Pooh
12-31-2003, 05:13 AM
By Johnnie Clay - Pacers Insider
December 31, 2003 - 1:00 AM
Ron Artest hit a huge 3-pointer in the final minute and Jermaine O'Neal followed with a critical blocked shot as the Pacers, who had an 11-point lead entering the fourth quarter, held on to beat the Cavs for the 11th time in a row on Tuesday night in Gund Arena.
The Pacers showed a bit of zone defense in the first quarter but the Cavs enjoyed uncharacteristic success from the perimeter, making seven jump shots in building a 28-22 lead. LeBron James scored most of his 13 points from outside. But the surprise was Kedrick Brown, who hurt the Pacers for nine points. The Cavs shot 63 percent in the quarter (12 of 19) while the Pacers struggled to 36 percent (8 of 22).
Though James spent most of the period on the bench, the Cavs managed to extend their lead to 42-32 before the Pacers began coming up with stops. The defense fueled a 10-3 run that cut the lead to 45-43, but James finished the half with a driving basket to send the Cavs into the locker room with a four-point lead. Considering they shot just 39 percent to the Cavs' 58 percent, the Pacers were fortunate to be so close.
Artest, limited to just 11 minutes in the first half by foul trouble, made up for lost time in the third, scoring 13 points as the Pacers took control. It started with a 12-2 run to open the period, giving Indiana a 55-49 lead. After Carlos Boozer rallied Cleveland for a 10-3 counterpunch to regain the lead, 59-58, the Pacers held the Cavs to just five points the rest of the period while racking up 18 to take a 76-65 lead into the fourth.
The Cavs made a quick run behind Darius Miles to close to 78-72 with 8:45 remaining, but a Harrington 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from O'Neal pushed it back to 83-74. The offense then went dry as Cleveland went on a 10-4 run to set up the dramatic finish. The Cavs had held their last five opponents to averages of 13.4 points and 24.5 percent shooting in the fourth period, and the Pacers managed just 16 points and 5 of 20 shooting.
Cleveland closed to 87-84 with 1:14 remaining on Kevin Ollie's fast-break layup. But O'Neal found Artest open in the corner with a cross-court pass and Artest swished the open 3-pointer. Ollie scored again to make it 90-86 with 42 seconds left and, after Al Harrington's short shot in the lane rimmed out, the Cavs had a chance to make it a one-possession game. But O'Neal swatted away Eric Williams' second-chance layup, then made two free throws with 2 seconds left to seal the deal.
Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle talked about his teams' performace, especially during the second half.
"At halftime, we were down by four and we made up some ground in the second quarter and felt if we could hold them to a 40-point half, we’d be in good position." Carlisle said. "We picked our defense up; we allowed 58 percent field goal shooting in the first half and that’s way too much. We were able to bring them down a little bit. Down the stretch, we hit big shots. We had to."
He also talked how about how his team has rebounded after such a grueling week.
“Whatever happened before, happened before. The important thing for us, as a team, was to move on to the next game and to move on to basketball. I’m really happy for our team the way we were able to win two in a row on a back-to-back."
Carlisle even praised the effort put forth by guard Ron Artest.
“I thought Ron Artest showed great patience and poise tonight. He was out of the game in the first half with fouls and then in the second half, he had a lot of energy left and went out there and played a very smart, very aggressive game. He got the ball in the basket and he got the ball in the hands of his teammates. That’s the sign of a top player.”
The Pacers now have a few days off before starting off 2004 against their heated rivals, the Boston Celtics. A lot has changed since they last met on Nov 11, when the Celtics made a dramatic fourth quarter comeback to defeat the Pacers 78-76 at Conseco Fieldhouse. Since then, the Celtics acquired Ricky Davis from the Cavaliers, while the Pacers, who finished November with only one more loss that month have been playing .500 ball.
Game Time Friday is at 7:30 p.m. (EST)
December 31, 2003 - 1:00 AM
Ron Artest hit a huge 3-pointer in the final minute and Jermaine O'Neal followed with a critical blocked shot as the Pacers, who had an 11-point lead entering the fourth quarter, held on to beat the Cavs for the 11th time in a row on Tuesday night in Gund Arena.
The Pacers showed a bit of zone defense in the first quarter but the Cavs enjoyed uncharacteristic success from the perimeter, making seven jump shots in building a 28-22 lead. LeBron James scored most of his 13 points from outside. But the surprise was Kedrick Brown, who hurt the Pacers for nine points. The Cavs shot 63 percent in the quarter (12 of 19) while the Pacers struggled to 36 percent (8 of 22).
Though James spent most of the period on the bench, the Cavs managed to extend their lead to 42-32 before the Pacers began coming up with stops. The defense fueled a 10-3 run that cut the lead to 45-43, but James finished the half with a driving basket to send the Cavs into the locker room with a four-point lead. Considering they shot just 39 percent to the Cavs' 58 percent, the Pacers were fortunate to be so close.
Artest, limited to just 11 minutes in the first half by foul trouble, made up for lost time in the third, scoring 13 points as the Pacers took control. It started with a 12-2 run to open the period, giving Indiana a 55-49 lead. After Carlos Boozer rallied Cleveland for a 10-3 counterpunch to regain the lead, 59-58, the Pacers held the Cavs to just five points the rest of the period while racking up 18 to take a 76-65 lead into the fourth.
The Cavs made a quick run behind Darius Miles to close to 78-72 with 8:45 remaining, but a Harrington 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from O'Neal pushed it back to 83-74. The offense then went dry as Cleveland went on a 10-4 run to set up the dramatic finish. The Cavs had held their last five opponents to averages of 13.4 points and 24.5 percent shooting in the fourth period, and the Pacers managed just 16 points and 5 of 20 shooting.
Cleveland closed to 87-84 with 1:14 remaining on Kevin Ollie's fast-break layup. But O'Neal found Artest open in the corner with a cross-court pass and Artest swished the open 3-pointer. Ollie scored again to make it 90-86 with 42 seconds left and, after Al Harrington's short shot in the lane rimmed out, the Cavs had a chance to make it a one-possession game. But O'Neal swatted away Eric Williams' second-chance layup, then made two free throws with 2 seconds left to seal the deal.
Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle talked about his teams' performace, especially during the second half.
"At halftime, we were down by four and we made up some ground in the second quarter and felt if we could hold them to a 40-point half, we’d be in good position." Carlisle said. "We picked our defense up; we allowed 58 percent field goal shooting in the first half and that’s way too much. We were able to bring them down a little bit. Down the stretch, we hit big shots. We had to."
He also talked how about how his team has rebounded after such a grueling week.
“Whatever happened before, happened before. The important thing for us, as a team, was to move on to the next game and to move on to basketball. I’m really happy for our team the way we were able to win two in a row on a back-to-back."
Carlisle even praised the effort put forth by guard Ron Artest.
“I thought Ron Artest showed great patience and poise tonight. He was out of the game in the first half with fouls and then in the second half, he had a lot of energy left and went out there and played a very smart, very aggressive game. He got the ball in the basket and he got the ball in the hands of his teammates. That’s the sign of a top player.”
The Pacers now have a few days off before starting off 2004 against their heated rivals, the Boston Celtics. A lot has changed since they last met on Nov 11, when the Celtics made a dramatic fourth quarter comeback to defeat the Pacers 78-76 at Conseco Fieldhouse. Since then, the Celtics acquired Ricky Davis from the Cavaliers, while the Pacers, who finished November with only one more loss that month have been playing .500 ball.
Game Time Friday is at 7:30 p.m. (EST)