Player of the Game
ROY HIBBERT
Producing his third consecutive solid outing, Hibbert scored 21 points in 27 minutes, making 10-of-18 shots and adding seven rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.
Plus-Minus
Name Game Season
Diener DNP ---
Dunleavy +8 -66
Ford DNP -203
Foster DNP -9
Granger DNP -58
Hansbrough DNP -29
Head +6 +67
Hibbert -2 -58
D. Jones +11 -149
S. Jones 0 -82
McRoberts +6 +6
Murphy DNP -227
Price +7 +21
Rush +12 -52
Watson +7 -23
Noteworthy
  • Josh McRoberts earned the first start of his NBA career as Coach Jim O'Brien employed his 12th lineup with Earl Watson, Luther Head, Mike Dunleavy, McRoberts and Roy Hibbert.
  • With Watson ensconced as the starting point guard, A.J. Price has moved into the backup role. Former starter T.J. Ford is out of the rotation for the time being.
  • The Pacers were without Troy Murphy (ankle), Tyler Hansbrough (inner ear infection) and Jeff Foster (back). All three are expected to miss Sunday night's game in New York.
  • The Pacers' 73 points in the first half and 122 points in the game are season-highs.
  • With 21 points tonight, Roy Hibbert has scored 20+ points in two straight for the first time in his career.
  • Indiana tied a season-low with nine turnovers, but had seven of those in the second half.
    • Hustle Board
    Points in the paint:
    Pacers 48, Timberwolves 32
    Fast-break points:
    Pacers 11, Timberwolves 6
    Second-chance points:
    Timberwolves 24, Pacers 18
    Points off turnovers:
    Pacers 9, Timberwolves 7
    Starters scoring:
    Pacers 76, Timberwolves 67
    Bench scoring:
    Pacers 46, Timberwolves 44
    Stat of the Night
    The Pacers' starters outscored their counterparts (76-67) for the first time in nine games.
    Up Next
    The Pacers travel to New York to face Jonathan Bender, Al Harrington and the Knicks Sunday in New York (6 p.m., Fox Sports Indiana, WIBC-FM 93.1).
    Related links
  • Blog replay
  • Video
  • Box score
  • Recap
    • Jan. 2, 2010 at Conseco Fieldhouse
    Pacers 122, Timberwolves 111
    END RESULT
    Jim O'Brien unveiled not only his 12th lineup of the season but new rotation and the response was most encouraging as the Pacers played with great energy and chemistry in dominating most of the game, building a 29-point lead, before holding on in the face of a furious Minnesota rally in fourth quarter to pull out a 122-111 victory Saturday before 12,685 in Conseco Fieldhouse.

    Roy Hibbert and Luther Head scored 21 apiece to lead seven Pacers in double figures as O'Brien moved Josh McRoberts into the lineup (for his first career start), made Earl Watson the starting point guard and A.J. Price the backup.

    IMPACT
    The Pacers snapped their eight-game losing streak to improve to 10-22 overall, but they take a six-game road losing streak into New York Sunday night. Minnesota lost its fourth in a row to fall to 7-28 overall, 3-14 on the road.

    QUOTEWORTHY
  • “We got off to a great start, got into serious foul trouble and they got to the line too much in the third quarter. The tempo and ball movement got us the lead. 73 points is a great tempo. 30 assists and nine turnovers (for the game) is terrific." – Jim O'Brien.
  • "I thought it was really good. We had 15 assists and two turnovers." – O'Brien on the point guard play.
  • "We came out with good energy, didn’t have to dig ourselves out of a deep hole. We were having fun and playing good basketball. We tried to help each other on rebounding tonight, which opened up some paths for us." – Roy Hibbert.
  • "I can get myself mentally ready easier than physically. So now I just have to work on putting the two together. I stay in shape, lift weights and do a lot of running. But it is different when you are out there logging the time under game conditions." – Josh McRoberts on increased playing time.
  • "We just didn’t come to play tonight …We were stuck in mud." – Minnesota's Kevin Love.

    KEY MOMENTS
    The Pacers took control of the game with a dominant second quarter, opening the period with a 17-2 run to build a 49-28 lead and stretching it to a season-high 29 (73-44) late in the half. The Pacers outrebounded the Wolves 26-15 and committed just two turnovers in the half and beat them 12-0 on second-chance points.

    Minnesota turned the offensive rebounding around and starting marching to the line in the second half, outscoring the Pacers 15-5 on free throws in the third quarter, closing the period on a 20-6 run to trim the lead to 98-85 heading into the fourth.

    Leading 111-96 with 5:40 left, the Pacers had to withstand a late charge led by rookies Wayne Ellington and Jonny Flynn, who combined for all the points in a 12-2 run that cut it to 113-108 with 1:50 left. A three-point play by Kevin Love made it 115-111 with 52 seconds remaining but Hibbert found a cutting Earl Watson for a layup and a three-point play that pushed the lead to 118-111 and the Wolves wouldn't score again.

    BY THE NUMBERS
    Hibbert had another solid game with 21 points, seven rebounds four assists and three blocks. Head scored 12 of his 21 in the second half when the Pacers were searching for offense. He also had six assists and four rebounds. Brandon Rush scored 16, hitting 6-of-11 overall and 4-of-8 from the arc, off the bench. Mike Dunleavy scored 15 with eight rebounds. Watson had 12 points, nine assists (against two turnovers) and four rebounds. Dahntay Jones scored 12 off the bench and Solomon Jones added 10. Price had eight points and six assists without a turnover and McRoberts scored seven with eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals. The Pacers shot 49 percent and made 10-of-25 from the 3-point line but were outscored 26-16 from the free-throw line and were outrebounded 44-42. They did have 30 assists and just nine turnovers.

    Minnesota was led by Al Jefferson, who scored 23 with six rebounds. Love and Ellington scored 16 apiece, Flynn had 14 and Ramon Sessions 10. The T-Wolves shot 45 percent overall but were 5-of-17 from the 3-point line.

    •