Bobcats-Pacers Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jan 11 2013 11:59PM

Paul George and the Central Division-leading Indiana Pacers are starting to look more and more like serious contenders with each passing game.

A visit from the Charlotte Bobcats isn't likely to slow them down.

Indiana tries to win 10 straight at home for the first time in 10 seasons and avenge a rare loss to the Bobcats as the teams square off Saturday night.

Although they got off to a slow start - including a 90-89 loss at Charlotte (9-26) in their second game of the season Nov. 2 - the Pacers (22-14) have picked up plenty of steam lately. Indiana enters the weekend having won 12 of 15 - including nine in a row on its own court.

The Pacers haven't strung together 10 straight wins in Indianapolis since a 14-game run in 2002-03.

"We want to compete for the one and two (seeds) and for sure want to compete for the No. 1 spot," George said. "We probably could be pushing one or two if we would have started off playing the way we're playing right now."

Yielding an NBA-low 89.1 points per game, the Pacers have given up an even more impressive 82.0 during their home winning streak. Two nights after limiting Miami to its fewest points this season in an 87-77 win, Indiana shut down New York in an 81-76 victory Thursday.

"It's good that we got those wins," George said. "They are great quality wins against two great teams in the East right now. Everybody takes great pride in guarding their guys. Nobody wants to get scored on, on this team."

George had 29 points and 11 rebounds against the Heat, then compiled 24 and 11 to go along with a career-high six steals and five assists against the Knicks. The emerging star, in his third season in the league, is averaging 22.8 points over his last 13 games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

"He is just blossoming in front of our eyes with special performance after special performance after special performance," coach Frank Vogel said of George. "He's leading our defense, which is becoming a beast and our guys are embracing that identity."

The Pacers, who had their nine-game winning streak in this series snapped in November, have taken seven straight from the Bobcats at home, outscoring them by an average of 28.5 points in two meetings there last season.

Charlotte also couldn't stay close Friday against Toronto as it kicked off a three-game trek with a 99-78 loss - its 21st defeat in 23 games. Ben Gordon, Kemba Walker and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 12 points apiece for the Bobcats, who never got back into it after entering the second quarter down 29-16.

"We've got to give ourselves a better chance to compete early in the game," Gordon said. "We can't start out by spotting teams double-digit figures and then trying to climb back. It's too hard to do and we don't have that kind of team."

With his club giving up a league-high 103.9 points per game, coach Mike Dunlap is considering going with a different lineup Saturday.

"We just have to find guys who can start us and get us going, especially on the defensive end," he said.

Walker is averaging a team-high 17.6 points but has put up just 13.6 over his last seven games. He scored 30 against Indiana earlier this season.

The Pacers and Bobcats meet again Tuesday in Charlotte.

Hill scores 19 as Pacers beat Bobcats 96-88

By KAREEM COPELAND
Posted Jan 12 2013 11:50PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Playing without their top offensive player, Indiana seemed assured of a low-scoring game against the Charlotte Bobcats. It appeared more certain when the Pacers missed their first 10 shots.

However, George Hill scored 19 points, D.J. Augustin had a season high-tying 18 and Indiana rallied to beat the Bobcats 96-88 Saturday night for its fourth straight win. Lance Stephenson added 17 points and David West had 14 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists for his first triple-double.

"That was a really good win," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "A lot of guys stepped up, in particular David West with a triple-double."

The Central Division-leading Pacers, missing leading scorer Paul George (illness), won for the sixth time in seven games.

The Pacers, the NBA's second-lowest scoring offense coming in, struggled at the start as the Bobcats jumped out to a 10-1 lead with Gerald Henderson knocking down a pair of midrange jumpers.

"We struggled to score early, but give them credit, they're a competitive team," Vogel said. "They were doubling David every time he touched the ball, so we knew that would open up some 3s."

Ben Gordon scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Bobcats, and Kemba Walker had 16 on 5-for-9 shooting. Hakim Warrick added 13 points and seven rebounds while Henderson had 12 points on 6-for-12 shooting.

Gordon also got off to a good start, scoring nine points on 3-for-3 shooting and two free throws in the first quarter. Charlotte shot 52 percent from the field in the opening period.

Stephenson also had nine points in the first quarter for Indiana, shooting 4 for 5, to pull the Pacers to 24-23 after 12 minutes.

The Pacers shot 33 percent from the field in the first half, but had six 3-pointers while trailing 45-43 at halftime. Gerald Green hit two 3s, including one in transition, Orlando Johnson knocked one down from the right wing, and Augustin - shooting 28.8 percent from behind the arc coming in - made two.

Six of the Pacers' seven second-quarter field goals came from 3-point range.

"We just did our best to fill in with Paul George out," West said.

Warrick's 17-footer with 5.8 seconds left gave Charlotte the two-point edge at the break.

Bismack Biyomobo and Warrick led the way for the Broncos early in the third as they pushed the lead to 56-51. Indiana, however, answered with a 13-2 run to go up 64-56, and the Pacers didn't trail again.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist knocked down a short jumper to pull the Bobcats within three points when the Pacers went on a 11-3 run that included a one-handed power dunk from Stephenson and a 3 in the corner from Hill.

Stephenson put the crowd on their feet for a final ovation with a fast-break dunk in the final seconds.

"I was pleased, in particular, with our defense in the first half," Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap said. "We played them pretty evenly on the boards. But the disparity in the offensive rebounds was the difference in the game."

The Pacers have relied on the league's best defense as the offense finds its way. The Bobcats became the sixth opponent in seven games Indiana held to fewer than 90 points.

"They were able to hit a lot of tough shots," Gordon said. "We played them down to the stretch and they were making some tough baskets, and we weren't able to get the stops we needed in the crunch."

NOTES: The Pacers had 17 offensive rebounds while the Bobcats had nine. ... Newly signed forward Dominic McGuire started in place of George.

Notebook: Pacers 96, Bobcats 88

Conrad Brunner, for NBA.com
Posted Sat Jan 12, 2013 10:25 PM - Updated Sun Jan 13, 2013 12:41 AM

THE FACTS: In the absence of one of the game's hottest young players, the Pacers turned to their reliable veteran. With Paul George sidelined by the flu, David West produced the first triple-double of his career with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as Indiana fought off a determined effort by Charlotte, 96-88, Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It was the 10th consecutive home win for the Pacers (23-14), matching their longest such streak since the 2002-03 season. George Hill scored 19 and former Bobcat D.J. Augustin matched his season-high with 18 for Indiana, which also got 17 from Lance Stephenson. Ben Gordon scored 21 off the bench to lead Charlotte (9-27), which lost for the 22nd time in 24 games, while Kemba Walker scored 16.

QUOTABLE: "They were doubling David just about every time he touched the ball and we knew that would open up some things for our 3-point shooters."
-- Indiana coach Frank Vogel.

THE STAT: Of West's 10 assists, six came on 3-pointers.

TURNING POINT: Charlotte trailed just 76-75 midway through the fourth period but Hill scored seven and Stephenson four in an 11-3 run that pushed Indiana's lead to 87-78. West assisted on Stephenson's dunk as well as Hill's corner 3-pointer in that run. He then found Augustin for a clock-beating 3-pointer that made it 90-82 with 1:17 remaining, and whipped a long lead pass to Stephenson for a runout dunk that made it 94-86 with 44.5 seconds remaining.

QUOTABLE II: "I've been close to a triple-double a bunch of times and finally pushed it through tonight."
-- West.

HOT: Stephenson hit 8 of 13 shots, adding seven rebounds and four steals to a solid all-around performance. Gordon hit 9 of 14 for the Bobcats, scing his 21 points in less than 26 minutes. Walker hit 5 of 9 shots. Augustin played a major role in sinking his former team, scoring seven of the Pacers' final nine points. He also hit 4 of 8 from the 3-point line. Charlotte center Bismack Biyombo hit all four of his shots.

NOT: In his first start with the Pacers, Dominic McGuire played 6½ scoreless minutes, missing all three of his shots, and did not return. Gerald Green shot 3 of 12, including 2 of 8 from the 3-point line.

QUOTABLE III: "We couldn't stop them. We were doubling them. David West is a really good passer and he was finding guys and kind of put is in rotations. It was tough to get it back to really close because they were still scoring."
-- Charlotte's Gerald Henderson.

GOOD MOVE: Vogel opted to keep Ian Mahinmi in the game throughout the fourth quarter instead of starter Roy Hibbert because the backup center has greater agility and mobility to defend Walker on the pick-and-roll. Walker hit just two buckets in the fourth quarter, both jumpers, and did little damage in the lane.

BAD MOVE: Starting McGuire turned out to be a mistake. With the team less than a week, the journeyman was obviously pressing to make an impression. With the Pacers disjointed out of the gate, missing their first 11 shots, Charlotte bolted to a 10-1 lead.

NOTABLE: The Pacers had a 14-game home winning streak in the 2002-03 season. ... Indiana has won 13 of 16. ... Indiana shot 8 of 15 from the 3-point line in the first half but 3 of 13 in the second. ... The Pacers were 6 of 26 in the paint in the first half, but 13 of 16 in the second. ... George did not take the team flight to Brooklyn but Vogel did not rule out the possibility he could join the team Sunday in time for the 6 p.m. tip. ... Indiana thus became the sixth team McGuire has started for since entering the NBA in 2007 (his other starts were with the Wizards, Kings, Bobcats, Warriors and Raptors)... Charlotte coach Mike Dunlap shuffled his starting lineup, inserting Henderson in place of rookie Jeff Taylor to boost the offense. Henderson scored 12. ...The Bobcats led after the opening period (24-23) for the first time in five games. ... Stephenson tied his career high with four steals. ... Hibbert has 28 offensive rebounds in the last four games, including eight tonight. ... West's 10 assists tied a career high.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, Sunday @ Brooklyn, Tuesday @ Charlotte, Wednesday @ Orlando. For the Bobcats, Monday @ Boston, Tuesday vs. Indiana, Friday @ Orlando.

• Bobcats: Mullens
• Pacers: George, Granger

• Bobcats: --
• Pacers: Stephenson

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #56 Mark Ayotte, #60 James Williams
• Attendance: 13656
• Duration: 2:07