Pacers-76ers Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Feb 06 2013 10:30AM

The Indiana Pacers' lengthy home winning streak is still alive, but the Central Division leaders now have to figure out how to get a 'W' outside of Indianapolis.

Indiana will try to get that done Wednesday night when it concludes the NBA's only back-to-back-to-back set against a Philadelphia 76ers team that will be without Thaddeus Young for a while.

After defeating visiting Chicago 111-101 on Monday in a makeup game from a Dec. 26 blizzard that hit Indianapolis, the Pacers (30-19) won their 15th straight at home on Tuesday, 114-103 over Atlanta. It's the club's longest surge at home since the 1999-2000 season.

Indiana won't get much time to enjoy that victory with the 76ers (21-26) up next, followed by a return home against Toronto on Friday.

"You definitely feel it," Paul George said Tuesday after scoring a game-high 29 points. "I felt it tonight, really. But once the game starts going, everything goes out the window."

The Pacers have won four in a row overall to move a season-best 11 games above .500, but they've dropped three straight and seven of nine on the road.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, has won three in a row to improve to 4-1 on an eight-game homestand.

However, the Pacers may have caught a break in their first visit to Wells Fargo Center this season after the 76ers learned Tuesday that Young will be out for three weeks with a left hamstring strain. The injury occurred in Monday's 78-61 victory over Orlando.

Lavoy Allen and rookie Arnett Moultrie will likely get the bulk of Young's minutes alongside center Spencer Hawes and Evan Turner. Coach Doug Collins is going to need all of them to step up against Indiana's talented frontcourt of George, David West and Roy Hibbert, which combined for 61 points and helped the Pacers outrebound the 76ers 48-36 in a 95-85 home victory Dec. 14.

"I've always felt Thad was our most important player," said Collins, whose team hasn't won four straight since April. "He gives you speed out on the break. We're a team that struggles to score. When we take away some easy baskets from us, we're going to have to do a better job executing and we're going to have to shoot the ball better."

The 76ers are averaging 86.3 points on 44.8 percent shooting during their winning streak. Improving on the offensive end could be tough against a Pacers team holding opponents to an average of 90.4 points on 42.1 percent shooting - both Eastern Conference bests.

Indiana, though, has given up 100 or more points in five of the last seven games as it has leaned more on its offense. The Pacers are scoring 106.0 points per game - 13.2 more than their season average - during their last six.

West leads the club in that span with 21.5 points per game, followed by George (20.2) and George Hill (16.3 points, 5.8 assists).

Hill recorded his first triple-double on Dec. 14 with 15 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, but he didn't have to face Jrue Holiday, who was sidelined with a sprained foot. Holiday leads the 76ers with 19.3 points per game and 9.0 assists, both career highs.

Indiana won 102-97 in its last road game against the 76ers on April 17. These teams have alternated wins and losses in the last seven matchups in Philadelphia.

Hibbert leads Pacers over 76ers, 88-69

By ROB MAADDI
Posted Feb 06 2013 10:03PM

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Weary or not, the Indiana Pacers found the energy to beat the Philadelphia 76ers.

Roy Hibbert had 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Pacers to an 88-69 victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

The Central Division-leading Pacers won their third game in three nights. Paul George, George Hill and David West each scored 15 for the Pacers, the only team to play back-to-back-to-back games this season.

"We got in here before the game and we just looked each other in the eyes, and I knew it," George said of a team meeting. "I knew we had to go out, fight for each other, rely on each other and do everything possible to get a win."

Indiana has won five in a row overall to move a season-best 12 games above .500. The Pacers snapped a three-game road losing streak and won for just the third time in 10 games away from home.

"We got ourselves up for this one in the locker room before the game," West said. "We had to. A lot of guys didn't have a lot out there physically, and we had to lean on each other. But we did that, we relied on defense, and slowing the game down, and we got it done."

Jrue Holiday had 17 points for the Sixers, who saw their season-best three-game winning streak end.

Rookie Arnett Moultrie had a season-high 12 points and Lavoy Allen added 12.

"We looked like a team that played 10 games in 10 nights," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "That's the kind of energy we had tonight. We were not mentally into the game."

Moultrie, a first-round pick, has been a deep reserve this season. He got extended action because forward Thad Young was injured on Monday night.

The Pacers broke it open in third quarter with a 9-0 run. Hill hit a 3-pointer and George finished it off with a pair of free throws to make it 48-36.

Minutes later, George threw down a dunk off an alley-oop pass from Hibbert for a 54-42 lead. The Sixers didn't get any closer than nine points the rest of the way.

"Our tanks were on E, but our team is a very, very mentally tough team. And we proved it tonight," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "It never felt like it was easy during the game. Philly plays extremely hard and they are very, very well coached. Obviously they are undermanned. You have to call it like it is. But they still have to go out and win, and they still have an All-Star running the show for them, and I'm proud of our guys for getting the win."

The teams combined for 33 points and shot 28.6 percent (16 for 56) in the first quarter. It didn't get much better in the second.

Dorell Wright made the play of the night midway through the quarter after blocking Tyler Hansbrough's shot at the defensive end. He followed it up with a no-look alley-oop pass to Moultrie for a slam to electrify the sparse crowd at the Wells Fargo Center.

West hit a jumper to send the Pacers into halftime up 37-34.

Notes: The Pacers played three straight games because of a makeup against Chicago on Monday night. ... Young is expected to miss three weeks with his left hamstring injury. ... Sixers guard Jason Richardson went to New York to get a third opinion on his injured left knee. Collins said he couldn't comment on a report that Richardson will have season-ending knee surgery. ... The Sixers fell to 4-2 during an eight-game homestand. ... Indiana is 23-2 when allowing less than 80 points.

Notebook: Pacers 88, 76ers 69

Andy Jasner, For NBA.com
Posted Wed Feb 06, 2013 10:41 PM - Updated Wed Feb 06, 2013 10:41 PM

THE FACTS: Roy Hibbert scored 18 points and swept 14 rebounds, leading four Indiana Pacers in double figures en route to an impressive 88-69 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Paul George, David West and George Hill scored 15 points each for the Pacers, who improved to 31-19 and won on three consecutive nights. Because of a rescheduled game, the Pacers had to play Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. They responded with victories over the Bulls, Hawks and Sixers. Overall, the Pacers have now won five straight games.

Jrue Holiday led the Sixers with 19 points while rookie Arnett Moultrie scored a career-high 12 points. Lavoy Allen also had 12 for the Sixers, who fell to 21-27 and had their three-game winning streak snapped. Philadelphia is 4-2 on this season-long eight-game homestand. It was a season-low in points for the Sixers.

QUOTABLE: "We were not mentally into the game."

-- Sixers coach Doug Collins

THE STAT: The Sixers shot just 34.4 percent (31-for-90) and attempted just seven total free throws, converting five.

TURNING POINT: After building a 59-48 lead through three quarters, the Pacers never let up and continued pushing ahead. They never allowed the Sixers to make a run and the result was a gritty road victory.

HOT: Hill knocked down 7 of his 11 shots for the Pacers.

NOT: Virtually every player on the Sixers had an off night. Holiday was 7-for-22, Nick Young was 4-for-13, Spencer Hawes was 3-for-13 and Evan Turner missed 9 of his 10 shots.

QUOTABLE II: "I thought we came in with a good game plan. We executed and stayed within ourselves. I thought this was a sign of a veteran team because it was our third game in three nights. We just came to play and treated it like any other game. I was really proud of our entire team to come away with a huge win like this."

-- Roy Hibbert

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Hibbert had 18 points, 14 rebounds, five blocked shots and one assist. George added 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals.

INSIDE THE ARENA: The crowd of 15,299 was relatively quiet much of the night, especially with the Sixers playing so poorly for large stretches. There wasn't much to cheer about against the surging Pacers.

QUOTABLE III: "We got good shots. We didn't knock them down."

-- Jrue Holiday

GOOD MOVE: The Pacers extended their defense way out on the perimeter and it caused problems for the Sixers. Indiana's defense was terrific all night and it altered shots the entire night.

BAD MOVE: The Sixers didn't penetrate enough into the lane. They worked the shot clock too much and ended up taking a lot of difficult shots.

ROOKIE WATCH: Pacers guard Orlando Johnson had eight points and three rebounds, while guard Ben Hansbrough received a DNP-CD. For the Sixers, Moultrie was effective with 12 points and three rebounds in 20:42.

NOTABLE: The Sixers played without guard Jason Richardson (left knee synovitis) and forward Thaddeus Young, who will be sidelined for at least three weeks with a strained left hamstring. Richardson traveled to New York Wednesday morning for a third opinion from Dr. Jonathan Glashow at Mount Sinai Hospital. ... The 69 points by the Sixers is their lowest total since compiling 67 at New Jersey on April 5, 2009. Over the past four games, the Sixers are averaging 82 points. ... The Sixers are 2-23 when failing to outshoot their opponent this season. ... Philadelphia has shot fewer than 10 free throws in four of the last five games. ... Hibbert registered his 11th double-double of the season. ... The Pacers had 20 assists and nine turnovers. ... Over the past four games, Allen is averaging 10 points on 55.6 percent shooting. ... Holiday has had more turnovers than assists in two of the last three games.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, Friday vs. Toronto, Monday vs. Brooklyn, Wednesday vs. Charlotte. For the Sixers, Saturday vs. Charlotte, Monday vs. L.A. Clippers, Wednesday @ Milwaukee.

• Pacers: Granger, Plumlee
• 76ers: Bynum, Young

• Pacers: --
• 76ers: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
• Officials: #41 Ken Mauer, #18 Matt Boland, #72 JT Orr
• Attendance: 15299
• Duration: 1:59