Pooh
11-25-2003, 01:39 AM
By Johnnie Clay – Pacers Insider
November 24, 2003 - 9:45 PM
It was lucky seven tonight for the Indiana Pacers. Four Pacers scored in double-figures as Indiana had no trouble in disposing of the Orlando Magic 89-78 at the TD Waterhouse Centre this evening. The Pacers tied the all-time franchise mark for road wins to start the season at seven, with another solid defensive showing.
The Magic was without leading scorer Tracy McGrady who is suffering from flu like symptoms, but it was the Magic who was left ill after the Pacers finished with them, extending the Magic's losing streak to 13 games and their second since firing Coach Doc Rivers last week.
Jermaine O'Neal had an incredible outing, scoring 20 points, 19 rebounds as the Pacers took the lead with 6:45 left to play, as a three-point play by O'Neal put the Pacers up 77-63. From there, the Magic never drew closer than eight points.
The rest of the Pacers continued on their amazing run of scoring as well. Ron Artest was his usual solid self, scoring 17 points and 5 rebounds. Jeff Foster keeps getting better with each passing game, scoring 12 points and 5 rebounds.
Perhaps the biggest surprise came off the bench, as Austin Croshere had another great night. Croshere, whose game is slowly starting to regain that form, that earned him that big contract back in 2000, scored 15 points and 5 rebounds. Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle praised Croshere's performance this evening.
“Croshere went and hit some shots that gave us a boost of energy." Carlisle said. "Then he continued that energy on the defensive end as well as offensively throughout the rest of the game. It’s great when you have guys like that sitting on your bench ready to play.”
“I just kind of came in and actually passed up an open look (in second quarter)as soon as I got in." Croshere said. "We called a quick timeout and Rick (Carlisle) kind of yelled at me and said he didn’t care if I was cold…to shoot the ball. So I went back in and I shot it, made it and it kind of went from there.”
As a team, the Pacers shot 41% (34-82) and 67% (16-24) from the free-throw line. Even though the Magic shot a higher percentage than the Pacers, (43%) and (62%) from the free-throw line, it was their three-point percentage (17%) to the Pacers (36%) that did them in this evening.
But there is no rest for the Pacers, who will be catching a flight back to Indiana in a few hours where they will face the Minnesota Timberwolves tomorrow night. The T-Wolves, (8-5) have won three straight games and are 6-1 this season against Eastern Conference teams. However, the Pacers hold the series lead over the Wolves, (19-7) winning the last three meetings against each other.
Gametime Tuesday is at 7pm (EST)
November 24, 2003 - 9:45 PM
It was lucky seven tonight for the Indiana Pacers. Four Pacers scored in double-figures as Indiana had no trouble in disposing of the Orlando Magic 89-78 at the TD Waterhouse Centre this evening. The Pacers tied the all-time franchise mark for road wins to start the season at seven, with another solid defensive showing.
The Magic was without leading scorer Tracy McGrady who is suffering from flu like symptoms, but it was the Magic who was left ill after the Pacers finished with them, extending the Magic's losing streak to 13 games and their second since firing Coach Doc Rivers last week.
Jermaine O'Neal had an incredible outing, scoring 20 points, 19 rebounds as the Pacers took the lead with 6:45 left to play, as a three-point play by O'Neal put the Pacers up 77-63. From there, the Magic never drew closer than eight points.
The rest of the Pacers continued on their amazing run of scoring as well. Ron Artest was his usual solid self, scoring 17 points and 5 rebounds. Jeff Foster keeps getting better with each passing game, scoring 12 points and 5 rebounds.
Perhaps the biggest surprise came off the bench, as Austin Croshere had another great night. Croshere, whose game is slowly starting to regain that form, that earned him that big contract back in 2000, scored 15 points and 5 rebounds. Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle praised Croshere's performance this evening.
“Croshere went and hit some shots that gave us a boost of energy." Carlisle said. "Then he continued that energy on the defensive end as well as offensively throughout the rest of the game. It’s great when you have guys like that sitting on your bench ready to play.”
“I just kind of came in and actually passed up an open look (in second quarter)as soon as I got in." Croshere said. "We called a quick timeout and Rick (Carlisle) kind of yelled at me and said he didn’t care if I was cold…to shoot the ball. So I went back in and I shot it, made it and it kind of went from there.”
As a team, the Pacers shot 41% (34-82) and 67% (16-24) from the free-throw line. Even though the Magic shot a higher percentage than the Pacers, (43%) and (62%) from the free-throw line, it was their three-point percentage (17%) to the Pacers (36%) that did them in this evening.
But there is no rest for the Pacers, who will be catching a flight back to Indiana in a few hours where they will face the Minnesota Timberwolves tomorrow night. The T-Wolves, (8-5) have won three straight games and are 6-1 this season against Eastern Conference teams. However, the Pacers hold the series lead over the Wolves, (19-7) winning the last three meetings against each other.
Gametime Tuesday is at 7pm (EST)