Nets-Pacers Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Jan 30 2012 4:22PM

The Indiana Pacers take pride in not having dropped consecutive games all season.

They haven't had a loss to the New Jersey Nets for quite some time.

The Pacers go for their ninth straight win over the visiting Nets as both clubs begin back-to-back sets of games Tuesday night.

Indiana (13-6) avenged its lone home loss this season by winning 106-85 at Orlando on Sunday, bouncing back from a 94-87 defeat at Boston on Friday.

"We do react well to adversity," forward Danny Granger said. "I think that's a sign of a really good team. We've said after every loss we've had, 'We don't want to lose two in a row.' And we haven't yet."

Granger scored 24 points and newcomers David West and George Hill each added 16 as the Pacers pulled away by outscoring the Magic by 24 in the second half.

"It is a lot of fun to win and be one of the top teams right now," Granger said. "We are playing together and that is the biggest thing. We have so much talent now. We are in position to really contend for the East."

Indiana's 51.1 percent shooting Sunday was its second-highest number behind a 52.6-percent effort in a 108-94 victory at New Jersey (7-14) on Jan. 2. The Pacers shot a season-high 61.9 percent on 3-pointers in that meeting, with Paul George scoring 21 points to lead five Indiana players in double figures.

Six of the Nets' eight losses in this slide against the Pacers have been by double digits. New Jersey's last win in the series came Dec. 23, 2008, and it has dropped three straight at Conseco Fieldhouse by an average of 20.3 points.

The Nets, however, may be anxious to hit the road after missing a chance at a three-game win streak Sunday, falling 94-73 at home to a Toronto team playing without two of its top three scorers. The defeat came on the heels of a 2-1 trip.

"I didn't see the swagger, I didn't see the energy that I saw on the road trip," coach Avery Johnson said.

New Jersey is among the lowest-scoring teams in the NBA at home at 88.3 points per game, but it's in the top half of the league on the road at 93.5.

"I think we're very competitive on the road, but we can't play like this at home," Johnson said.

Kris Humphries totaled 31 points and 30 rebounds in consecutive victories before he had three points and eight boards against the Raptors.

Rookie MarShon Brooks returned to action Sunday after missing three games with a sore left Achilles' tendon and had six points off the bench, but the Nets' second-leading scorer (14.8 ppg) is out again after breaking a toe. DeShawn Stevenson (knee) also won't play Tuesday.

Deron Williams has been carrying a heavier load than usual lately, averaging 28.3 points in the last three contests.

New Jersey natives West and Dahntay Jones have tormented the Nets in recent meetings. West is averaging 25.3 points, 59.0 percent shooting and 9.5 rebounds in his last six matchups with New Jersey, while Jones - averaging 5.6 points in 2011-12 - has scored 11.3 per game while shooting 54.4 percent in his last nine.

George leads Pacers past Nets 106-99

Posted Feb 01 2012 2:09AM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Paul George is starting to make the New Jersey Nets cringe whenever they play the Indiana Pacers.

George scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Pacers to a 106-99 win over the Nets on Tuesday night.

And it's not the first time George has spoiled things for the Nets. George, who shot 8 of 11 in this one, scored 21 points to lead the Pacers to a 108-94 win against the Nets on Jan. 2.

"I just want to be effective on both sides of the ball and help this team win," George said. "We picked up the defensive effort and just turned it up."

Danny Granger had 21 points and seven rebounds and Roy Hibbert had 18 points and 14 rebounds, his ninth double-double of the year.

Deron Williams scored 34 points for the Nets, who have lost two straight overall and nine straight against the Pacers.

Indiana went on a 12-0 run midway through the third quarter and eventually led by as much as 18 in the fourth.

The Nets turned the ball over three times and missed three shots in the Pacers' big run and shot just 40 percent overall in the third.

For Pacers coach Frank Vogel, it was just a perfect example of the smash-mouth basketball he has always been striving for.

"We continue to grow our identity," said Vogel, who was impressed with George. "Paul George really carried us through some offensive stretches. He's a heck of a weapon at both ends."

George capped the biggest lead of the third quarter with a reverse dunk off Lou Amundson's steal to give the Pacers an 84-72 lead at the end of the third quarter.

With the game tied at 66, George hit a 3-pointer and Granger went to the line to give the Pacers a 71-66 lead. Granger and George combined to score nine of the 12 points in the run.

But the Nets made a run back at the Pacers late in the fourth quarter and even got within three after a 15-2 run in which Anthony Morrow scored 11 of his 28 points.

"Our team got down 12 or 14 points, but we kept battling and then we got within striking distance," Nets coach Avery Johnson said. "Unfortunately, the ball just popped out on us."

Johnson was also unhappy with the Nets' 19 turnovers, which the Pacers turned into 30 points, a season best for the Pacers.

Things started out shaky for Indiana as the Pacers turned the ball over on four of their first five trips down the floor. The only points came from George on a 3-pointer.

The Pacers turned the ball over again on the next trip down the floor, but then Collison scored on a long jumper to cut the lead to 10-5 and spark a 10-0 run to give the Pacers the lead. George hit another 3-pointer, Granger scored and Collison scored on a three-point play to give the Pacers a 13-10 lead.

The Nets played without MarShon Brooks, who broke his right, little toe and didn't play Tuesday. Brooks, who is averaging 14.8 points, missed the three previous games because of a sore Achilles.

Mehmet Okur missed his third straight game because of a sore lower back. DeShawn Stevenson didn't play because of a sore right knee.

Pacers guard George Hill left the game with 1:35 left in the third quarter and didn't return after he came down on a foot.

Vogel said Hill has a small chip-fracture on his left ankle and will be out indefinitely.

"I'll work with the training staff and try to get back out on the court as soon as possible," Hill said.

Notes: Pacers C Jeff Foster is day-to-day with a sore lower back, but Vogel expects him out the remainder of the week. ... Pacers C Roy Hibbert had his broken nose set Monday morning. "He's going to look a little cuter," Vogel said. "I don't know that it's anything more than that." ... Nets C Brook Lopez is out with a broken right foot, while F Damian James is sidelined after undergoing right foot surgery.

Notebook: Pacers 106, Nets 99

By Conrad Brunner, for NBA.com
Posted Tuesday January 31, 2012 11:32PM

THE FACTS: Anything but routine, the Indiana Pacers' 106-99 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday in Bankers Life Fieldhouse proved costly. Sixth man George Hill left in the third quarter after sustaining a chip fracture in his left ankle and will be out indefinitely. Paul George scored a career-high 24 and came up with a game-saving steal in the closing seconds while Danny Granger scored at least 20 for the fourth straight game with 21 as the Pacers (14-6) watched an 18-point fourth-quarter lead shrink to three. But the defense came up with stops on four of the Nets' final five possessions to preserve Indiana's ninth straight victory over New Jersey. The Nets (7-15) were led by Deron Williams with 34 and Anthony Morrow with a season-high 28.

QUOTABLE: "It's the NBA, leads are never safe. They've got one of the best players in the world with Deron Williams and they will keep coming at you."
-- Pacers coach Frank Vogel

THE STAT: In two games against the Nets this season, George has totaled 45 points on 16-for-21 shooting (76.2 percent), 9-for-11 (81.8 percent) from the 3-point line.

TURNING POINT: After building a 97-79 lead, the Pacers went flat, missing six in a row as Morrow heated up, making three 3-pointers in a 16-1 run that cut the lead to 98-95. Roy Hibbert scored inside to make it a five-point game. After Williams drove to make it 102-99 with 1:07 remaining, the Nets appeared to get a critical stop when Darren Collison missed a tough attempt late in he shot clock. But Granger sailed out of bounds to save the loose ball to Hibbert, who was fouled and hit one free throw with 35 seconds left to make it a two-possession game. On the ensuing possession, George stripped Williams on the way to the hoop to close the door.

QUOTABLE II: "As we can see by the numbers, we outrebounded them 43-34 and we outshot them 52-47, which should be a win and it was. We picked up the defensive effort and just turned it up. This is a little bit different than what we would have done last year. "
-- George

HOT: Williams and Morrow were the New Jersey offense, combining for 62 points on 20-for-37 shooting (54.1 percent), including 9-for-17 (52.9) from the 3-point line.

NOT: New Jersey got just 21 points and 17 rebounds from its starting frontcourt of Shawne Williams, Kris Humphries and Shelden Williams, compared to 45 points and 26 rebounds from Indiana's triumvirate of Granger, Hibbert and David West.

QUOTABLE III: "You don't want to get down 18 points and have to try to fight back, especially against a good team like this. That's hard to do. We battled back and cut it to three, I think, but just weren't able to get over that hump."
-- Williams

GOOD MOVE: With Collison in foul trouble and Williams coming off a 17-point first half, Vogel assigned the 6-foot-9 George to defend the New Jersey point guard. George, who did a creditable job against MVP Derrick Rose of Chicago in the playoffs, disrupted Williams' rhythm as Indiana's defense fueled a 17-3 third-quarter run that built a 78-66 lead. The Nets committed nine turnovers in the quarter.

BAD MOVE: Young Indiana guard Lance Stephenson committed a costly fourth quarter turnover when, rather than bringing the ball upcourt, he fired a pass toward Granger -- who wasn't expecting it, and the ball winged out of bounds.

IN THE ARENA: This being Super Bowl week in Indianapolis, there was no shortage of famous faces in the crowd, including Giants running back Brandon Jacobs and receivers Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks, Patriots receiver Deion Branch, IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard, former major league pitching legend Tommy John, actor/comedian Mike Epps, Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew, Colts receiver Reggie Wayne, ESPN announcers Ron Jaworski and Merrill Hoge, former Dallas Cowboys boss Gil Brandt, Big Head Todd (no word on the Monsters), Colts scout and former Indy Car driver A.J. Foyt IV, New York Jets tight end Dustin Keller and members of the rock band Fuel.

NOTABLE: Hibbert (18 points, 14 rebounds) had his ninth double-double. ... Indiana has topped 100 points and 50 percent shooting two games in a row. ... Indiana had a 42-26 advantage on points in the paint and tied a season high with 26 assists. ... The Pacers played their first game in retro uniforms, using the road blue replicas from the 1971-74 ABA seasons. They'll wear them again tomorrow night in Minnesota. ... MarShon Brooks (broken toe) missed the game for the Nets and is not expected to play tomorrow against Detroit. He will be re-evaluated later this week. ... Mehmet Okur (back spasms), Damion James (right foot surgery), DeShawn Stevenson (sore right knee) and Brook Lopez (broken right foot) also missed the game as the Nets had just 10 players in uniform. ... Shawne Williams got his first start of the season at small forward against the team that drafted him No. 17 overall in 2006. ... Indiana was without Jeff Foster (lower back) for the eighth consecutive game and he is expected to miss the rest of this week.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, Wednesday @ Minnesota, Friday @ Dallas, Saturday vs. Orlando. For the Nets, Wednesday vs. Detroit, Friday vs. Minnesota, Saturday @ New York.

• Nets: James, Lopez, Stevenson
• Pacers: --

• Nets: Williams, Williams
• Pacers: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 12

• Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #36 David Jones, #58 Josh Tiven
• Attendance: 11408
• Duration: 2:26