Pooh
12-30-2003, 04:10 AM
By Johnnie Clay – Pacers Insider
December 30, 2003 - 12:00 AM
After a traumatic day in which Pacers guard Ron Artest was “missing” during shoot around, only to re-appear later for a meeting with Pacers brass and Coach Rick Carlisle, then “benched” to start the game against the Memphis Grizzlies, what could he possibly do to put himself in the good grace of the team and the fans?
Well…you go out and have a fantastic game that’s what.
Artest played 36 minutes, scoring 18 points and 5 rebounds, as the Indiana Pacers snapped a two-game losing streak, defeating the Grizzlies 94-86 at Conseco Fieldhouse this evening.
“It was a great win for us, much needed obviously.” Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle said afterwards. “It’s huge to win and break a losing streak, even if it’s two.”
The Pacers came out firing, going head-to-toe with the Grizzlies, trailing only by a point, 29-28 at the end of the first quarter. Artest came in later in the quarter and immediately put a spark into the Pacers offense, as they slugged it out with the Grizzlies, going into halftime tied up at 53-53.
“In the first quarter we couldn’t get a stop.” Artest said. “They pushed it up on us, which resulted in points. We were playing down to our opponent but we were able to get ourselves together, offense and defense, and make them play our game. When we play our game, we are hard to beat. This was a good win.”
The second half began with a bolt of Pacers defense and continued throughout the rest of the night. The Pacers held the Grizzlies to 15 points in the third quarter and 18 in the final period, a total of 33 points for the entire second half. Coach Carlisle was impressed on how his team played after the hard fought first half.
“Our guys in the second half really stepped it up. It was good to get back at it defensively. When you hold a team like Memphis to 33 points, you’ve done a good job defensively.” Carlisle said. “We felt at halftime if we could lock down defensively we could get a spurt and close things out and that’s what we did.”
Tonight marked a return to the form that gave the Pacers a 14-2 record in November, a smothering defense and timely shooting, particularly from Jamaal Tinsley, who had 3 steals and 5 assists, to go along with 8 points for the night.
“Jamaal changed the game with his penetration and activity on defense.” Carlisle said. “I don’t think there is any question his confidence has grown. I felt at one point he would break out and make good things happen, and he did. As much as anything, it was what he was doing defensively. I loved the way he played tonight.”
Jermaine O’Neal led the Pacers with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Austin Croshere came off the bench and scored 13 points. Artest, Croshere and O’Neal were the only Pacers in double-figures for the night. Four other Pacers (Harrington, Miller, Foster and Tinsley) flirted with double-figures, each scoring 8 points each.
As a team, the Pacers shot 47% (34-72) from the floor, and 81% (21-31) from the free-throw line. Their smothering defense held the Grizzlies to just 41% (33-80) from the floor.
But the big question on everyone afterwards was Carlisle thoughts about his disgruntled guards’ performance tonight.
“I thought Ron was a key guy in the game to play the way he did under the circumstances of the last two days.” Carlisle said. “I never believed he wasn’t going to play.”
Teammate Fred Jones echoed his Coach’s sentiments.
“Ron came in and gave us a nice pickup and a good game.” Jones said. “Our defense really won the game because that creates offense. It triggers a lot of things for us in the offensive end.”
Perhaps Pacers center Jeff Foster summed up tonight’s victory up best when he said. “We were working hard to get things back on track with the key word being winning.”
The Pacers now prepare for their final game of 2003, a chance to end the year on a high note and to finish the month over .500. Their opponent Tuesday will be Cleveland Cavaliers, featuring their high-flying rookie, LeBron James. The Pacers have already defeated the Cavs twice this season, both games at Conseco Fieldhouse, while tomorrow’s game will be at Gund Arena in Cleveland. The first meeting between the two came down to a last second miss by the rookie James, while the second was no contest as the Pacers dominated throughout.
Game Time is at 7:00 p.m. (EST)
December 30, 2003 - 12:00 AM
After a traumatic day in which Pacers guard Ron Artest was “missing” during shoot around, only to re-appear later for a meeting with Pacers brass and Coach Rick Carlisle, then “benched” to start the game against the Memphis Grizzlies, what could he possibly do to put himself in the good grace of the team and the fans?
Well…you go out and have a fantastic game that’s what.
Artest played 36 minutes, scoring 18 points and 5 rebounds, as the Indiana Pacers snapped a two-game losing streak, defeating the Grizzlies 94-86 at Conseco Fieldhouse this evening.
“It was a great win for us, much needed obviously.” Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle said afterwards. “It’s huge to win and break a losing streak, even if it’s two.”
The Pacers came out firing, going head-to-toe with the Grizzlies, trailing only by a point, 29-28 at the end of the first quarter. Artest came in later in the quarter and immediately put a spark into the Pacers offense, as they slugged it out with the Grizzlies, going into halftime tied up at 53-53.
“In the first quarter we couldn’t get a stop.” Artest said. “They pushed it up on us, which resulted in points. We were playing down to our opponent but we were able to get ourselves together, offense and defense, and make them play our game. When we play our game, we are hard to beat. This was a good win.”
The second half began with a bolt of Pacers defense and continued throughout the rest of the night. The Pacers held the Grizzlies to 15 points in the third quarter and 18 in the final period, a total of 33 points for the entire second half. Coach Carlisle was impressed on how his team played after the hard fought first half.
“Our guys in the second half really stepped it up. It was good to get back at it defensively. When you hold a team like Memphis to 33 points, you’ve done a good job defensively.” Carlisle said. “We felt at halftime if we could lock down defensively we could get a spurt and close things out and that’s what we did.”
Tonight marked a return to the form that gave the Pacers a 14-2 record in November, a smothering defense and timely shooting, particularly from Jamaal Tinsley, who had 3 steals and 5 assists, to go along with 8 points for the night.
“Jamaal changed the game with his penetration and activity on defense.” Carlisle said. “I don’t think there is any question his confidence has grown. I felt at one point he would break out and make good things happen, and he did. As much as anything, it was what he was doing defensively. I loved the way he played tonight.”
Jermaine O’Neal led the Pacers with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Austin Croshere came off the bench and scored 13 points. Artest, Croshere and O’Neal were the only Pacers in double-figures for the night. Four other Pacers (Harrington, Miller, Foster and Tinsley) flirted with double-figures, each scoring 8 points each.
As a team, the Pacers shot 47% (34-72) from the floor, and 81% (21-31) from the free-throw line. Their smothering defense held the Grizzlies to just 41% (33-80) from the floor.
But the big question on everyone afterwards was Carlisle thoughts about his disgruntled guards’ performance tonight.
“I thought Ron was a key guy in the game to play the way he did under the circumstances of the last two days.” Carlisle said. “I never believed he wasn’t going to play.”
Teammate Fred Jones echoed his Coach’s sentiments.
“Ron came in and gave us a nice pickup and a good game.” Jones said. “Our defense really won the game because that creates offense. It triggers a lot of things for us in the offensive end.”
Perhaps Pacers center Jeff Foster summed up tonight’s victory up best when he said. “We were working hard to get things back on track with the key word being winning.”
The Pacers now prepare for their final game of 2003, a chance to end the year on a high note and to finish the month over .500. Their opponent Tuesday will be Cleveland Cavaliers, featuring their high-flying rookie, LeBron James. The Pacers have already defeated the Cavs twice this season, both games at Conseco Fieldhouse, while tomorrow’s game will be at Gund Arena in Cleveland. The first meeting between the two came down to a last second miss by the rookie James, while the second was no contest as the Pacers dominated throughout.
Game Time is at 7:00 p.m. (EST)