Spurs/Pacers Game Preview.

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Less than a week after the Pacers dropped a disappointing 89-88 overtime game in San Antonio, the Spurs visit Conseco Fieldhouse.

Jermaine O'Neal said the team tried to remain focused on Wednesday's game against Atlanta (an 85-78 Pacers win), but couldn't help peeking ahead at Friday's date with San Antonio. That, in part, explained a sometimes sluggish effort by the Pacers until a patented fourth-quarter offensive barrage from Reggie Miller bailed them out against the struggling Hawks, he said. The Pacers know that a sluggish performance against the Spurs will not result in a victory. In the last meeting, the Spurs were able to capitalize on small mistakes by the Pacers to get the victory.

"The good news is, we've got another shot at them," said Coach Rick Carlisle. "The bad news is, they might be the best team in basketball. They're the World Champs. They have done what we haven't. They've been there and they've won the championship. This game presents a lot of challenges for us. We obviously need to play a great game for 48 minutes. We didn't do a great job of that against Atlanta. . . . San Antonio, you've got to play an inspired, efficient 48 minutes to beat them on your home floor. That's the challenge."

Since beating the Pacers on Saturday for their 16th victory in 17 games, the Spurs have lost two straight - 86-77 at Atlanta on Tuesday and 100-93 to Minnesota on Wednesday. But Tim Duncan appears to be hitting his stride at the mid-point of the season. Over the last three games, including the win over the Pacers in which he scored 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, Duncan is averaging 31.3 points and 14.7 rebounds per game.

Manu Ginobili, the Spurs' third leading scorer (13.6 ppg, 4.2 apg) has also returned to the starting lineup from the injured list. Turkoglu, scored 15 points including three 3-pointers Saturday against the Pacers, returns to his more familiar role of sixth-man.

The Pacers stayed close despite dismal shooting performances from Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest, who combined to hit only 17 of 51 (33 percent) of their field-goal attempts. Artest was 7-for-21 and O'Neal 10-for-30 from the field. Though O'Neal continues to lead the team in scoring (20.7 ppg) and rebounding (10.6 rpg), he has hit fewer than half his shots from the field in six straight games, shooting 39 percent (49 of 126) over that span, a trend that concerns him.

"I'm shooting a ton of shots before the game," O'Neal said. "I'm shooting so many that I'm not even going to the main court before the game. I'm going to the practice court so I can get more shots. I'm trying everything. It's just one of those periods where you go through it - everybody goes through it, where you can't make a shot. But I've been fortunate enough to make my free throws and not have both of them go bad for me. If both of them go bad for me, I'm in trouble."

The Pacers got good news from foward Al Harrington, the team's third-leading scorer (13.1 ppg) and rebounder (6.6 rpg). After sitting out against Atlanta with a bone bruise in his right knee, Harrington returned to practice for the first time this week on Thursday and will return to the Pacers' lineup against the Spurs.

"I'm definitely going to play," said Harrington, noting that the injury is something he will have to play through for the majority of the season. "We owe these guys, so I wasn't going to miss this one for anything."

WHO'S HOT

Ron Artest's 23-point performance against the Hawks was his fifth straight game scoring 20 points or higher, his longest streak of the season and tying the longest streak by any Indiana player this season. He is averaging 23.0 points on 41 of 79 shooting (52 percent) over his last five games. . . . With 10 points against the Hawks, Jamaal Tinsley scored in double figures for the fifth time in six games (11.6 points, 6.5 assists over his last six games). He also added a season-high five steals to go with six assists against Atlanta.


WHO'S NOT

Since the New Year, Austin Croshere is averaging 2.8 points on 5 of 19 shooting (26 percent) in 13.7 minutes per game. He is also just 2 of 7 (29 percent) from 3-point range. . . . Fred Jones' stellar performances against the Hawks (16.5 points in two previous meetings) didn't carry over into Game 3 Wednesday night when Jones went scoreless in 13 minutes.

KEY MATCHUP

Frontcourt - Facing Duncan for the second time in less than a week may do little to help O'Neal's shooting woes, but the matchup of NBA All-Stars at power forward is again the most pivotal of the game. When all was said and done Saturday, the difference was Duncan and a clutch play at the end for a game-winning shot. This time, the Pacers hope the difference will be O'Neal in a similar situation.

INJURIES

Pacers - F James Jones (L gastroc strain), C Primoz Brezec (L Achilles tendinitis) and G Kenny Anderson (R calf strain) are on the injured list. F Al Harrington is probable (R knee contusion).

Spurs - G Jason Hart (L patella tendinitis), G Alex Garcia (L knee contusion) and F Sean Marks (L patella tendinitis) are on the injured list.

[pacersrule03]

Sweet revenge
:duncan :ginobili :parker :gun


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Yeah I like it!