Player of the Game TYLER HANSBROUGH First-round pick from North Carolina had a very strong NBA debut with 13 points, making 7-of-10 from the free-throw line, and pulling five rebounds in just under 14 minutes of playing time.

Plus-Minus Name Min. +/- Name Min. +/- Travis Diener DNP --- Mike Dunleavy DNP --- T.J. Ford 40:01 +14 Jeff Foster DNP --- Danny Granger 36:20 +11 Tyler Hansbrough 13:49 +5 Luther Head DNP --- Roy Hibbert 27:52 +13 Dahntay Jones 40:22 +19 Solomon Jones 20:08 +3 Josh McRoberts 3:15 -4 Troy Murphy DNP --- A.J. Price 11:25 +1 Brandon Rush 14:48 +14 Earl Watson 32:00 +4

Hustle Board Points in the paint: Wizards 38, Pacers 36 Fast-break points: Pacers 23, Wizards 6 Second-chance points: Wizards 20, Pacers 11 Points off turnovers: Pacers 22, Wizards 11 Bench scoring: Wizards 35, Pacers 30

Stat of the Night After going without a double-double through his rookie season, Roy Hibbert produced his third in a row with 12 points and 11 rebounds. In those three games, he has 41 points (13.7), 37 rebounds (12.3) and 11 blocked shots (3.67).

News & Notes With a season-high 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, T.J. Ford registered his first ever points/rebounds double-double. As a team, the Pacers had 10 blocked shots, tying their most this season Dahntay Jones led the Pacers with a career-high tying five assists tonight. Including a season-high tying four from Danny Granger, the Pacers had a season-high tying 12 steals tonight. Four of Indiana's five starters had at least two steals tonight, including Brandon Rush, who had two in just under 15 minutes before leaving the game with a sprained ankle. The Pacers have had four players with multiple steals in each of the last two home games and they have had a season-high 12 thefts in each of those two contests. The Indiana starters had 10 steals and just eight turnovers. Gilbert Arenas's ninth point tonight was the 10,000th of his NBA career. He is the 294th player in NBA history to record 10,000 career points. The Wizards' Brendan Haywood collected a career-high 19 rebounds tonight, including a career-best 11 defensive boards. The Pacers had a season-low 13 turnovers and scored a season-high 22 points off the Wizards' 19 turnovers, which tie the most by a Pacers' opponent this season. New York also had 19 turnovers against the Pacers on Wednesday. With season-highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds, Caron Butler notched his second straight double-double for Washington. The Pacers' 36 free throw attempts and their 27 free throws made are both season-highs.

Up Next After four days off, the Pacers return to action Wednesday against Stephen Jackson and the Golden State Warriors in Conseco Fieldhouse (7 p.m., Fox Sports Indiana, 1070 The Fan).

Related links Live game blog | Photo gallery | Box score | Recap

Nov. 6, 2009 at Conseco Fieldhouse
Pacers 102, Wizards 86

By Conrad Brunner

He didn't dominate the game. That's hard to do in less than 14 minutes.

He wasn't the best player on the floor. Not even close.

But Tyler Hansbrough's NBA debut could hardly be categorized as anything other than a rousing success and certainly was the highlight of the Pacers' methodical 102-86 rout of the Washington Wizards Friday in the 10th anniversary of their first game in Conseco Fieldhouse.

Limited to no more than 16 minutes as the team's medical staff takes a measured approach to his return after missing more than three months with a shin injury, Hansbrough did about as much as could be expected -- 13 points, five rebounds, 7-of-10 free-throw shooting, three fouls and a few bodies from both teams left strewn on the floor.

"I had a couple of jitters it being my first time on the NBA stage," Hansbrough said. "I just tried to get in the flow of the game. I got to attack the rim, I was aggressive and I got to the foul line. I think we can keep improving."

Hansbrough received rousing ovations each time he entered the game -- officially, his debut game with 4:31 left in the first quarter. He was not only a crowd favorite, but already is popular with his teammates, if for no other reason than they are not on the receiving end of his punishing play.

"We had all been waiting to see Tyler play," said Danny Granger. "We've seen him play in practice and know how aggressive he is. They got a taste of it tonight. It was a lot of fun.

"He's like a big-man linebacker. He's going to get from point A to point B and take some people along with him in the process. ... He's so physical, he's one of those guys you definitely want on your team."

The Pacers (2-3) won their second in a row much as they won their first, with solid defense and timely offense. They limited the Wizards (2-4) to .393 shooting while forcing 19 turnovers, blocking 10 shots and coming up with 12 steals.

“It was a great effort by our team," said Coach Jim O'Brien. "When you hold them under 25 every quarter you are doing something. The first thing we wrote on the board for the players when they came in was ‘maintain defensive intensity.’ "

Their two victories are most encouraging because of how they were accomplished. They didn't ride hot shooting or explosive offensive runs. Granger scored 22 points but shot 7-of-21 (3-of-11 from the arc). As a team, the Pacers shot just 40 percent but they had strong balance.

Dahntay Jones scored 18 with five rebounds, five assists and two steals; T.J. Ford had an odd double-double for a 5-10 point guard with 10 rebounds to go along with 18 points; Roy Hibbert had his third straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, adding five blocked shots.

“Winning solves a lot of problems in this league," said Ford. "We’re still getting familiar with each other and the system. Everybody’s role is evolving."

The Wizards were led by Caron Butler with 24 and 12 rebounds. Gilbert Arenas scored just 13 on 5-of-10 shooting.

About the only negative from the night for the Pacers were the additions of Brandon Rush and Luther Head to a burgeoning injured list.

Rush sprained his right ankle in the second quarter and did not return. Head was unable to play because of an ankle that has bothered him since training camp. They joined Troy Murphy (back), Jeff Foster (ankle), Mike Dunleavy (knee) and Travis Diener (toe).

But they did get one important piece of the puzzle back, hopefully for good.

"It feels great," said Hansbrough. "It’s not any fun watching from the sidelines. It was good to finally get out there."