offense?" Coach Rick Carlisle said afterwards. "We've kind of eased into these last three games and been able to come out alive. (Saturday night) we face a New Orleans team that is a very powerful offensive and rebounding team and we've got to be there for 48 minutes."
The Pacers dominated the boards 47-34 and forced 18 turnovers - 12 in the second half. Though they shot just .437 overall, their 18 offensive rebounds allowed them to take 20 more shots than the Celtics, who shot a much higher percentage (.507). Ron Artest had 28 points, 5 steals, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Jermaine O'Neal had his fourth consecutive double-double (and seventh in eight games) with 21 points and 13 rebounds, adding 3 blocks. O'Neal also made more than half his shots (8 of 15) for the first time in 14 games. Reggie Miller had 18 points on 6 of 17 shooting, including 4 of 12 from the arc. Al Harrington had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists in 32 minutes off the bench. Jamaal Tinsley started at the point, but battled foul trouble most of the night, yet still managed 7 assists in 33 minutes. Jeff Foster had 7 rebounds and 7 points in 19 minutes.
Another four-game, five-night stretch continues at home Saturday night against Central Division rival New Orleans. The Hornets will be attempting to avenge a 76-75 home loss to the Pacers on Nov. 21 in which Baron Davis scored 33 points, but rookie David West missed a layup at the buzzer to allow Indiana to escape.
Game Time is at 8pm (EST)
January 2, 2004 - 11:45 PM
Continuing their recent trend of slow starts but fast finishes, the Pacers fell behind by 15 points late in the first half, then dominated the rest of the game behind Ron Artest, whose 28 points led the offense and five steals spearheaded a disruptive defense as the visitors turned thirngs around in the second half for a 103-92 victory in Boston on Friday night.
Leading by one entering the fourth quarter, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stuck with a small lineup featuring a front line of Al Harrington and Austin Croshere, and it paid off in the form of a 13-0 run that put the visitors up 86-72 and the Celtics never fully recovered. Reggie Miller scored nine points in the run on a trio of 3-pointers.
But in the beginning, it appear like another typical Celtics/Pacers game. The Celtics leading and the Pacers losing.
In the first quarter, Mike James proved an unstoppable force for the Celtics, racking up 13 points in the quarter. Boston put together a 12-2 run early to build a 17-9 lead but the Pacers scored eight unanswered to tie it. Boston then had an eight-point run of its own to rebuild a 28-19 lead, and it was 30-25 at the break. The Pacers committed five turnovers in the period.
With Jiri Welsch doing damage from the perimeter, the Celtics put together another big run, this time 13-3, for their biggest lead of the game, 46-31, midway through the second period. But the Pacers finally stopped hoisting 3-pointers and began working the ball inside and finished the half on a 14-5 run to cut the lead to 54-48 at the break. The Celtics got just 10 points from Paul Pierce, but James and Welsch combined for 27. The Pacers got 16 from Artest and 13 from O'Neal.
The third quarter began with Ron Artest on the point for an active, extended defense, the Pacers forced nine turnovers and took control of the tempo. A 12-6 run to open the period tied it at 60-all, and a 13-2 run made it 73-68 before the Celtics scored the final four of the period. Artest scored nine in the period to bring his total to 25.
Leading by one entering the fourth quarter, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stuck with a small lineup featuring a front line of Al Harrington and Austin Croshere, and it paid off in the form of a 13-0 run that put the visitors up 86-72 and the Celtics never fully recovered.
Reggie Miller scored nine points in the run on a trio of 3-pointers. Reggie Miller fueled the Pacers early run from the 3-point line, as they built an 86-72 lead, but the Celtics had one more brief spurt, closing to 90-80 on a Pierce jumper with 6:54 left. But the Pacers went right inside to O'Neal, who scored to start a nine-point run that pushed it to 99-80 and that was that.
"The question for our team right now is, can we put together 48 minutes of solid defense and good offense?" Coach Rick Carlisle said afterwards. "We've kind of eased into these last three games and been able to come out alive. (Saturday night) we face a New Orleans team that is a very powerful offensive and rebounding team and we've got to be there for 48 minutes."
The Pacers dominated the boards 47-34 and forced 18 turnovers - 12 in the second half. Though they shot just .437 overall, their 18 offensive rebounds allowed them to take 20 more shots than the Celtics, who shot a much higher percentage (.507). Ron Artest had 28 points, 5 steals, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Jermaine O'Neal had his fourth consecutive double-double (and seventh in eight games) with 21 points and 13 rebounds, adding 3 blocks. O'Neal also made more than half his shots (8 of 15) for the first time in 14 games. Reggie Miller had 18 points on 6 of 17 shooting, including 4 of 12 from the arc. Al Harrington had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists in 32 minutes off the bench. Jamaal Tinsley started at the point, but battled foul trouble most of the night, yet still managed 7 assists in 33 minutes. Jeff Foster had 7 rebounds and 7 points in 19 minutes.
Another four-game, five-night stretch continues at home Saturday night against Central Division rival New Orleans. The Hornets will be attempting to avenge a 76-75 home loss to the Pacers on Nov. 21 in which Baron Davis scored 33 points, but rookie David West missed a layup at the buzzer to allow Indiana to escape.
Game Time is at 8pm (EST)