Roy Hibbert: The Indiana Pacers Unlikely Savior

Four shots, two rebounds, and zero points.

That’s all the Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert could manage through two quarters of play on Wednesday night.

His counterpart on the Washington Wizards, Marcin Gortat, had 8 points was definitely winning the match-up through the first 24 minutes on Tuesday night.

The internet was in full hate mode. The words “trash,” “suck,” and “terrible” were all over the timeline.

Roy Hibbert had 6 rebounds by the end of the third quarter, but still no points. Pacers fans were probably scheming on how to get Hibbert to not exercise his player option this offseason — which, due to his poor play, looked to be just a game away for the Pacers.

But late in the game it was Roy Hibbert who didn’t give up. He didn’t flinch in the moment. He was the one who made several huge plays.

He first got off his game-long schnide with a layup in the fourth quarter, not long after he checked back in. It was the result of a good play, well-established positioning, an excellent pass, and a strong finish by the big man at the rim. All too often, Hibbert gets cute near the hoop or he is too willing to come out from under it and settle for a hook shot. His first-half play was full of longer shots that weren’t coming close.

But here, he got the ball and put it directly in the basket — exactly how frustrated fans want him to score.

Then there was the tip-in.

This was a momentous play from both a score and team energy perspective. The Pacers were up 2 with 2:06 left as David West attempted his second free throw. He missed — and, unexpectedly, that was the best outcome on that shot.

A free throw is a play when the shooting team rarely puts in any effort, knowing they are out of position. But Roy Hibbert didn’t give up and he spun around Marcin Gortat and got just enough of the ball to tip it in for two points.

It was Dwight Freeney-esque, and it looked like Hibbert could foretell the future by the way his spin freed him up perfectly in sync with the exact location the ball would come off the iron.

It really was remarkable.

Because these are the Pacers, however, they would relinquish that lead. By the end of regulation, the score was knotted, and we moved on to overtime — when both teams played awful, terrible basketball.

With 1:06 left, Indiana trailed by 2.

Hope was slim, considering the Pacers had only scored 2 points total in the previous four minutes.

Then came the improbable: A late-in-the-shot-clock, 22-foot jumper by Roy Hibbert.

All net.

While Hibbert didn’t play well throughout the night, he stepped up in the fourth and the overtimes.

Sometimes three big buckets are all it takes. Between that — and his good rim protection all night that held Washington to just 12-for-28 (43.9%) shooting in the restricted area — Hibbert showed up.

And lately, this has been the norm. Few expected such an in-game turnaround after a wretched start this one for the 7’2″ center.

But though he played terribly early in this must-win game, Roy Hibbert has been playing good basketball down the stretch of the season for a team that has now won six in a row — and needs to close out the season winning seven in a row.

He was excellent against Oklahoma City, and Hibbert came into the showdown with the Wizards with three straight double doubles.

• @NYK: 11 points, 11 rebounds
• @DET: 1o points, 11 rebounds
• vs OKC: 17 points, 10 rebounds

Roy Hibbert will never be the consistent offensive player that many Pacers fans — and Shaquille O’Neal — want him to be.

But he has been instrumental to this team making a final run at the playoffs. And last night, he made a few huge plays that kept the Indiana Pacers playoff hopes alive.

Next: Twitter Reacts to Pacers/Wizard Double-OT Madness

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