Cavaliers-Pacers Preview

By BRETT HUSTON
Posted Apr 12 2012 2:33PM

Darren Collison should be back in the Indiana Pacers' lineup after a two-game absence, but Frank Vogel may want to make sure George Hill gets plenty of minutes against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Hill has shined in a pair of starts with Collison out, something the Cavaliers are well aware of heading into Friday's conclusion of a home-and-home set at Bankers Life Fieldhouse after Hill's performance in an overtime win.

The Pacers felt good enough about Hill - who emerged as an impressive backup to Tony Parker in San Antonio the last two seasons - to deal their top two picks the night of the 2011 draft for him to provide a change of pace behind Collison.

He did a solid job of that through his first 41 games - Hill missed 12 due to a chip fracture in his ankle - but has stepped up when it's been Collison ailing with a groin injury. Hill had a team high-tying 18 points and didn't commit a turnover in a 103-98 win over Toronto on Monday, then scored 11 of his 17 in the final 4:18 of regulation and OT in Wednesday's 104-98 victory at Cleveland.

Though Hill missed three free throws in the final 30 seconds after bringing Indiana (36-22) back from a late six-point deficit, he hit a game-sealing 3-pointer in the extra period.

"George Hill made some huge plays," Vogel said after his team improved to 15-4 when Hill scores in double figures. "He's down on himself right now for missing those three free throws, but I told him he was the reason why we got the lead back. He was able to turn the corner and make some plays for us."

The Pacers, winners of six of seven, have a two-game lead on a three-team cluster for the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed and will face sub-.500 teams in their next three contests.

They've had anything but an easy time against Cleveland (19-37), however. Indiana pulled out a 98-91 win in overtime at home Dec. 30 after Kyrie Irving missed a layup at the regulation buzzer, then fell 98-87 at Quicken Loans Arena on Feb. 15 without Hill and Danny Granger.

Granger has routinely had his way with the Cavaliers, averaging 27.4 points while participating in seven straight wins in the series. Though he's been held scoreless in both fourth quarters against Cleveland this season, he's totaled 14 points in overtime.

It's likely Collison will start if he's healthy enough to return, but Vogel shouldn't feel bad if he has to go with Hill again. Indiana's usual backup has averaged 19.0 points, 5.0 boards and 5.0 assists while shooting 49.2 percent in four career starts versus Cleveland.

The Cavaliers have found their own instant offense at the point while Irving remains out with a sprained shoulder. D-League castoff and NBA journeyman Lester Hudson has averaged 23.3 points in Cleveland's last four games, a remarkable 12.5 of which have come in the fourth quarter.

Hudson had 10 in the final 12 minutes Wednesday, including a floater over David West with 1.2 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

"The one thing you know about him in a short period of time is (that) he's been through the ringer as far as being in this league and being out of this league and being back in this league," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. "So I think he's trying to make sure that he gets an opportunity where he can stay here for a while."

Pacers beat Cavs 102-83 to clinch playoff spot

By CLIFF BRUNT
Posted Apr 13 2012 10:45PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Darren Collison might want to get well soon.

While he has been recovering from a sore groin, backup point guard George Hill has proven capable as a starter. Hill had 15 points and seven assists to help the Indiana Pacers clinch a playoff spot by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-83 Friday night.

Indiana has won all three games Hill has started. He has averaged 16.7 points and 5.3 assists in a win over Toronto and two victories over Cleveland.

Hill scored 10 points in the second quarter on Friday, helping the Pacers rally from a 14-point deficit. He played as more of a pure point guard in the third quarter with no points, four assists and no turnovers.

"Sometimes, it might not be your time to take the shots and be aggressive," Hill said. "In the second quarter, even playing with D.G. (Danny Granger) out there, he saw that I had the mismatch at the time and I had it going a little bit and we were running a lot of things for me, and then in the third quarter, we had D.G. and David West going."

Granger scored 18 points, Tyler Hansbrough scored 16 points, Leandro Barbosa scored 13 points and Roy Hibbert added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who have won seven of eight.

Indiana (37-22) matched its win total from last season. The Pacers are in third place in the Eastern Conference standings and are trying to clinch homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

"We haven't accomplished anything yet," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. "Nothing has changed for us. We felt for a while we would be in the playoffs, but until we get home-court advantage, there is work to be done."

Omri Casspi matched a season high with 14 points and Samardo Samuels had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Cleveland shot just 35 percent from the field.

"The second half, we had a lot of open shots and we didn't convert on then," Antawn Jamison, who scored 12 points for the Cavaliers, said. "We had too many turnovers. We weren't aggressive enough in the second half. We did a bad job of playing 48 minutes."

The Pacers, best known for their defense, scored more than 100 points for the eighth time in nine games. Indiana won the season series 3-1.

Indiana trailed 36-23 in the second quarter, but Hill scored five points during a 9-0 run to tighten the game. Cleveland led 43-41 at halftime.

"They have a bunch of guys, D-League players, playing for contracts," Hibbert said. "They played hard. We took the punch and then we gave it back to them."

A basket by Hibbert tied the game at 43 less than a minute into the third quarter, and a basket by David West gave Indiana a 45-43 lead. A dunk by Granger gave Indiana a 53-45 edge. Cleveland made just 1 of its first 11 shots in the second half before calling a timeout.

It didn't help. A dunk by Dahntay Jones increased Indiana's lead to 66-50, and the Pacers led 75-56 at the end of the quarter. Indiana outscored Cleveland 34-13 in the period as the Cavaliers shot 3 for 18.

"I challenged my guys to ramp up their defense because we've had some poor halves the last couple games," Vogel said. "They defended at a high level tonight. Offensively, we struggled in the first half, but we said all year offense will come and go, but defense will carry us."

Indiana led by at least 13 points the entire fourth quarter.

"Even though we might not have a good quarter or good half, we still think we have a great enough team to come back in and finish off strong," Hill said. "You're going to have your up and down games and up and down quarters. We've just got to keep pounding that rock and believing in each other."

The solid second half put the Pacers on track to reach their goal. Indiana remained two games ahead of Atlanta for the No. 3 position in the East.

"Nothing against Cleveland, but we're getting ready for something bigger," Hibbert said. "You have to come out better, but we finished the right way."

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NOTES: Anderson Varejao (right wrist fracture), Daniel Gibson (torn tendon, left foot/ankle), Kyrie Irving (contused/sprained right shoulder) and Semih Erden (right ankle sprain) missed the game for the Cavaliers. ... Cleveland and Indiana shot a combined 12-for-44 from the field in the first quarter. ... A double technical foul was called on Cleveland's Tristan Thompson and Indiana's West early in the third quarter. ... Indiana's Paul George missed all six of his shots. .... Indiana's newest free agent pickup, Kyrylo Fesenko, got his first minutes as a Pacer. The 7-foot-1, 290-pound center from the Ukraine finished with two points and three rebounds in seven minutes.

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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cliffbruntap

Notebook: Pacers 102, Cavaliers 83

Posted Friday April 13, 2012 10:28PM

By Conrad Brunner, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: If you were expecting champagne in the locker room after Indiana clinched a playoff berth, you were disappointed. The Pacers have much bigger things in mind than simply getting there. Recovering from a staggeringly slow start, Indiana took control of the game with a dominating third quarter and rolled to a 102-83 rout of visiting Cleveland at Bankers Life Fieldhouse Friday, securing a second consecutive playoff berth. With three wins in a row and seven in eight games, the Pacers (37-22) have maintained their grip on the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, three games up on fourth-place Boston and two on fifth-place Atlanta. They're seeking homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2004. Danny Granger scored nine of his 18 in the third quarter, Tyler Hansbrough scored 16 off the bench and George Hill had another strong start in place of the injured Darren Collison with 15 points and seven assists. Omri Casspi led Cleveland (19-38) with 14 points.

QUOTABLE: "We haven't accomplished anything yet. Nothing has changed for us. We felt for a while we would be in the playoffs but until we get home court advantage there is still work to be done."
-- Indiana Coach Frank Vogel

THE STAT: Indiana's 7-1 record is the NBA's best in April.

TURNING POINT: The Pacers missed 25 of their first 31 shots in falling behind 32-18 early in the second quarter. Hill took over, scoring 10 as the Pacers trimmed the deficit to 43-41 at the half. With the momentum gained, the Pacers seized full control of the game in the third period, limiting the Cavs to 1-of-13 shooting and bolting to a 56-46 lead that eventually grew to 21. The Pacers outscored the Cavs 34-13 in the period as Cleveland shot 3-of-18 with five turnovers.

QUOTABLE II: "We want to continue and get a good spot in the playoffs, mainly home court advantage. This was a step in that direction and only a step in that direction. We must continue."
-- Hill

HOT: Hill has totaled 50 points (16.7), 16 assists (5.3) and 14 rebounds (4.7) in starting the last three games at point guard in place of the injured Collison (groin). Roy Hibbert had his 18th double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

NOT: Manny Harris missed all five of his shots for Cleveland, while Alonzo Gee shot 2 of 12. The Cavs shot 35.4 percent overall, 28.9 percent in the second half (11 of 38).

QUOTABLE III: "We weren't aggressive enough in the second half. We did a bad job of playing 48 minutes. The third quarter is really what got us out of the game."
-- Cleveland's Antawn Jamison

GOOD MOVE: With his teammates unable to hit anything early in the game, Hill took it upon himself to get the offense going in the second quarter. His 3-pointer seemed to give the Pacers some offensive stability and they quickly regained their stride, closing the half on a 23-11 run with Hill scoring 10 of the points to gain the momentum.

BAD MOVE: Cleveland rookie Tristan Thompson maintained a running dialogue with Pacers veteran David West, with the players eventually drawing double technical fouls early in the third quarter. Thompson's timing couldn't have been worse, as the Cavs quickly disintegrated.

NOTABLE: After shooting 6-of-31 (.194) through the first 17 minutes and falling behind 32-18, the Pacers shot 31-of-59 (.525) the rest of the way and outscored the Cavs 84-51. ... The Pacers have held six consecutive opponents to less than 100 points, the second-longest active streak in the league. ... Kyrylo Fesenko made his Pacers debut in the fourth quarter after Lou Amundson fouled out. He played the final 6 1/2 minutes. ... Collison missed his third game in a row with a sore groin and is listed as day-to-day for the Pacers' game in Milwaukee Saturday. ... Indiana improved to 7-0 when Leandro Barbosa scores in double figures and 16-4 when Hill does the same. ... Cleveland was without two starters, point guard Kyrie Irving (shoulder) and power forward Anderson Varejao (wrist), as well as backup center Semih Erden, who rolled his right ankle Wednesday night against the Pacers in Cleveland and will miss at least one more game.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, Saturday @ Milwaukee, Monday vs. Minnesota, Tuesday @ Philadelphia. For the Cavaliers, Saturday @ Washington, Sunday vs. Orlando, Tuesday @ Detroit.

• Cavaliers: Harangody, Varejao
• Pacers: Collison

• Cavaliers: Thompson
• Pacers: West

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #31 Scott Wall, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 13356
• Duration: 2:10