By Johnnie Clay - Pacers Insider.
February 28, 2004 - 11:30 PM.

The Indiana Pacers bounced back from a devastating loss the previous night in New Orleans to defeat the short-handed Philadelphia 76'ers this evening, 81-74 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The game was slopply played on both sides, especially on the Sixers' side who committed 12 turnovers in the first half alone, yet still were in the contest as the Pacers never could find their stride, limping into halftime only up by five points, 41-36.

In the third quarter, the sloppy play continued, with either team willing to take charge of the game. That is until mid-way through the quarter, when the Pacers' Jamall Tinsley hit Indiana's first 3-pointer of the evening. Al Harrington, (who scored 11 of his 21 points in that period) hit two consecutive baskets, to conside with a 9 point run that extended the Pacers' lead to 56-41. As the Pacers' offense heated up, the Sixers began to freeze up, missing 13 of its' first 15 shots, a streak which included six in a row.

During the fourth quarter, the Pacers pushed the lead up to as much as 17 points, (72-55) when Austin Croshere buried a three-pointer. Only a late 10-2 run by the Sixers made the score close, as the Pacers earned their 43rd win of the season and ending the month of February (8-3).

Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle talked about the importance of tonights' win.

“I thought we played well for the most part. After a disappointing game, you want to get it out of your system." Carlisle said. "I was pleased with the way our bench played. This is by far Al Harrington’s best game in the last three or four. He brought great energy. The one thing Al did really well tonight was he ran the floor well on makes and missed. He was patient on offense and we needed someone to step up offensively instead of Jermaine (O’Neal). Fred Jones was real solid. Tonight we felt it was a great opportunity to get back on track. For the most part, we’ve done a good job when cir stances like this have been presented. Our team has shown maturity in these situations."

For Al Harrington, it was a great night, scoring 21 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. But he knows he must continue to do well night after night, while Ron Artest continues to rehab his left thumb.

“We felt like this was a game we were supposed to win and had to win." Harrington said. "We needed this one after last night to start the west coast trip on the right foot. We all must work together to help them from packing down on Jermaine and to take up the slack for Ron."

Fred Jones, who led the Pacers' bench with 12 points, talked about tonights' game and the still long road head for this team.

“It was kind of an ugly game but we won. We have to win games like this." Jones said. "We needed this because of our performance last night. We are working together and we are beginning to be able to give the first unit some rest that they really, really earned this time of year. We cannot slack now, we’ve got to work hard, finish the season strong and get our playoff faces ready.”

Jones saw extended minutes (29) this evening as he replaced starter Reggie Miller, who once again had an off-night, scoring just 2 points on (1-5) shooting from the floor.

Overall, the Pacers shot 42% (33-78) for the night, and 63% (12-19) from the free-throw line. Jermaine O'Neal led the Pacers once again with 23 points and 8 rebounds. O'Neal was hobbled a bit tonight with tendinitis in his knee, yet still managed to play 38 minutes. Jeff Foster scored 4 points and pulled down 8 rebounds, and Jamaal Tinsley had 8 points and handed out 8 assists.
The Pacers dominated in other parts such as points in the paint (38-32), fast break points (14-6), and points off turnovers (20-10).

Next up is a final trip to the West coast, playing four games in six nights. First up, is a re-match with the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night at The Arena In Oakland. The two teams just met on February 24th, with the Pacers winning 107-96 as Jermaine O'Neal scored a season-high 34 points that night. The Pacers have won four out of the last five meetings between the two.

Game Time Tuesday is at 10:30pm (EST).