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Okay, so this is the real recap. A video for this game will be coming soon, but let’s talk about it in a cool way. Since I went to the game, this story will be interesting and fun. I went with my talk show’s co-host, Evan Sidery who also writes at The Rim and Durantulas.com.
So we were now at Conseco Fieldhouse, and right when they checked our tickets said we were good to go, we sprinted to the court so we can be in line to talk to the players. Though we made it and talked to the players, we were unable to do a full interview or catch it on camera or audio. But we did in fact talk to them. We talked to the Thunder players first and we saw guys like James Harden, Jeff Green, and Kevin Durant taking shots before the game.
We got to talk to Jeff Green and he gave us an autograph. He was a nice guy, very nice guy. We then headed over to the Pacers side and we almost got a chance to get an autograph with Danny Granger. We saw him and he was a nice person. I swear, he hit every single shot during shootaround. Not one was missed. We did get to visit T.J. Ford, but not before the game. More to come on that later.
So after talking to the players and stuff, we also visited Sam Perkins. That’s right: “Big Smooth.” He was a big guy and he was cool. He signed I and Evan’s ticket. Then the game started. We had a nice pregame snack and headed towards our seats. Well, it was technically wasn’t our seat but since no one was sitting there, we took it. We would’ve sat way up in the arena but instead, we were in the third row behind the Pacers’ bench. How sweet is is that?
The Pacers started off strong and built towards a large lead. It was then 22-13, Pacers leading. But the Thunder marched back towards an unanswered run, tying the game at 22. A timeout was called. Now at Pacers games, Larry Bird signs autographs during timeouts. Luckily, I met him. He signed my ticked and we shook hands. I said, “Thanks.” He replied with a nod, “Sure thing.” Fantastic guy. And I was thinking to myself…damn: I met a legend!
This was easily the best Pacers game I went to. They were leading a tough team and were guarding Kevin Durant good. Real good. At the end of the half, the
Pacers were leading by nearly 20. Durant was held to six points! Usually, you won’t expect that from a playmaker like him who is against a pretty bad defense and was guarded by mostly Brandon Rush throughout the half. The second half was only tougher, getting guarded by defensive-specialist Dahntay Jones and equality matched Danny Granger.
Durant was held to 14 points the whole game. Damn. Talk about defense. More to come on that later. So it was a great game. And guess who was sitting a couple rows behind me and Evan? EL PACERO! I never got to talk to him but I tried to surprise him with a tweet on Twitter. I guess he never got it. But man, I can’t believe I saw him there.
Evan was then trying to make fun of Tyler Hansbrough, since he was a couple rows ahead of us. When everyone started to sign the YMCA song when it came up, here was Evan:
Tyyylerr Hansbrough
Tttyylerrr Hansbrough!
Then he made this sweet rap on his ear infection. Forget how it went but it was hilarious and it fit so well. The game ended with a 121-101 victory. It was a sweet game. What I liked at the ending was when the Pacers were messing around and putting on a show. But before we get to that, we talked with the mascots at the game. We saw the Spurs’ mascot Coyote, Rockets’ Clutch, Fevers’ Freddy Fever, Pacers’ Boomer, and Magic’s Stuff. When Stuff came by, I tried to shake his hand but he made me miss. Then he offered me one, and I missed again and he pulled up his shirt, showing off his green furry belly and he made a weird noise. And then I thought to myself: I just got playfully owned by Stuff!
We then shook hands with Clutch and Freddy Fever. Both of them started to have a stupid fight, a fake one though. It was funny. And then they posed for a guy in a picture, which is shown up there as you can see. At halftime, the mascots had a basketball faceoff. It was Boomer and Stuff vs. Coyote and Clutch. Freddy Fever was the ref. Boomer and Stuff won. Go East! They all then started doing dunks and shooting backwards-halfcourt shots. Coyote and Boomer almost had those shots. Boomer had the best dunk, jumping on the trampoline and going in backwards spin, and smashing the rim.
Back to the end of the game. Yeah, Thunder got killed. I was glad to see D.J. White play, a native Hoosier. He played well and I liked what I saw from him. Good game from him. I liked it. What sucks is that he is a power forward but he is too small to play for it at 6’8″. I saw that Granger and Durant were taller than him. But White played hard and got some rebounds. Roy Hibbert played a fantastic game and Mike Dunleavy made some good moves. Rush played great defense on Durant and Dahntay Jones was the man. He made some killer dunks and guarded Durant good as well. Head played decent. Good game by all the players.
At the end of the game, Evan and I went to the Pacers locker room and talked to the players. I talked to Dahntay Jones, T.J. Ford, Luther Head, and Jim O’Brien. I didn’t get a Ford autograph, but Evan got it. Dahntay, Luther, and Jim were nice enough to give me their signatures. Evan and I almost got an interview with Luther Head, but we didn’t want to bother him since he needed to go him. But Head is a real nice guy. Very nice. Hansbrough was probably the worst out of all of them. He just stormed out of the locker room and passed everybody. The only player who didn’t give out autographs. Selfish. But he was probably frustrated from this season and I understand. Jim O’Brien was real nice to talk to. I said that they played great guarding Durant.
“They played great defense,” O’Brien told me. “They stopped Durant well. Rush, Granger, Jones, and Watson played great defense on him.”
He then gave me an autograph. I like Jim O’Brien. He needs to put up more games like this on teams. This Pacers team is playoff-caliber. They can strive next season. O’Brien will get the Pacers a playoffs chance. He is the guy. I like what Ford is doing here, too. I don’t care what people say about him. He’s a good guy. It was a fun night here at Conseco. The players, the coaches, the game. It was all good. I am so blessed to have things turn out so great.
A video will be coming up on the site soon this week. It shows highlights from the game I recorded on Sunday. It looks to be good once I post it up. Indiana faces the Pistons next tomorrow. I see a win. Also, maybe I can get an interview coming on March 30 when I head over to the Kings game. Hey, you never know. It may indeed happen. But a good win for the Pacers.
They aren’t quitting. I like that. Maybe we will see a good season soon.
Soon enough it’ll come.
I know it.
Check out my autographs after the jump
Larry Bird/Sam Perkins autograph: