Pacers-Bobcats Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Feb 21 2012 11:59PM

Though it has not been entirely easy, the Indiana Pacers are making the most of a favorable stretch in their schedule.

The visiting Pacers look to match a season high with a fourth straight victory while trying to continue their recent dominance over the lowly Charlotte Bobcats, as the teams meet for the second time in four days Wednesday night.

Indiana (20-12) has managed to turn things around after suffering through a season-high five-game losing streak. The Pacers snapped that skid with a 93-88 win over New Jersey, then rolled to a 108-73 victory at home over Charlotte on Sunday. Things were a little tougher during Tuesday's 117-108 overtime home win over New Orleans.

For the second straight game, Indiana shot 50.0 percent from the field but needed to outscore the Hornets 17-8 in the extra period to earn the victory.

"We were able to exist and hang on," said All-Star center Roy Hibbert, who had a career-high 30 points and 13 rebounds.

The Pacers have a good chance to continue their run of success while trying for a ninth consecutive victory over the Bobcats (4-27), who have lost 17 of 18 and own the worst record in the NBA. Indiana led 24-12 after one quarter and held Charlotte to 37.3 percent shooting for the game during Sunday's victory. The Pacers also scored 30 points off 19 turnovers.

Charlotte's 73 points were the fewest allowed by Indiana since an 86-73 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 25, 2010.

"We came out ready to play and stuck with our game plan the whole game, for 48 minutes," said Pacers forward David West, who had 14 points in that contest. "We knew that they were capable, so when we jumped on them, we wanted to stay on them."

Hibbert, who finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds Sunday, has averaged 17.7 and 11.3 boards in his last six games against the Bobcats.

Charlotte, which has lost by an average margin of 12.5 points during its eight-game skid to Indiana, has had some down time to move on from Sunday's defeat that came two days after it snapped a 16-game skid with a 98-91 win at Toronto.

"We just have to put this behind us and continue to grow," coach Paul Silas said. "Anytime a team wins the way they did, they'll think that they can come back and do the same thing. So hopefully we will come with more effort and energy. We must because we can't continue to play like this."

Derrick Brown had 16 points and rookie Kemba Walker added 15 on Sunday for the Bobcats, who average an NBA-low 86.5 points.

Despite Charlotte's struggles this season, Walker continues to progress while averaging 17.1 points and 4.4 assists in the last eight games.

Two of Charlotte's four victories have come at home, where they have lost six straight since a 112-100 win over Golden State on Jan. 14. The Bobcats last victory over Indiana came in Charlotte, 104-88 on Nov. 22, 2009.

Pacers hand Bobcats another loss, 102-88

By STEVE REED
Posted Feb 22 2012 10:53PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel is feeling pretty good about his team entering the All-Star break and he's not afraid to admit it.

The Pacers have won four straight, improving to 21-12 overall after Wednesday night's 102-88 win over the woeful Charlotte Bobcats, to give them some momentum heading into the second half of the season.

"Our team has no ceiling," Vogel said. "I've said that from Day 1. I know we can play with the best in the league.

"We've just got to do it on a consistent enough basis to earn one of the league's best records. We are near the top. We want to be at the top. We've got great talent at every position. We're not a mega-star team but we've got stars on our team."

Tyler Hansbrough is one of those guys.

Hansbrough came off the bench to score a season-high 22 points along with nine rebounds as the Pacers defeated the Bobcats for the ninth straight time, including the second time this week.

This game was much closer than the 35-point rout Sunday in Indianapolis - at least for three quarters. The Pacers led by 10 after the third, but began to pull away in the fourth and led by as many as 21 points and were never really threatened.

Danny Granger had 12 points and A.J. Price, Paul George, Dahntay Jones and Darren Collison also scored in double figures. Lou Amundson had a season-high 11 rebounds as the Pacers remained firmly entrenched in second place in the Central Division.

Indiana's reserves played well, scoring 55 points in extended playing time.

"Our depth is big for us," Hansbrough said. "Obviously when you add David West and George Hill it makes a difference to get some veteran guys in there that have some experience. It's good you know to have some guys that can come off the bench that can do some work. I feel like our second unit, when we get in there, we're not taking anything away. We're just trying to build the lead."

Hansbrough, who played in college up the road in Chapel Hill, received a lukewarm ovation from the crowd - Duke fans were obviously in attendance - when he entered the game midway through the first quarter.

He provided some instant offense.

Unlike Sunday when the Pacers jumped out to a 21-2 lead against the Bobcats, the Pacers had a bit of a struggle coming out of the gates falling behind 19-10 but quickly took control. The Pacers clawed back even and then went on a 12-2 run to close the first half and take a 50-42 lead behind 12 points from Hansbrough, who showed the same intensity he did when he played with the Tar Heels.

"You know it's definitely different," Hansbrough said of the NBA game. "The sets and the defense and the game and the style are different. (But) I keep the energy like I did in college and try to go out there and attack."

Corey Maggette scored 20 points and D.J. Augustin had 15 for the Bobcats, who've lost 18 of their last 19 games.

The Bobcats got an encouraging game from rookie center Bismack Biyombo, who finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.

"He's coming," coach Paul Silas said of Biyombo, the seventh overall pick in the draft. "He's learning and he's getting there. He learned how to block shots. He works on his offense just about every day, so that's going to come. I thought he played well tonight."

But the Pacers were simply too much for Charlotte - again.

In what's been a repetitive theme this season for the Bobcats, they were manhandled on the boards and outscored in the paint. The Pacers outrebounded the Bobcats 35-18 in the second half.

"That's the ball game right there," Silas said.

"Our bench carried us through some of the first half and obviously in the second half they broke the game open and we just rolled with them," Vogel said. "I'm pleased with how much we shared the ball."

It didn't hurt that the Pacers made 27 of their first 30 free-throw attempts.

The Bobcats enter the All-Star break with a 4-28 record, by far the worst in the NBA. If there's some consolation, they expect to get Gerald Henderson back next week. Henderson has sat out the last three weeks with a strained hamstring.

"We definitely need this break," Augustin said. "In the NBA you play so many games you have to move on. Hopefully after this break we come back with some more energy and get some more wins."

NOTES: The Pacers have won their last four games against the Bobcats by a combined 74 points. ... Panthers Pro Bowl wide receiver Steve Smith took in the game courtside.

Notebook: Pacers 102, Bobcats 88

Posted Wednesday February 22, 2012 11:06PM

By Will Dannelly, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: In what could be considered a homecoming, Ex Carolina Tarheel Tyler Hansbrough scored a game-high 22 points and added nine rebounds for the Indiana Pacers off the bench to help beat the Charlotte Bobcats 102-88 Wednesday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. Corey Maggette scored 20 points for the Bobcats who have only one win in their last 19 games.

QUOTABLE: "Our team has no ceiling. I've said that from day one. I know we can play with the best in the league. We've just got to do it on a consistent enough basis to earn one of the league's best records. We are near the top. We want to be at the top. We've got great talent at every position. We're not a mega-star team but we've got stars on our team. We've put together a solid bench. We're trying to build the best defensive team in the league. We're trying to learn from what Dallas did last year with championship level passing and if we put all those things together, there is no ceiling for us."
-- Pacers head coach Frank Vogel.

THE STAT: The Pacers tried to give the game away. The game started with an aggressive run by the Bobcats, putting Indiana down by nine early. After a strong 12-4 run to finish the first half, Indiana started the second half as flat as the first, allowing the Bobcats to tie the game with 5:56 left in the third.

TURNING POINT: After a strong second half start by the Bobcats to tie the game, Indiana pulled down 21 offensive rebounds and countered with a 16-6 run to finish out the third quarter and put the Bobcats out of the game.

HOT: Hansbrough came out strong with a 22-point, nine-rebound performance. Also for the Bobcats, while not a tremendous offensive force, Bismack Biyombo's presence in the paint was felt as he recorded six blocked shots on the night and contributed nine points.

NOT: Despite a strong week, Indiana center Roy Hibbert couldn't get it going against Charlotte. He followed up his 30-point effort against Orleans with nine against the Bobcats.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Hansbrough was met with a mixture of cheers and boos both when coming off the bench and anytime he touched the ball.

Bobcat cheerleader and Ex-American Idol contestant Brittany Kerr is back from Hollywood after being cut from the show but her singing days are not over. Kerr sang her version of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" during the disco-themed halftime show.

Fans in Charlotte want so badly to have something to cheer about that one of their loudest moments of the game was encouraging the P.A. announcer to give a man just one more chance to shoot to win a laptop during a timeout break. The man actually got two extra shots thanks to the crowd's encouragement, and missed them both.

ROOKIE WATCH: Biyombo has struggled to make a positive impact lately at home, often being remembered more for throwing up airball free throws than anything else. With 4:00 left in the 1st quarter he made an impressive play, blocking Darren Collison's shot and then hustling down the court to finish a fast break with a slam dunk assisted by D.J. Augustin.

NOTABLE: It has been more than two years since the Pacers have lost to the Bobcats...The last time Charlotte beat Indiana was in November of 2009...This was the ninth straight victory for the Pacers over the Bobcats...This was the second of three games in which Bobcats guard Kemba Walker and Pacers forward Paul George face each other. The two will also meet Friday during the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge in Orlando.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, For the Bobcats, Wednesday @ Detroit, Friday @ San Antonio, Sunday vs. New Jersey. For the Pacers, Tuesday vs. Golden State, Saturday @ New Orleans, Monday @ Chicago.

• Pacers: --
• Bobcats: Henderson, Mullens

• Pacers: --
• Bobcats: --

• Lead Changes: 12
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #67 Matt Myers, #65 Sean Wright
• Attendance: 13458
• Duration: 2:11