Bucks-Pacers Preview

By BRETT HUSTON
Posted Apr 19 2012 12:42AM

No one is playing better with the playoffs approaching than the Indiana Pacers, who are on the verge of locking up homecourt advantage in the first round.

The Milwaukee Bucks' hopes of sneaking into the postseason, meanwhile, are looking worse by the day.

The Pacers try to win their seventh straight game on Thursday night when they host the Bucks, who have lost four of five to fall 2 1/2 games out of the Eastern Conference's eighth spot.

Indiana (40-22) has won 10 of its 11 games this month to put itself comfortably in third place in the East, but none of its six straight came against a team currently in playoff position until Tuesday. The Pacers shot just 41.6 percent from the field, but hit 13 of 24 from 3-point range to earn a 102-97 victory in Philadelphia.

"The talent we have on this team is really high," said Danny Granger, who hit 6 of 8 3s to finish with a game-high 24 points. "We just execute. We just play the game the right away."

The win over the eighth-place 76ers was a big favor to Milwaukee (29-32), which came into Wednesday's action trailing Philadelphia by one game in the loss column for the final playoff spot. But while the reeling Sixers bounced back by winning 103-87 in Cleveland, the Bucks let Washington shoot 55.7 percent in a 121-112 road loss.

"Wrong time to have a bad game," Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said. "It's an absolute must-win for us. We have to find a way to get that game."

The Bucks now have little margin for error in their final five games, but could catch a break after facing the Pacers. Their next three are at home - games against woeful New Jersey and Toronto and a potential showdown with Philadelphia - before a finale in Boston against a Celtics team that likely won't have anything to play for.

Boston clinched the Atlantic on Wednesday to guarantee itself a top-four seed, but Indiana can wrap up the No. 3 seed and homecourt with one more win combined with one Atlanta loss.

Granger is certainly doing his part to lead the way. He's averaged 22.5 points this month, shooting 49.2 percent from the field, 50.8 percent from beyond the arc and 94.9 percent from the free-throw line.

He's 11 for 15 from 3-point range in the last two games.

"You get in one of those modes where you feel like all of them are going in," said Granger, who's averaged 20.8 points in Indiana's four consecutive wins versus Milwaukee.

Granger has averaged 24.6 points in his last seven home games against the Bucks.

If Milwaukee plans on stopping its slide against the Pacers, it'll need to do a better job defending Roy Hibbert. The All-Star big man has averaged 16.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in Indiana's four straight wins in the series, including 23 and 14 in Saturday's 105-99 victory at the Bradley Center.

Monta Ellis has only been with Milwaukee for two of those losses to the Pacers, but Indiana seems to have a good handle on defending him. Ellis has been held to an average of 16.6 points during a personal five-game losing streak to the Pacers since scoring a combined 81 in two victories.

Granger leads Pacers past Bucks, 118-109

By CLIFF BRUNT
Posted Apr 19 2012 11:21PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) These Pacers know how to hold their punches.

Danny Granger scored 29 points to help Indiana beat the Milwaukee Bucks 118-109 on Thursday night in a game that featured two altercations, four technical fouls, a flagrant foul and an ejection.

The game featured playoff-level intensity. The Pacers needed a win to clinch homecourt advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs and the Bucks desperately needed a win to stay in the East playoff race.

Two incidents in the fourth quarter put Pacers players at risk of getting into fights. The team wants to avoid suspensions so close to the playoffs, and the franchise wants to avoid fights as the memory of the incident between Pacers players and Pistons fans in 2004 still lingers. So close to doing something special and completely turning the page, the Pacers came frighteningly close to taking a major step back.

"We've got a lot more to lose in that situation if something happens, if anyone throws a punch or anything like that, so we have to have that composure to back away and realize our season is far from over," Granger said.

With just over 9 minutes left, Milwaukee's Mike Dunleavy drove to the basket and Leandro Barbosa fouled him hard. Dunleavy fell onto Indiana's Tyler Hansbrough, and Hansbrough and Dunleavy had to be separated. There still was bad blood between the two because Dunleavy broke Hansbrough's nose on March 24. Barbosa was called for a flagrant 1 foul.

"Some words were said, some tempers were lost," Hansbrough said. "It happens."

Later, Milwaukee's Larry Sanders, already called for a technical earlier in the fourth quarter, caused a scuffle while walking away after committing a foul. Sanders talked trash to Indiana's George Hill, pointed at David West, then went after Granger. Sanders' teammates held him back while Pacers coach Frank Vogel stepped in front of West. Sanders was ejected and Granger and West were issued technical fouls with 3:29 remaining.

Bucks coach Scott Skiles had little to say about Sanders' antics.

"No comment," he said. "I will let the league handle that."

The exchange energized Milwaukee, and the Bucks made the game close in the final minutes.

Luc Mbah A Moute hit a 3-pointer, his first of the season, to cut Indiana's lead to 113-108 with 36.8 seconds remaining. Hill made the second of two free throws with 36.1 seconds remaining to push Indiana's lead to six points. Granger made two free throws, then Paul George thrilled the crowd with a dunk to put the final touch on Indiana's win.

Hill had 22 points and eight assists and West added 21 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for the Pacers, who won their seventh straight and 11th of 12.

"It's not that we didn't play hard, it's that you need an extraordinary effort against a team like this, not an ordinary one," Skiles said. "It's a great club. They'll be a tough out in the playoffs."

Brandon Jennings scored 27 points and Dunleavy, a former Pacer, added 23 for the Bucks. Monta Ellis, one of Milwaukee's top scorers, finished with 12 points on 5-for-14 shooting. Milwaukee lost its third straight and is running out of time to catch Philadelphia for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

West's tip-in at the buzzer gave the Pacers a 56-50 lead at halftime. The Pacers scored the final eight points of the first half after squandering a 12-point lead.

In one frantic third-quarter sequence, Indiana's Lou Amundson blocked a shot by Milwaukee's Drew Gooden, then threw a pass into traffic that Hill somehow snagged. Hill found Barbosa, who drained a 3-pointer as Beno Udrih fouled him. Barbosa converted the four-point play to give Indiana an 86-71 lead.

The Pacers led 89-78 at the end of the third quarter. Jennings scored 11 points in the period to prevent the Bucks from getting blown out.

Indiana held on and improved to 22-8 at home.

"We try to preach to everybody on this team that we've got to protect this house," Hill said. "This is our house. We can't let anybody come in here and try to take advantage of us, push us around. We've got to be the ones who go out and do that."

The Pacers improved to 7-0 with Hill as their starting point guard. Before the game, Vogel said Hill has done enough to be the starter, but he was unsure who would start if Darren Collison recovers from a sore groin.

"It's not my decision," Hill said. "It's the GM's decision and the coaches' decision who they want out there on the floor. I just know they gave me the opportunity to do it (start) and I just try to take advantage of it. At the end of the day, when D.C. comes back, we're going to get another great player back and whatever coaches ask us to do, I'm going to try to do it the best I can."

Notes: Indiana made 12 of its first 15 shots. ... The Pacers led 34-29 at the end of the first quarter. ... Indiana shot 33 percent and Milwaukee shot 29 percent in an ugly second quarter. ... Indiana won 105-99 at Milwaukee on Saturday. ... Indiana had held nine straight opponents under 100 points. ... Collison sat out for the sixth time in seven games. ... It was the second time in the past three games West has had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. ... The Pacers have scored at least 100 points in 12 of their last 13 games.

--

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

Notebook: Pacers 118, Bucks109

Posted Thursday April 19, 2012 10:56PM

By Conrad Brunner, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: What lies ahead in the postseason remains to be seen, but the Indiana Pacers are doing their best to make their remarkable regular season as memorable as possible. They battled past a desperate, frustrated Milwaukee team 118-109 Thursday in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis in a game that became contentious in the fourth quarter, though two separate incidents did not escalate beyond pushing and jawing. Danny Granger scored 29, George Hill 22 and David West 21 with 14 rebounds and seven assists for the Pacers, who won their seventh in a row -- the team's longest streak since the 2003-04 season -- and clinched homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The magic number for wrapping up the third seed is one. Indiana (41-22) also improved to 11-1 in April, the best record in the league. Brandon Jennings scored 27 and Mike Dunleavy 23 for Milwaukee.

QUOTABLE: "David West is a bad man ... and I'm not talking about the altercation. He is playing at an extremely high level and driving this team to be great. I can't wait to see how far he leads us in the playoffs."
-- Indiana Coach Frank Vogel

THE STAT: Indiana has scored at least 100 points in seven consecutive games and 12 of 13.

TURNING POINT: After a fast start, the Pacers went cold, missing 13 straight shots as the Bucks put together a 19-2 run to take a 40-34 lead in the second quarter. But Indiana regained control with an 18-2 run bridging intermission to take a 66-52 lead and Milwaukee was not able to pose a major threat the rest of the way.

QUOTABLE II: "They're a good club. They're 19 games above right now, so you can't fall behind like that. You have to stay with them. Our overall approach early in the game wasn't good enough for a game like this against a team of that caliber. It's not that we didn't play hard, it's that you need an extraordinary effort against a team like this, not an ordinary one. It's a great club. They'll be a tough out in the playoffs."
-- Skiles

HOT: West made 9-of-14 shots, while Roy Hibbert was 5-of-5 and Hill was 8-of-12.

NOT: Jennings shot 8-of-23 and Monta Ellis was 5-of-14. The Bucks' guards combined to shoot 36 of 99 (.364) in three games against Indiana.

QUOTABLE III: "No comment. I will let the league handle that."
-- Bucks Coach Scott Skiles on the Larry Sanders ejection.

GOOD MOVE: When Paul George picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter, Vogel left his young shooting guard in the game and the move paid dividends, as George had consecutive buckets in a six-point surge that pushed the lead to 76-62 while hounding Ellis, defensively.

BAD MOVE: After picking up a technical foul for protesting a call with 3:49 left, Sanders drove through Granger, who was attempting to set a baseline screen, and picked up his sixth foul 20 seconds later. He protested again, picked up a second technical and was tossed but did not leave the floor until repeatedly trying to engage several players including West, Hill and Granger.

NOTABLE: All five Indiana starters scored in double figures for the 11th time this season. The Pacers are 10-1 in those games. ... Hansbrough and former teammate Dunleavy tangled for the second time this season with 9:03 remaining. Dunleavy was hip-checked out of bounds on a drive by Leandro Barbosa. He fell hard on top of Hansbrough but the players were quickly separated. Originally given a flagrant-2 foul, which would've resulted in an ejection, Barbosa's penalty was reduced to a type 1 after the officials reviewed the play. ... Granger made all 11 of his free throws to run his streak to 39. ... George became the seventh player in the league this season to amass 100 steals. ... The Pacers had a streak of nine straight sub-100-point games by opponents snapped, but scored at least 100 for the seenth straight game and 12th in 13. ... Hill started his seventh game in a row at the point, as Darren Collison remained sidelined by a sore groin. ... Milwaukee was without forward Ersan Ilyasova, who sustained a bruised right thigh late in the Bucks' 121-110 loss to Washington Wednesday. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute started in his place.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, Saturday vs. Philadelphia, Monday vs. Detroit, Wednesday vs. Chicago. For the Bucks, Saturday vs. New Jersey, Monday vs. Toronto, Wednesday vs. Philadelphia.

• Bucks: Brown, Ilyasova
• Pacers: Collison, Foster

• Bucks: Sanders, Sanders
• Pacers: Granger, West

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #26 Pat Fraher, #54 Nick Buchert
• Attendance: 12453
• Duration: 2:23