Series tied 1-1. Pacers looked like they should have been down 30 in the first half. They looked in complete control in the third quarter and into the fourth. Then the ending was a gross display of futility from teams that couldn’t score or hit a free throw. Ugly stuff, but the Pacers made more plays than their opponents and now get to head to Indiana with home court advantage against a depleted and very beatable Heat team that needs to win a game on the road.
More on this game in the hours and days to come. For now, here is how each guy played individually tonight. Agree? Disagree? Express your thoughts below in the comments or yell at me (@8pts9secs) or Tim (@TimDonahue8p9s) on Twitter.
| David West 41 MIN | 5-13 FG | 6-8 FT | 10 REB | 2 BLK | 16 PTS Had 7 of the Pacers’ 17 pts in the 4th and set the tone for the period by not settling for shots outside of the paint late. Execution wasn’t great there, but Indy’s mentality of attacking the lane was encouraging. | ||
| Danny Granger 5-14 FG | 6 REB | 3 AST | 2 STL | 4 TO | 11 PTS Gross first half, shooting just 2-of-7 with 2 TOs. But was an effective aggressor after the break, especially in a 3rd quarter during which the Pacers took control and hit 10 of 18 shots. The only play better than his blow by to score on LeBron may have been his monster block on that same, aforementioned King. Fouled out. | ||
| Roy Hibbert 33 MIN | 2-6 FG | 4-6 FT | 11 REB | 3 BLK | 8 PTS Many were predicting him to drop a 20/10 without Bosh on the court. Not so much. He is not someone you run your offense through — for a lot of reasons. He’s much better when he’s playing off of others, hitting the glass, protecting the rim, which he did very well tonight. | ||
| George Hill 35 MIN | 4-9 FG | 6-7 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 5 TO | 15 PTS He missed the free throw late, and only scored a point in the 4th, but without him in the second and third quarter, the Pacers are probably facing a 20-point deficit in the middle of the game. | ||
| Paul George 33 MIN | 4-11 FG | 0-2 FT | 11 REB | 3 STL | 10 PTS By the time Wade spun by him for a dunk, it looked like yet another bad playoff game for George. But he later lived up to his lock-down reputation, forcing both Wade and LeBron into very tough shots again and again. Team defense won this game and Paul’s work allowed everything else to work. His block of LeBron James late in the game is as big of a defensive play as you’ll see in the series. Needs to not miss clutch free throws though. Boo on that. |
| Darren Collison 17 MIN | 2-4 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 6 PTS Not up to his (high) 2012 playoff standards but was still solid. He looked good with that deadly pull up off the PnR. | ||
| Dahntay Jones 8 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 2 PTS Dahntay has provided some excellent minutes in the past two games and Indiana might turn out to be glad that foul trouble forced him to show how well he can play against Miami at times. Plus, he has a new fan. RT @hpbasketball: I like Dahntay Jones. I’m one of like, five peope, but I do. | ||
| Leandro Barbosa 25 MIN | 4-10 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 8 PTS I have tripled-checked the box score now and it still says Barbosa only had 8 pts. Felt like a bigger presence for sure. And could have easily taken a jumper on Indy’s last possession after the ORB. But took it to the hole and it ended up getting Roy to the line. Leandro can be all or nothing and he was “nothing” early on. Mark him down for “all” in the second half though. | ||
| Louis Amundson 5 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS Barely remember him playing. He didn’t in the second half. | ||
| Tyler Hansbrough, 7 MIN | 0-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 3 PF | 0 PTS Wasn’t hitting his jumper, and really wasn’t able to make any impact with his energy. Vogel opted not to use him in the second half. |