SB Nation - Dahntay Jones

Bucks 84, Pacers 81: Pacers Can't Figure Out How To Win

Tom Lewis — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:11:17 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

The rookies showed up well, in a game without many bright spots.

What are we doing?

That was the question Mike Dunleavy was asking no teammate in particular after the Indiana Pacers failed to get an open 3-point look for their preferred shooters with the game on the line, instead leaving the 84-81 win sitting on the table for the Milwaukee Bucks to scoop up and take home.

After Michael Redd was gracious enough to miss two free throws, the Pacers had their last real chance to extend the game with the ball and 18 seconds to play. Dahntay Jones inbounded to Troy Murphyat the top of the key, but Luc Mbah a Moute arrived at the same time forcing Murph to give up the ball to Mike Dunleavy guarded 25 feet from the hoop.

Dunleavy quickly back to T.J. Ford who pump fake Brandon Jennings out of the way and drove in the lane. Instead of taking a pull up for two with 12 seconds left, Ford was forced to toss it back out the Dahntay Jones. Jones was covered and knew better than to force a three. Murph was pinned in the corner and covered up, so Jones tossed it back to Ford behind the arc. After pumping Jennings past him, Ford let go a clean 3-ball with five seconds left.

The missed bounced to Andrew Bogut, leaving Dunleavy wondering what had just happened. After watching the replay, I understand Dunleavy's disgust but he and Murph were checked.

After the game Jim O'Brien didn't critique the play, only saying that when they needed a three, they wanted to go for Murph first and Michael (Dunleavy) second. Of course, those first two options were quickly covered up by the Bucks and after both had to give up the ball, they never touched it again.

Once the play broke down, Ford was left to create something but passed on a two, before being stuck launching a three with five seconds left. Yes, it clanked and much credit goes to the Bucks for defending the Pacers into a 3-ball from a guy who has only made one all season.

Still, Murph and Dunleavy didn't touch it in the final15 seconds thanks to Milwaukee's defense, but it seems like there was enough time to keep moving the ball and trying to free one of them for a shot. The shooters were left stuck as an easy cover with nowhere to move. Once Ford dribbled into the middle, everything broke down, most notably the Pacers chances to steal a win.

T.J. Ford did have one last shot at redemption after Bogut missed both of his free throws. With no timeouts, Ford had to race the ball up the floor and did get off a clean game-tying attempt, but once again, the game ended with a shot bouncing off the rim.

More observations:

This game was a real grind with two of the worst shooting teams in the league living up to their reputations. The Bucks shot 42% on the night while the Pacers clanked their way to a 36% (if you're generous and round up) shooting night. Coaches will point to good defense and there was some of that without a doubt, but there were also a lot of good looks that went sideways.
The Bucks helped keep the Pacers afloat in the fourth quarter with their poor free throw shooting. On the night Milwaukee was only 9 for 20 from the line, but they also missed six straight freebies in the final 1:02 of regulation, giving the Pacers multiple chances to sneak up and win the game.
Aside from the final two shots, which in reality were thrust upon T.J. Ford, the point guard was looking for someone else to play the hero role down the stretch. Inside of two minutes, down four, Ford passed up good looks which seemed to surprise his teammates and jumbled up the possessions. One in particular had Ford in his wheelhouse - wide open just inside the free throw line for a jumper with 1:08 to play. After jumping though, he tried to pass it out to Mike Dunleavy who had continued moving past where Ford threw the ball. Turnover and worse a blown opportunity to close the gap.
Mike Dunleavy is officially in his first shooting slump of the season. He struggled to get anything going, making just 2 of 17 shots on the night. That makes him 6 for 27 in the last two games which includes 0 of 9 from 3-land.
Brandon Rush and Luther Head both played strong minutes off the bench. Luther continued his positive play making plays at both ends when given a chance. Sure would like to see him play more down the stretch. Rush was used about right tonight, logging 20 minutes off the bench. He was as assertive as I've seen him all year. One play in particular stuck out as he ran baseline to the left corner, he was actually calling for the ball. Then when he received it, turned and knocked down the shot. Nice to see.
The Pacer bigs had their moments offensively, especially Roy Hibbert using his low post repertoire to log 16 points. But defensively, everyone struggled trying to slow down Andrew Bogut. The Aussie center nuked the Pacers for a career-high 31 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Rookie sensation, Brandon Jennings didn't do much of note through three quarters, but flashed a little brilliance in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. Most notably, hitting a well-defended 3-pointer and another two late to score five of the Bucks' last seven points. While the Pacers seemed to be looking at each other for a hero to make a shot, Jennings didn't flinch at the opportunity to step up at winning time.
Tyler Hansbrough had another strong outing with 11 points, 5 rebounds and a couple blocks. It remains incredible to see how many opponents end up on the ground when in the vicinity of Hansbrough. He earned some late-game burn and actually scored the Pacers' final two field goals, one on a sweet spin move past Bogut that resulted in a nice little four-footer for two.
Luc Mbah a Moute was king of the little things, giving the Bucks a nice boost late in the game. Scott Skiles went with the defensive-minded Mbah a Moute when the game appeared set to be a grind all the way through. The Bucks' forward not only defended the heck out of Troy Murphy, he also tracked down some critical loose balls to keep possessions alive for Milwaukee at winning time.
Along with the poor shooting, the Pacers donated 18 turnovers on the night. Troy Murphy had seven donations on his own, not to mention how a really solid second quarter could've been fantastic if not for too many careless possessions.
The Pacers have to get up off the mat to take on the Celtics in Boston tomorrow night. I myself will be heading out west for a week, so posting may be lighter than normal, although Sean will fill in the gaps when he can. Let me encourage you to use the FanPosts to offer more thorough thoughts on the games or general issues of the day with the Pacers. I'd love to promote some of the varied opinions around here to the front page. Just keep it clean. I know, not always easy...

IC Cold Links: Watson, Jones Given Vote Of Confidence By Coach

spstevenson — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:44:18 -0000

More photos » by Delcia Lopez - AP

T.J. Ford goes for the layup in the Pacers loss to the Spurs on Saturday. Ford was replaced in the starting lineup by Earl Watson.

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Earl Watson and Dahntay Jones were handed starting jobs against the Spurs on Saturday as a gesture for how well the two have played off the bench. It was also made to give the Pacers a chance at an upset in San Antonio. It almost worked.

After taking over the spots of T.J. Ford and Brandon Rush, the new starting backcourt were asked to do what they do best -- bring energy and defensive toughness to the starting unit. Although the two didn't produce glamorous offensive stats (and Ford finished the fourth quarter on the court), the duo helped the starting unit keep up with the Spurs' starters, only being outscored by two points. It was a far cry from the 100-54 lashing that the starters gave up to Memphis on Friday.

Coach Jim O'Brien explained his reasoning to the Indy Star before the game: "Earl deserves a look. We're trying to change some things up. He has the best plus-minus on the team. We're starting Dahntay because we want to start the game with as much defensive toughness as we can. [Watson] deserves a very, very solid look because the difference he makes off the bench is a dramatic one. Now he's playing against the other team's second unit. We understand that. We'll see how he does in the starting lineup."

Ford and Rush both benefited from playing against the Spurs' second string, while also playing with slashers and passers such as Mike Dunleavy and Tyler Hansbrough on the bench. In the Pacers' 100-99 loss, Watson had three points on 1-for-5 shooting and five assists, while Ford tossed in 14 points with five assists. Jones scored three points on free throws, while Rush went 4-for-8 for nine points in 28 minutes.

The ultimate stat, however, is that this lineup was able to come within one point of taking down the Spurs in San Antonio. After the shellacking that took place in Memphis, something needed to happen to spice up this team. We'll get a chance to see if JOB sticks with his new starting backcourt when the blue and gold return home to play the Bucks on Monday.

Check out the jump for more links.

Box Score
AP Story
NBA.com Recap
The Pacers Inside the Game post recaps the highlights and stats of the Pacers loss in San Antonio. T.J. Ford gave the following quote after the game about his potential game-winning basket: "You're going to make some and you're going to miss some. The coaches and my teammates have the belief that I can get that shot off. I got it up...I had the opportunity...but it just fell short."
Jeff Rabjohns reported from Texas about the Pacers missing a big opportunity to topple one of the league's best franchises.
In his Indy Star notebook, Rabjohns tackles Roy Hibbert's big game against Tim Duncan, local star George Hill's play with the Spurs, and Jeff Foster's return to Texas.
The San Antonio News-Express recaps the game from the Spurs' perspective. Also, check out the massive game thread over at SB Nation's Pounding the Rock.
Jared Wade offers up an interview about the Pacers for Project Spurs as a preview for Saturday's game. You can check out the first couple of questions at Eight Points, Nine Seconds.
Troy Murphy is being linked to some trade rumors featured here on Cleveland.com.
Fox Sports' Charley Rosen conducts an analysis of the Pacers' roster after their loss to the Grizzlies. Final analysis: good guys, bad team.
The New York Post follows Jonathan Bender's triumphant return to the NBA with the Knicks. Bender had nine points, two rebounds and one blocked shot in helping New York's second unit overcome a huge deficit.

Spurs 100, Pacers 99: Pacers Miss Out On Chance For Road Win

Tom Lewis — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:14:52 -0000

It's about time to issue a warning: Follow the Indiana Pacers at your own risk.

On any given night, their play may force your heart to stop intermittently or your brain to go numb. You may pull a hammy dancing with joy, or become life-less, depressed pile of bones as the buzzer sounds.

Against the San Antonio Spurs tonight, all of the above side effects were felt as the Pacers rallied from a 13-point second quarter deficit to take a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter.

From there, the heart fluttered, mind froze, dancing ceased and depression set in after T.J. Ford's potential game-winning jump shot was just wide right, allowing the Spurs to escape with a win, 100-99.

Just when the expectations for the Pacers sink, as they did after last night's double-digit loss to Memphis, the team puts together an effort to draw you back into and actually have you thinking win...on the road...at San Antonio. It was all there for the taking early in the fourth quarter.

But you could feel the Spurs mounting an attack, plus the Pacers' recent history made a late run by the Spurs standard operating procedure. Once the Spurs made their run to make it a one possession game with five minutes left to play, I began to wonder if this would be a repeat of Orlando where the Pacers would shut down offensively while the Spurs methodically pulled away.

Not tonight.

The Spurs biggest lead would be three points with three minutes to go. But a dunk by Brandon Rush and a near-miraculous tip by Roy Hibbert gave the Pacers points on consecutive possessions and a one-point lead with a minute to go.

Nope, no fade tonight, just a missed opportunity.

After weathering a couple of Tim Duncan offensive rebounds, the Pacers had the ball and the lead with 33 seconds to go. After using up some clock, T.J. Ford missed one of his patented little 12-foot fade away jumpers, leaving the Spurs 10 seconds to win the game.

Naturally, the Spurs went to Duncan. Roy Hibbert met Duncan at the rim and stuffed the Hall of Famer's first offering. But Duncan quickly took the rejecting and jammed it home. Spurs up one with four seconds left.

Once again, the Pacers went to Ford to be the hero, clearing out for the point guard to work from the top of the key. It appeared he had George Hill off-balance and rose up for a clean 16-footer which helplessly clanked of the right side of the rim. Depression.

Plenty of thoughts and observations from this one:

For starters, why go with T.J. Ford down the stretch? Pretty good question, but T.J. was a catalyst, making the Pacers go through much of the second half. Ford was playing off the bench, with Earl Watson starting, but he had a nice offensive flow going much of the night. Plus, he's made that type of shot in the past and Mike Dunleavy was off all night and didn't play much in the second half.
As mentioned above, Jim O'Brien shook up his starting lineup, moving Ford and Brandon Rush to the bench to start Watson and Dahntay Jones. The team jumped out to a solid start in the first quarter, but a late 9-2 run to end the first quarter, with mostly bench players on the floor, nullified the good start.
Things switch in the second half, when the second unit played the Pacers back into the game. T.J. Ford ended up playing more minutes than Watson.
Roy Hibbert had moments of brilliance at the offensive end. The Spurs didn't feel the need to double Hibbert much and the big fella took his time and made them pay, even squaring up and scoring over Tim Duncan with a solid move in the lane. Hibbert's presence was felt at the defensive end as well, especially late with a couple of big blocks. Hibbert finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks.
Brandon Rush played a lot of minutes off the bench, as well. His play was up and down as usual, but he was hardly floating. Although, floating would've been better than the end result of a few possessions Rush botched. His baseline back-cut for a dunk late in the game was sweet and gave the Pacers a boost to eventually reclaim the lead.
Troy Murphyhad his shot going early and finished with 21 points on 8 of 13 from the floor. Murph was saddled with fouls as he struggled to defend Duncan at times.
Tyler Hansbroughwas in the mix during the Pacers late second quarter run which helped set up a late third quarter run, also involving Hansbrough, to give the Pacers the lead. The rook finished with 9 points and 6 rebounds with a few blips along the way. Actually, one was more than a blip. After being hung out to dry guarding Richard Jeffersonon the wing, RJ crossed-up Hansbrough and left him leaning in cement sneakers as Jefferson threw down a pretty reverse dunk. Wasn't a poster dunk, because Hansbrough would've been out of the picture.
The Pacers caught a break with the Spurs missing 15 free throws. Tony Parker missed five of his 12 attempts.
Life doesn't get any easier for the Pacers as they head home for a day before hosting the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, followed by a quick trip to Boston to play the Celtics on Tuesday.
Jeff Foster played a few minutes before retiring for the night with more back issues.
Luther Head took advantage of some rare playing time to provide a nice spark for the Pacers, as he has done in the past. Luther had 9 points on 6 shots and once again made a case for more playing time.

Pacers 101, Bobcats 98: Pacer Hang On For Win; Murphy, Ford Lead The Way

Tom Lewis — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:13:06 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

T.J. Ford rose up to help lead the Pacers to a win over Charlotte.

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The Indiana Pacers led all the way but still almost lost.

But almost wasn't good enough for the Charlotte Bobcats and since almost losing equals winning you won't hear any complaints from the Pacers as they'll gladly take the 101-98 win.

The Pacers ambushed the Bobcats in the first five minutes of the game, jumping out to a 21-7 lead. They made eight straight field goals including three from behind the arc and another couple perimeter shots and three layups. The Pacers made it look easy with nice ball movement. In fact, six of the first eight buckets were assisted. Funny how those perimeter shots start falling with good passing finding shooters in rhythm as opposed to just standing and jacking up shots.

But the action in this game was just getting started.

Despite the fast start by the Pacers, Charlotte worked their way back into the game and cut that early lead to four late in the first quarter. The Pacers maintained control of the game though and took a ten-point lead to the half.

Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy were wearing out the nets in the first half, combining for 27 points including five 3-balls, but T.J. Ford was running the offensive show. He finished the half with 9 assists, several on nice kick-out passes after breaking down the Charlotte defense on the dribble.

When Ford opened the third quarter with his tenth assist and Murphy knocked down another three-pointer, it appeared like the Pacers might run away and hide. They did push the lead to 18 early in the third, but from there the home team held on for dear life as the lead gradually dwindled until a corner three to tie the game left Gerald Wallace's hand with four seconds left to play.

As the final score indicates, Wallace missed, but the game was not over. No way. Couldn't be that easy could it?

With 1.8 seconds left, Dahntay Jones missed two free throws when one would've iced the game. After a timeout, the Pacers once again had to defend their three point lead for 1.4 seconds and that's exactly what they did.

With the refs taking their sweet time counting to five, the Pacers made it extremely difficult for Charlotte to inbound the ball. Finally Flip Murray found Boris Diawas he popped to the top of the arc. Diaw was in rhythm to turn around a let the 3-ball go, but T.J. Ford rotated off of D.J. Augustin to greet Diaw in mid-turn. This force Diaw to pass off-balance to Augustin, whose shot hit all net but was released well after the buzzer sounded.

More thoughts and observations on the game:

T.J. Ford had his game flowing tonight. Maybe having his Texas Longhorn understudy, D.J. Augustin on the other side brought his game into focus. I hope not, though. Rather think he just put everything together tonight and there will be more of this type of play to come. His 15 points and 13 assists made the Pacers go, but that final defensive play sealed the win. All of that good play, helps mask the 6 turnovers and a few gawd awful possessions down the stretch when the Pacers had multiple opportunities to put Charlotte away, but just couldn't.
Speaking of gawd awful, the Pacers' effort to close out the game was painful. T.J. Ford had a sweet layup and 1 with 1:32 left in the game. After making the free throw the Pacers were up 8, one stop away from securing the W. But after Augustin made a three-pointer, the Ford and Earl Watson couldn't get a shot up and Brandon Rush's 3-ball was waved off after review showed it was after the shot clock lit up. Wallace is fouled and suddenly with 40 seconds left, the lead is down to three points. The Pacers use up most of the shot clock before going into a play, but after one pass, Earl Watson launches a three-pointer that misses and gives the Bobcats the first of those two final chances to tie the game. Somehow the Pacers survived without scoring in that final 1:32.
Troy Murphy was a monster for the Pacers, shooting the ball better than he has all year and maybe even last year. Murph had 26 points and 15 rebounds. He scored on 10-13 from the floor including 5-7 from 3-land. He also had three assists and zero turnovers.
Dahntay Jones struggled off the bench making just 2 of 8 shots and missing those critical free throws that would've sealed the win. Jim O'Brien did turn to Jones to finish the game with the Pacers hanging on to the lead with a death grip. Getting the stops was more important than the offense at that point.
Tyler Hansbroughhad trouble getting his shots to fall but he played some solid minutes down the stretch in the fourth quarter. He had a nice bucket inside off a floating feed from T.J. Ford and then with two minutes left and the lead down to five, Hansbrough was clobbered underneath the hoop and sent to the line. He calmly knocked down both free throws to push the lead back to seven. The Bobcats weren't through coming at the Pacers, but those makes were huge to keep Charlotte at bay. After struggling at the free throw line through much of the young season, Hansbrough is now 19-23 from the line in the past five games which is more in line with his college free throw success.
Jim O'Brien found some time for rookie A.J. Price in the first half, allowing the rookie point guard almost ten minutes of burn. Price came out firing...and missing, but per usual, Price helped push the Pacers in the right direction leaving the lead seven points better than when he entered the game.
The Pacers have won three of their last four games and now head out for back-to-back road games at Memphis and San Antonio beginning Friday.

IC Cold Links: More Minutes For Dunleavy Create Another Wrinkle With Playing Rotation

Tom Lewis — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:57:35 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

Mike Dunleavy is not only back, but making an impact for the Pacers. Now what?

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Since his return to the court, Mike Dunleavy has quickly established himself as a key player regardless of when he plays, and with Danny Granger out maximizing the available minutes for Dunleavy is critical.

So, suddenly (miraculously?) the Pacers have the enjoyable task of trying to figure out how to best use Mike Dunleavy. Personally, I'd love to see Dunleavy continue coming off the bench, especially when Granger returns, to help balance out the rotations, playing a role similar to Jason Terry in Dallas. He could still play the same amount of minutes and finish games.

I realize Jim O'Brien wants to start the best players available and with Granger out, it makes more sense to start Dunleavy, although bringing him off the bench would also make it easier to manage his minutes since last night that was obviously a problem.

So how should the Pacers use Dunleavy?

After the jump, several links of interest from last night's game.

AP: Howard powers Magic to 106-98 win over Pacers
PACERS: Inside the Game: Pacers at Magic
Bruno's Inside the Game report has all of the numbers of note from the game and there were plenty.
Pacers can't contain inevitable
Mike Wells reports on the late Orlando run wiping out the Pacers' early success.
Orlando Magic rally to beat Indiana Pacers at home
Brian Schmitz reports on the Magic rallying to take down the Pacers.
Orlando Magic 106, Indiana Pacers 98 - Third Quarter Collapse
Ben Q Rock recaps the Magic escaping with a win last night.
Pacers Notebook: Dunleavy makes 1st start of season
In the notebook, Wells touches on Dunleavy exceeding his extended minutes limit. The free throw differential and Jeff Foster's reaction to Jonathan Bender's return to the NBA.
Jones or Rush?
Wells blogs about the starting lineup, wondering if Dahntay Jones will be starting for Brandon Rush soon, assuming Mike Dunleavy remains in the starting lineup.
Vince Carter leads team in scoring after missing practice, shootaround with stomach ailment
Tania Ganguli reports on the Vince Carter and the Orlando Magic putting things together just in time to beat the Pacers.
NBA 'Watchability' Scale: Ranking Every Team Based On Entertainment, Not Talent
Well, the Pacers were definitely watchable for most of the game last night. They also fared better than I expected in Mike Prada's rankings of teams simply by their watchability.

Magic 106, Pacers 98: Magic Zoom By Pacers At The Finish

Tom Lewis — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:11:55 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

A win for the Pacers was just out of reach against Dwight Howard and the Magic.

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The Orlando Magic made a 17-point deficit disappear in the first half and then the Indiana Pacers' offense vanished into thin air during the final five minutes of the game, leaving the Pacers losers on the road, 106-98.

Stick with me as I shift to a little Indy Car analogy. For the uninitiated, Indy Cars have different fuel settings allowing the cars to run at different levels of performance depending on whether they're trying to save fuel or run up front. The best cars can stay within sight of the lead on a lower fuel setting and then eventually switch to full rich, meaning they're running wide open allowing them to track down and overtake a car with lesser equipment.

Throughout the third quarter, the Magic felt like a Penske or Ganassi car tucked in behind a Vision Racing car (Pacers), staying close without running on full rich. While still a one-possession game early in the fourth quarter, you could sense the Magic had raised their level of play to "full rich" and expected to overwhelm the Pacers.

The Pacers hung tough, though and appeared to frustrate the Magic as the hosts tried to impose their will on the game. With 4:58 in the game, T.J. Ford rose up to knock down a baseline jumper to give the Pacers a 96-94 lead. At that point, it appeared Ford may cap off a solid night by pushing the Pacers to an upset win.

Instead, Ford's shot was the last field goal the Pacers would make. Meanwhile, the Magic used back-to-back three-pointers from Rashard Lewis and J.J. Redick to pull away from the Pacers at winning time. In essence, the Pacers ran out of push-to-pass button boosts allowing the Magic to zoom past them to victory lane.

After the jump, back to straight hoops talk with more thoughts and observations from the loss.

Let's start with Mike Dunleavy. Actually, Jim O'Brien started Mike Dunleavy, making the move because his minutes limit had been bumped up to 28 and Dahntay Jones was available but still feeling the effects of his hard fall in Washington. Dunleavy had another great outing and JOB used that minutes limit as a mere suggestion, using up 18 minutes in the first half and eventually playing 17 more than 33 minutes. While his shot betrayed him at time, Dunleavy still finished with 26 points.
With Dunleavy starting the game, the first unit jumped out to a quick start at 12-2 on a 12-0 run. Within th first five minutes all five starters scored thanks to solid ball and player movement. For the Pacers first bucket of the game, things stagnated a bit and Dunleavy and Brandon Rush nearly bumped into each other on the perimeter. Dunleavy directed a little traffic and as Rush swung the ball to Ford on the perimeter, Dunleavy cut through the lane. When Ford's drive to the hoop was stopped, Dunleavy was there for a pass. His little hook missed but drew a defender which left Roy Hibbert open to dunk the follow. Can't help but think that possession would've ended with a jacked-up shot without Dunleavy involved.
The free throw differential was an eyesore reminiscent of several games last season. The Magic shot 35 free throws compared to the Pacers' 10. Of course, Dwight Howard accounted for 22 of Orlando's freebies. Howard missed nine of those attempts, but was nothing short of a beast with 21 points and 22 rebounds. Still, you'd like to have more points than free throw attempts at the end of the night. I guess he'll take the win, though.
Clark Kellogg made a great call at the start of the fourth quarter with the Pacers clinging to a two-point lead. He noticed that the Magic had only made five 3-balls and they averaged 10 per game. Sure enough, at winning time it was raining threes as the Magic made four, including the two daggers to decided it late.
T.J. Ford nearly put together his best full game of the season, and in fact, maybe this was his best full game thus far, but it certainly wasn't complete. Ford did his part to push the Pacers out to a 17-point lead in the first half. The lead would dwindle to one at the break, but Ford had 11 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and zero turnovers. HUGE numbers compared to his recent production. He was unable to pick up where he left off in the second half, finishing with 13 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Worse, he dribbled away a few critical possessions in the final five minutes making some poor decisions with the ball and game in his hands.
Tyler Hansbrough had a rough shooting night making just 4 of 12 shots, finishing with 8 points and 6 rebounds. He seemed to really miss running with Dunleavy on the second unit. They did play some together but in the first half that second unit was lost.
Roy Hibbert picked up 3 early fouls which nullified a pretty good start for the big fella. From there Hibby had minimal impact on the game.
Former Pacer, Anthony Johnson and J.J. Redick were huge off the bench for the Magic. The relief backcourt tandem combined for 26 points and 12 assists. Redick also drained 3 of 4 three-pointers.

10 YEARS OF STIFFDOM: A Decade Retrospective...

Andrew Feinstein — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:04:03 -0000

Who knew that at the beginning of the '00s - with none other than Dan Issel in charge - that the Nuggets would end up having a successful and often thrilling decade? Here's a look back at the last 10 years of Denver Nuggets basketball...

At the conclusion of the 1990s, the Nuggets were in utter disarray. As documented in detail here at Denver Stiffs, this once proud and respected franchise had been turned into an NBA laughingstock thanks to a lethal combination of ineptitude, incompetence, and ignorance. Between 1990 and 1999, the Nuggets made the playoffs just twice and Nuggets fans were forced to endure seasons with win totals under 40 games eight times (including the lockout shortened 1998-99 season in which the Nuggets would likely have "won" about 25 games had an 82-game season been played out). We witnessed five seasons in which the Nuggets won less than 24 games, and in 1997-98 the 11-win Nuggets won less games than the Broncos that year.

Making matters worse throughout the 1990s, the Nuggets never caught a break. Even though they participated in eight NBA Draft lotteries, twice sported the worst record in the NBA (1990-91 and again after that infamous 1997-98 campaign) and had a bottom-four record five total times, the highest pick they were ever rewarded was third (which Issel promptly screwed up by drafting Raef LaFrentz over Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki and Antawn Jamison). We missed out on all the game-changing draftees of the 1990s: Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Webber and Tim Duncan. And a freak knee injury sustained by rising star LaPhonso Ellis in 1994 would prove to be the undoing of the Nuggets only good team of the decade: the 1993-94 squad that had just stunned the NBA world by beating the number-one seeded Seattle Supersonics in the playoffs before taking the Utah Jazz to seven in Round 2.

But make no mistake about it, the Nuggets problems throughout the 1990s were self-inflicted. Cartoonish figures such as Peter Bynoe, Bertram Lee, the Comsat "Corporation," Paul Westhead, Bernie Bickerstaff, Allan Bristow and finally, Issel, made every wrong/bad decision possible, leaving the Nuggets organization in tatters until Stanley E. Kroenke rescued the franchise in 2000 with his purchase of the team. Upon arrival, Kroenke made it clear that he wanted to win and win now, and thus set in motion a series of events that produced one of the better decades in franchise history...

2000-2001 (40-42, no playoffs)

In an increasingly tough Western Conference, the Nuggets remarkably won 40 games but were still seven games off the eighth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. While a 40-win season would normally be a good thing having come off a 35-win season, team "president", "head coach" and dictator Dan Issel had already mortgaged the Nuggets future by sending away numerous first round picks in order to build that 40-win team.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Antonio McDyess

Coming off a gold-medal winning performance in the Sydney Olympics, McDyess was a stud in 2000-01. The quiet, dignified power forward averaged 20.8 ppg, 12.1 rpg and 1.5 bpg and even made the All-Star team.

Stiff of the Year: Dan Issel

The aforementioned Issel had previously (and foolishly) traded away the Nuggets own first round picks for 1999, 2000 and 2001 - all lottery picks, mind you - and after an assortment of complicated, even more stupid deals, for those picks he essentially brought back Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Kevin Willis (on the very wrong side of his career), Voshon Lenard and Tracy Murray. But that was just off-the-court. On-the-court, Issel was a tyrant with his players and the refs. At one point, his players were so fed up with the way he was treating Raef LaFrentz (a draft bust of Issel's own making) and others, that point guard Nick Van Exel led a player boycott of practice.

2001-02 (27-55, no playoffs)

After years of overpaying for mediocre players and parting with valuable first round picks in exchange for nothing, the wheels finally came off the Issel Administration and the Nuggets fell apart in 2001-02, precipitated by a major knee injury to McDyess that caused him to miss all but 10 games of the season. Prior to the season starting, Kroenke - either sensing that Issel had too much power, was too incompetent or both - astutely hired Kiki Vandeweghe as GM to a five-year contract.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Kiki Vandeweghe

After Issel "resigned" the day after Christmas (more on that shortly), Vandeweghe gutted out the roster and made a controversial move that would put the Nuggets on the path of success they still enjoy today. Knowing the Nuggets were going nowhere with the expensive roster he inherited, Vandeweghe boldly shipped out Van Exel, LaFrentz, Abdul-Wahad and Avery Johnson (another overpayee thanks to Issel) to Dallas in exchange for Juwan Howard, Tim Hardaway, Donnell Harvey and a future first round pick. When the Nuggets eventually met the Mavericks in the 2009 playoffs second round, I detailed how that major trade actually brought the two once dormant franchises together.

Stiff of the Year: Dan Issel

"Go drink another beer, you Mexican piece of shit!" Those nine words - uttered by Issel towards a heckling Hispanic Nuggets fan after a December 10th loss to the Charlotte Hornets - were exactly what Kroenke and Vandeweghe needed to kick Issel out the door. Issel, a Nuggets legend as a player, had built up so much great PR in the community (he still has some...note Woody Paige's ludicrous suggestion that the Nuggets bring Issel back to the organization last year) that he would have been tough to fire otherwise. After serving a four-game suspension, Issel "resigned" on December 26th, 2001 and unfortunately for Issel, things haven't exactly worked out for him since.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Tim Hardaway

Unlike Howard who - knowing playing in Denver would be a brutal, losing situation - accepted the trade to the Nuggets and behaved like a total professional during his time here (it helps when you're getting paid $18.8 and then $20.1 million per season!), Hardaway was a petulant, angry brat who never got over leaving Dallas where he was hoping to gravy train his way into an NBA Championship. After starting 14 games for the Nuggets, Hardaway unleashed his anger on a TV monitor by throwing it onto the floor and getting himself suspended two games.

2002-03 (17-65, no playoffs)

Entering the 2002-03 NBA season, Vandeweghe purposefully compiled the worst roster in modern NBA history in hopes of tanking enough games to win the first pick in the draft (knowing that on the horizon was one of the better drafts in NBA history). The Nuggets starting back court of Vincent Yarbrough and Junior Harrington couldn't crack a 14-man roster the following season, and the rest of the roster was littered with names you already don't remember. Armed with two lottery picks - thanks to a great trade that sent McDyess to New York in exchange for Marcus Camby and the Knicks lottery pick - Vandeweghe drafted Nene and some skinny kid from Georgia, and I'm not talking about the university (more on him shortly).

Non-Stiff of the Year: Jeff Bzdelik

In spite of being dealt the worst hand ever dealt a coach in modern NBA history, rookie head coach Jeff Bzdelik refused to make excuses, worked his ass off and was able to get 17 wins out of our Nuggets. I'd argue that was 17 more wins than they should have had and Bzdelik should have gotten Coach of the Year consideration. The Nuggets were awful talent-wise, but they played harder than their opponent almost every night.

Stiff of the Year: Nikoloz Tskitishvili

Drafted fifth overall out of the Republic of Georgia, "Skita" has since gone down in history as the worst fifth overall pick of all time (and believe me, there have been some bad fifth overall picks). Given ample opportunity to succeed in his first season, Skita - listed at seven-feet tall - shot 29.3% from the field as a rookie. At a game in Los Angeles against the Lakers, I once saw Skita shoot a wide open shot in which the ball hit the shot clock first before getting anywhere near the backboard or rim.

2003-04 (43-39, 1-4 in the playoffs)

A full 10 years after upsetting the Sonics in the playoffs, the Nuggets finally got their act together and Coloradoans cared about basketball again. Unable to shake the Nuggets streak of bad luck with the Draft Lottery, Vandeweghe got lucky nonetheless thanks to Detroit GM Joe Dumars' stupidly drafting Darko Milicic (i.e. Skita 2.0), leaving Syracuse star/stud Carmelo Anthony available with the third overall pick. And with Howard's giant contract coming off the books, Vandeweghe was finally able to spend Kroenke's money. Free agent signees Andre Miller, Jon Barry and Earl Boykins joined Melo, Nene and a healthy Camby. Under Bzdelik's stewardship, the Nuggets won 43 games and put up a respectable fight against the Timberwolves in the playoffs first round. As fans, we were happy just to be in the playoffs!

Non-Stiff of the Year: Carmelo Anthony

For the first time since Alex English last donned a rainbow jersey, the Nuggets had a perennial All-Star caliber player in Melo. As a rookie, Melo averaged 21 ppg and 6.1 rpg while giving fellow rookie phenom LeBron James a run for the Rookie of the Year Award. But more importantly, Melo led the Nuggets back to the postseason in a hyper-competitive Western Conference, whereas LBJ couldn't do the same in Cleveland in the weakened Eastern Conference.

Stiff of the Year: Rodney White

Playing for his next contract after his rookie deal was due to expire in two seasons, White gave the Nuggets next-to-nothing in 2003-04 even though he appeared in 72 games and received 14 minutes of playing time per game. Just a few years removed from being the ninth overall pick to Detroit (ahem...Joe Dumars again), White would be out of the NBA completely after the 2004-05 campaign. But hey, at least he was nominated for the Denver Stiffs Hall of Fame!

2004-05 (49-33, 1-4 in the playoffs)

Wanting to build upon the Nuggets newly found success (and at Kroenke's alleged insistence), Vandeweghe spent the entire 2004 offseason shopping for a big name free agent to bring to Denver. After being turned down by Manu Ginobili and Brad Miller, Vandeweghe panicked and got duped into sending three number one picks to New Jersey for Kenyon Martin in a sign-and-trade deal. K-Mart's price tag? $90 million over seven seasons. Under immense pressure to win more games, Bzdelik and the Nuggets floundered out of the gate, starting out 13-15 before Bzdelik got sacked and replaced by a former WNBA coach (Michael Cooper) who went 4-10 as coach of the team.

Non-Stiff of the Year: George Karl

Inheriting a 17-25 team loaded with talent but without any direction and big egos to boot, Karl's no-nonsense, "my way or the highway" approach immediately turned the Nuggets fortunes around. With only 40 games to work with, Karl guided the Nuggets to a 32-8 record (the best in NBA history after a mid-season coaching switch) and had the Nuggets playing the best basketball in the NBA down the stretch of the regular season.

Stiff of the Year: Kiki Vandeweghe

By acquiring K-Mart, Vandeweghe essentially panicked while throwing away all of the salary cap flexibility he had worked so hard and smartly to cultivate. But worse than that, Vandeweghe was eerily silent while Bzdelik was left to twist in the wind as the Nuggets struggled early in the season. Vandeweghe never publicly defended the one man willing to coach the dreadful 2002-03 roster that Vandeweghe had assembled, and Kiki made matters worse by bringing in Cooper to take over as head coach. The Cooper hire cost the Nuggets a higher playoff seed.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Carmelo Anthony

Melo couldn't stay out of trouble in 2004. First, he was cited for marijuana possession at DIA that his cousin conveniently took the blame for (the old "that wasn't my pot!" excuse). Second, he feuded with Olympic coach Larry Brown in Athens and found himself benched on the 2004 Team USA that embarrassingly finished with a bronze medal. Third - and perhaps the worst/dumbest - Melo was caught on a "Stop Snitching" DVD in which alleged drug dealers explain what happens to people who cooperate with the police. Melo didn't improve much on the floor, either, and found himself (rightfully) in Karl's doghouse early and often.

2005-06 (44-38, 1-4 in the playoffs)

Unable to build off the team's incredible run under Karl to conclude the previous season, injuries ravaged the Nuggets and they limped their way to a 44-38 record. K-Mart and Camby missed 26 games apiece and most tragically, Nene succumbed to the Nuggets power forward curse and was lost for the season with an ACL and MCL tear after just one game. At the time, the Nuggets marketing and PR team spun the season as as success under the guise of "Northwest Division Champs" and that the Nuggets were a three-seed entering the postseason. But this was before the NBA properly seeded division winners who have mediocre records. The Nuggets were such a weak three-seed, that the Clippers purposely tanked games to face them in the first round...and when they got their wish, the Clippers clocked the Nuggets in five games. Oh, and that was the Clippers only playoff series win since becoming the Clippers in 1978. Overall, the season was a mess from from the top down (as chronicled in detail at the time by the Denver Post's Thomas George). Vandeweghe would be let go at season's end and was replaced by Mark Warkentien (and eventually Rex Chapman, too). Dysfunction, egos and injuries had set the Nuggets back a few steps.

Non-Stiff of the Year: (tie) Carmelo Anthony and Andre Miller

Melo and Miller played in 80 and 82 games, respectively, and carried the Nuggets in 2005-06. Melo improved his scoring average by over six points per game and his field goal percentage went up, as well. Miller - the modern day NBA "iron man" even if he doesn't condition well in the offseason - was a steady hand as always, starting in all 82 games and dishing out over eight assists per game.

Stiff of the Year: Kenyon Martin

Recovering from microfracture surgery and frustrated by knee tendinitis, K-Mart was pretty surly for much of the season and was morphing into a locker room cancer. He allegedly didn't get along with coaches or teammates (according to George's article, K-Mart's teammates questioned his commitment to recovery and work ethic) and it all came to an ugly head during halftime of Game 2 at Los Angeles, when K-Mart went at it with Karl and several teammates. K-Mart was benched for the remainder of the game and eventually su spended for the duration of the series.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Reggie Evans

As perhaps a microcosm of the dysfunction and lack of respect for the game that was taking over the Nuggets, "The Joker" grabbed Clippers center Chris Kaman's testicles while fighting for a rebound during Game 1 of the Clippers series.

2006-07 (45-37, 1-4 in the playoffs)

In spite of it being K-Mart's turn to succumb to the Nuggets power forward curse (he would play just two games all season) and losing their first three straight games by a total of five points, the Nuggets would win 12 of their first 21 games with Melo playing the best basketball of his career. That all changed abruptly on Saturday, December 16th, 2006. In New York facing the Knicks (who had embarrassingly beaten the Nuggets in Denver in Game 3 of the season), the Nuggets found themselves up 19 with 75 seconds to go. Karl - alleged by some to want to rub the victory in Knicks coach Isiah Thomas' face (Thomas had recently sandbagged Karl's good friend Larry Brown) - left his starters on the floor, prompting Thomas to send in his "goon squad" and make the Nuggets pay. What began as a hard, unnecessary, dangerous, around-the-neck foul on J.R. Smith by the Knicks' Mardy Collins erupted into a full-scale brawl...culminating with Melo's cheap shot punch on Collins. Melo would be suspended 15 games and Smith 10, prompting Nuggets management to attempt to salvage the season by bringing in super star guard Allen Iverson from Philadelphia in exchange for Miller, Joe Smith and two first round picks. Little did we know that the fun was just beginning.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Allen Iverson

Welcomed with open arms by Nuggets fans and his new teammates, Iverson made an immediate impact on the Nuggets (on and off the floor, in good ways and bad). But with Melo out 15 games, Iverson was able to keep the Nuggets afloat and competitive almost by himself. When Melo and Iverson finally got to play together for a long stretch, the Nuggets reeled off nine straight wins and 10 of 11 to finish out the season strong as the hottest team in the NBA.

Stiff of the Year: Isiah Thomas

In addition to sinking the Raptors as an incompetent vice president, sinking the CBA in a summer as an incompetent commissioner and sinking the Knicks as an incompetent president/coach/alleged sexual harrasser (hell, Isiah was an incompetent broadcaster, too), Isiah would sink the Nuggets season in one fell swoop by commandeering his players to take out the Nuggets starters in that game.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: (tie) Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith

Even though Isiah "started it," Melo and J.R. were unable to keep their heads cool and unnecessarily exacerbated an already ugly situation, ruining the Nuggets entire season as a result.

2007-08 (50-32, 0-4 in the playoffs)

Entering 2007-08, the Nuggets would finally have a training camp with their full roster participating from the get-go. With Melo and Iverson having ample time to play together, optimism in Denver was higher than it had been since entering the 2004-05 campaign. So high was the optimism, in fact, that Kroenke had over $83 million invested in the team's payroll (second or third highest in the league at the time) and Melo and K-Mart started floating out "60 wins" as a realistic goal. But even with Iverson appearing in all 82 games, Camby playing 79, Melo 77, K-Mart 71 and vast improvements seen in the games of bench players J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza, the Nuggets weren't able to secure a playoff spot (an eighth seed no less) until the 79th game of the season with a big win at Golden State. As an eighth seed, the Nuggets got worked over by the Lakers in an embarrassing four-game sweep: a series which saw Melo bark at Karl "don't just sit there!" and the benching of Iverson early in Game 3 that didn't go over well. Prior to the Nuggets final regular season game, Melo would get arrested on suspicion of a DUI. It became evident that the A.I. experiment was an expensive failure.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Nene

After being diagnosed with testicular cancer and undergoing surgery to remove his right testicle, Nene remarkably returned to play again on March 27th against the Mavericks, giving the Nuggets a much needed emotional boost that helped them secure a playoff spot down the stretch.

Stiff of the Year: George Karl

Stuck in an admittedly tumultuous and difficult situation, Karl spent much of the 2007-08 sitting on his hands during games while the Nuggets unraveled on the court. While the Nuggets head coach got called for just one technical foul all season (second to last in the NBA), his players finished in the top two in personal fouls, technical fouls, flagrant fouls and ejections. The inmates were running the asylum as Karl's coaching record in Denver got extended to a paltry 3-16 over four years. Karl would later admit to SI.com that "...the last couple of years, I was confused." Watching Karl's Nuggets routinely take nights off that season, so were we.

2008-09 (54-28, 10-6 in the playoffs)

Disappointed with his lack of return on investment, Kroenke gave an edict to management to slash payroll during the 2008 offseason. Camby would be shipped out to the Clippers in exchange for a trade exception, coach and fan favorite Eduardo Najera would not be re-signed, Iverson's contract wouldn't be extended and things were looking grim entering the 2008-09 campaign. But what loomed as a disaster instead became a season of reformation and rejuvenation. Karl came into training camp as "Fiery George" again, Melo won a gold medal with Team USA and learned a thing or two from Kobe Bryant on what an NBA work ethic really is and K-Mart, fully healthy, came into camp with an apology to his coach and teammates and a vow to work harder and play better. With former NBA castaways Chris "Birdman" Andersen and Dahntay Jones added for next-to-nothing (by NBA salary standards) and Nene in real basketball shape for the first time ever, the Nuggets were quietly confident that they had a special season on their hands.

The lone chink in the Nuggets newfound armor would be Iverson who, upset by not receiving a contract extension, showed up to camp out of shape and several steps slow. Remarkably, Nuggets management was able to pull off one of the great trades in Nuggets history by shipping Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups. By adding Billups to a roster primed to take off, the Nuggets would shock the basketball world by tying a franchise record with 54 wins and going toe-to-toe with the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Simply put, it was the greatest full season of Nuggets basketball since the 1984-85 Nuggets made it to the conference finals and hopefully a sign of more good things to come in the decade ahead.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Chauncey Billups

The Denver-born Billups - who had been cast off by Issel years earlier without ever given a fair hearing as a Nugget - immediately proved to be the perfect leader for the Nuggets. Coming off six consecutive conference finals appearances with the Pistons, Billups would make it seven when he led the Nuggets there.

Non-Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: (tie) Nuggets Management and George Karl

After years of placing talent over character, the Nuggets GM "troika" of Warkentien, Chapman and team adviser Bret Bearup had assembled a roster stocked with good character guys and also deserve credit for not panicking after the 2008 playoff debacle. Warkentien would be rewarded with the NBA's Executive of the Year Award, but it should have been shared by all three guys. Karl, meanwhile, turned in one of his finest performances as an NBA head coach while bridging whatever gap had existed between him and his mercurial stars Melo, J.R. and K-Mart.

Stiff of the Year: Allen Iverson

The NBA will soon be announcing their "All Decade Team" and it will be fascinating to see if A.I. makes the squad. One of the greatest players of the decade, Iverson ultimately proved to be a bad fit for the Nuggets and a bad influence on Melo and J.R. This became painfully clear when the Pistons imploded after bringing Iverson on board in exchange for Billups.

Overall, the '00s were a great decade for Nuggets basketball: six straight playoff appearances, two 50-plus win seasons, All-Star players and thrilling performances (how many game-tying and game-winning shots has Melo made?!). And while it would have been nice to see a few more playoff series victories prior to last season, the memories of the Bickerstaff and Issel Administrations are still prominent enough for me to appreciate what's been going on recently.

Fortunately for Nuggets fans, four of our best players - Melo, J.R., Nene and rookie Ty Lawson - still have many seasons ahead of them and hopefully will remain in a Nuggets uniform into the next decade. At the very least, we're guaranteed that the new decade starts out reasonably well and it will be fascinating to see where this franchise is standing in 2020.

Thanks for the memories and Go Nuggets!!

Photos courtesy of AP and NBAE/Getty Images

IC Cold Links: Reserves Lead Pacers To Another Victory With Big Second, Fourth Quarters

spstevenson — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:20:05 -0000

More photos » by Evan Vucci - AP

Brandon Rush attacks the basket during the Pacers thrilla-in-Washington win Saturday evening.

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The Indiana Pacers bench players are crushing teams. They are on a seven-game winning streak and should be heading toward a spot in April's NBA playoffs.

But, after toppling the Wizards with a 49-29 advantage off the bench, the Pacers are still only 8-13 after escaping out of Washington with a nail-biting finish for the blue and gold's second straight win. While the bench attempts to the lead the team to victories, the starters pulls the team in the other direction. The bench continues to outplay the starters. As Mike Wells wrote in his notebook today, the second unit scored 49 points, 17 assists and nine rebounds against the Wiz. In the past three games, the bench consisting of Mike Dunleavy, Tyler Hansbrough, Luther Head, Earl Watson and Jeff Foster have combined for 136 points, 55 rebounds and 34 assists, and have outscored its past seven bench opponents, 293-196.

There are four prominent reasons that the starters continue to get outplayed by the team's bench guys: 1) The starters are playing the opposing team's starters, a definite disadvantage for a starting unit playing without its all-star Danny Granger; 2) T.J. Ford is still starting, a definite disadvantage for any unit that the point guard inhabits, at least until he finally lives up to his billing as a leader and provides some much-needed stability at his roster spot. Until then, he continues to disappoint (including another team-high -13 in the +/- stat department last night which bumps his season total to another team high, -123);

3) The starters are on the bench in the fourth quarter. Last night, Hansbrough, Dunleavy (the free-throw savior with 0.1 seconds remaining) and Watson were killers in the final minutes; and 4) There's this thing called defense and the starters aren't playing it. The starting unit gave up 76 points in the first and third quarters combined. The Pacers gave up less in the second and fourth quarters combined (37 points) than the team did in just one of the other two periods. Obviously, these quarters are played with a mix of both units, but the tone of the quarter is set in the first few minutes and can be maintained for the remaining minutes of the stazna. The bench is setting a good tone in their quarters.

Coach Jim O'Brien on his team's spirited bench play: "I think that they know they are important and we have confidence in them to succeed. Generally you're playing against the other team's bench and I think they're hungry. Earl has done a good job."

The starters, and bench, will have a big challenge come Monday when the team visits the Magic. Watson moved from the bench unit to the starting point guard spot at the start of the second half during Saturday's win. It will be interesting to see if Watson's move is permanent and whether any other changes will occur before Monday's game. Check out the jump for more links.

Box Score
Photo Gallery
AP Story
NBA.com Recap
The Inside the Game report from Pacers.com gives us some good quotables from after last night's crazy finish. Here's coach Jim O'Brien: "It was one for the ages. A great win for us to be able to get that and scratch out everything we did at the end ... I'm real proud of our guys. To scratch out a back-to-back on the road says a lot about the toughness our guys are starting to develop. We feel very lucky to get out of here with a W."
Mike Wells writes about Dunleavy's dedication in the gym during his rehabilitation which helped lead him to casually dropping the two game-winning free throws. Dunleavy told Wells, "Forget thinking about it in the driveway as a kid, I was thinking about that scenario lying in the hospital bed. It's all you think about, being able to have a chance to win it at the end." Wells also noted that Dunleavy played three minutes past his 24-minute restriction. O'Brien said there was "no way" he would take Dunleavy out of the game in the final two minutes because of the limit. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it you medical bastards.
In his Pacers Insider post, Wells talks more about Dunleavy, some tidbits on Ford's amazing performance (including a 1-of-9 fourth-quarter shooting display), and more on Troy Murphy's change in his offensive approach.
Wells also reported in his notebook that Dahntay Jones, who left the game midway through the fourth quarter, reported that he had a sore hip and shoulder after the game. Jones said he was "sore, but I'll be fine."
Always Miller Time gives a take on the fun win for Pacers fans.
Wizards fans apparently didn't find the last call to be...well, fair. The Washington Examiner decided that it was a call that would "be debated until the end of eternity". Nothing like a flair for the dramatic. The Washington Post puts the blame more squarely on the Wizards for blowing their lead in their final two minutes. Also, a recap from the Washington Times.
Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen has an interesting read about his recent discussions with the commish, David Stern, about the future of the league including a more lenient zone defense, legalized gambling on the NBA and the potential lockout.

Pacers 114, Wizards 113: Whirlwind Finish Ends As Mike Dunleavy's Free Throws Ice Victory

spstevenson — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 05:06:46 -0000

More photos » by Evan Vucci - AP

Mike Dunleavy ties the game with one-tenths of a second remaining after being fouled on an in-bounds play. His second free throw gave the Pacers a 114-113 victory.

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Don't believe the text messages or the e-mail alerts. Don't believe the scoreboards on your cell phones.

When the hoards of e-alerts went circling around cyberspace that the Indiana Pacers had seemingly dropped a one-point loss to the Wizards Saturday, fans who believed the initial warning were in for a special treat -- a Pacers win.

In a finale that brought back memories of last year's miraculous finish against the Cavs, it took several replays, a controversial foul and two Mike Dunleavy free throws with 0.1 seconds remaining for the Pacers to nab a 114-113 win in Washington. The win was the team's second in a row and snapped a six-game losing streak on the road.

Are we ready to recap this? Take a deep breath because here we go right into the thick of things in the final seconds. Gilbert Arenas clanks two free throws with 6.6 seconds left in the game and the Wiz up, 113-112. On the rebound, the Pacers are forced to make something happen quickly as the team has no timeouts hanging around in coach Jim O'Brien's pocket, so T.J. Ford decides it's his game to win/lose.

The guard takes it coast-to-coast, flings up a layup that sails beyond the goal, but Washington's Brandon Haywood decides he'd like to keep this game going and tips the ball out-of-bounds with 0.0 seconds on the clock. This is when all those alerts hit the airwaves. Game over. Pacers lose.

But, occasionally there's a deity out there that feels sorry about The Brawl and sends some luck toward Indy. After a referee review, it's determined there are actually 0.5 seconds left in the game. The Pacers pull out a page from their past and lob the ball to Dunleavy in the paint, hoping to draw the foul or luck into an easy bucket. Dun's does what he does best -- draws the foul on Haywood. Wizards fans boo. Pacers fans cheer. After another review to make sure that the foul occurred in regulation, Dunleavy stepped to the line and drained two free throws with 0.1 left on the clock and iced the win.

Wizards fans boo (particularly a nutjob behind the scorer's table). Pacers fans cheer. A new batch of alerts are sent out. The end.

That's a lot of junk that happened in just six seconds, but this game was chalk-full of fun material. Check out the jump for more about the other 47 minutes, 54 seconds of this one.

T.J. Ford wanted to be the goat of this game, really, really badly. The starting point guard (well, of the first half...Ford was demoted for Earl Watson at the start of the third quarter) had only two assists (eight less than Watson), two turnovers and 6-of-16 shooting from the field heading into the final minutes. Read our game thread and you can see the gang readying with fire-lit torches and heading to Conseco to rid themselves of the point guard monster. And it got worse before it got better. With just under two minutes remaining in the game and the Pacers down four with the ball, Ford circumvented the entire perimeter of the court for an isolated pick-and-roll situation with Troy Murphy. Ford then lobbed the ball to the post to the rolling Murphy. The problem? Murph was still setting the pick. The turnover then led to an Earl Boykins jumper (which was made as Ford tried to recover defensively on the weakside), sending the Pacers back six and into a timeout, their last of the game which would effect the finale and yada, yada ,yada...the Pacers miraculously win the game. Needless to say, this stretch of time resulted hair-pulling, tongue-lashing at Ford from my couch. But, we won, so until next time.
Troy Murphy had a heck of a game, unloading 28 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in 39 minutes. Even more impressive was Mike Dunleavy's line of 24 points, five assists, three steals and two game-winning free throws in 26 minutes. It'll be great to get Mike out there for another 10 minutes per game. His cutting, quick-release shots and leadership are top of the pops right now. Jim O'Brien said after the game: ""Troy (Murphy) was terrific but Michael (Dunleavy)'s line, for not having played many games, was terrific. Those two clutch foul shots didn't even move the net. It says a lot for him."
According to Pacers.com, Indiana's bench outscored its seventh straight opponent. The blue and gold's second unit toppled the Wiz's bench, 49-29.
Rookie Tyler Hansbrough was clutch in the fourth quarter tonight and may have cemented his role of being on-the-court during crunch-time moments.He scored twice down the stretch in the final minutes and dropped 13 of his 19 points in the fourth while playing like a controlled madman in the post.
Dahntay Jones left the game midway through the fourth quarter when he landed hard on a dunk attempt. The Pacers said he was diagnosed with a right shoulder contusion. In his place, JOB implemented a version of last year's Jarrett Jack-T.J. Ford backcourt with a Earl Watson-T.J. Ford lineup. I gotta say, I feel much more at ease watching games with Ford at the two-guard spot and Watson controlling the ball.
What a difference a quarter makes. After giving up 38 first-quarter points to the Wizards, the Pacers defense made a late-appearance and held the home team to just 14 points in the second, allowing the blue and gold to garner a 66-52 halftime advantage. The bad news, of course, was that the Pacers blew that lead by giving up 38 points again the third quarter.
Gilbert Arenas torched the Pacers for his first triple-double (22 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) in 5 years.
Dunleavy crushed a half-court heave at the end of the first quarter to keep the Pacers within two at the end of the first period. The shot helped swing the momentum heading into the Pacers' critical second quarter.

Pacers 107, Nets 91: Pacers Enjoy Winning Feeling Again

Tom Lewis — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:39:38 -0000

More photos » by Tom Strattman - AP

Roy Hibbert and the Pacers made things tough on the Nets in the second half.

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Winning is fun, remember?

The Indiana Pacers enjoyed contributions from several sources, made plenty of shots and applied enough pressure to put away a struggling New Jersey Nets team, 107-91.

Forget the opponent though, the Pacers ended their own struggles by winning for the first time in six games and just the second time in their past 12. Plus, the way the Pacers played and the players that stepped up to put away the win was a welcome sight for Jim O'Brien.

Once again, the Pacers second unit provided the spark the Pacers needed to take control of the game early. In particular, Earl Watson, Mike Dunleavy and Tyler Hansbrough worked well together while pushing the Pacers out to a double-digit lead in the second quarter.

The first unit kept the flow going to start the second half and after the bench continued their solid play it became apparent the Pacers' were headed for a win. Shots were falling, offensive rebounds were plentiful and nothing was coming easy for the Nets. In fact, Rafer Alston's three-pointer was the only bucket New Jersey scored in a ten minute stretch covering the end of the third quarter and early fourth.

Shortly after the New Jersey drought, Roy Hibbertended any doubt in the Fieldhouse that this was the Pacers' night, when he beat the shot clock with a 3-ball (in rhythm, nice stroke, the whole thing) to put the Pacers up 21 points with about eight minutes left.

No lead is ever big enough with the Pacers, but against the Nets that would be enough on this night.

More thoughts and observations on the Pacers' win:

Consider that without Danny Granger's 25 points per game and Dahntay Jones only scoring five, ten below his 15 point per game average, the Pacers were still able to score 107 points and cruise to a 16-point win. Five Pacers scored in double figures to fill the scoring void.
Roy Hibbert finished with 20 points on his 23rd birthday which exceeded the 18 points he scored in the previous three games combined. Roy had that energetic bounce to his game that seems to lift the spirits of the whole team. Hibby also finished with 3 blocks and 9 rebounds, including 7 second-chance boards which helped earn him some easy buckets.
Tyler Hansbrough took full advantage of his minutes limit rising to 24 minutes. He used up all of the minutes to score a game-high and career-high 21 points. He too worked the offensive glass, with 4 of his 7 rebounds at the offensive end. Hansbrough held up well defensively with three steals while guarding everyone from Brook Lopez to Chris Douglas-Roberts.
Earl Watson was solid off the bench at the point making things go for the second unit without needing to take many shots. His +22 on the night reveals his effectiveness, especially compared to another up and down performance from T.J. Ford. The downside of Watson's great play was that A.J. Price didn't get any minutes. Hard to blame JOB on this night because Watson was playing well and the team desperately needed a win.
Mike Dunleavy also had his minutes limit boosted to 24 and he was available for most of the fourth quarter. Dunleavy played 21 minutes and pumped in an efficient 15 points with a nice stroke going on his perimeter shot. Dunleavy made all three of his 3-ball attempts and continued to keep that second unit in motion.
Brandon Rush played a ton of minutes thanks to his defensive effort. He also chipped in 10 points and 8 rebounds with a few nice buckets. There were also a handful of possessions I'm sure he'd like to do over.
Dahntay Jones had a real interesting game, as well. He was on the court quite a bit, but with things going well offensively for the team he never gave into the temptation to pad his scoring average. In fact, Dahntay only took four shots on the night, instead settling in to chase around the Nets' dangerous guard duo of Devin Harris and Courtney Lee.
Speaking of Devin Harris, I was surprised to see him in a heated discussion with Rod Thorn in the tunnel outside the Nets' locker room at halftime. Not sure exactly what the discussion was about, but I don't think he and Rafer Alston are on the same page.
Troy Murphyalso had an efficient night with 15 points and 12 rebounds on just 7 FGAs. Before the game he also expressed his happiness with Brian Kelly taking over as Notre Dame's football coach. Acknowledging that Urban Meyer and Bob Stoops weren't leaving their gigs, he figures Kelly was the best the Domers could do, so he's keeping the faith.
Prior to the game, the Pacers announced that Reggie Miller will be at the Fieldhouse on Tuesday to make a major announcement to benefit the Pacers Foundation, The People's Burn Foundation/Brave Hearts Camp and Riley Hospital for Children Pediatric Burn Unit. Sounds like Reggie will be showing his hero chops in Indy once again. Wonder if a '3' will be included in the final numbers.