Player of the Game
ROY HIBBERT
Brought an offensive spark off the bench, scoring 21 points on 10-of-18 shooting in 28 minuutes, adding six rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.
Plus-Minus
Name Game Season
Diener DNP -9
Dunleavy -3 -33
Ford DNP -203
Foster DNP -9
Granger -9 -58
Hansbrough DNP -56
Head -7 +7
Hibbert -3 -78
D. Jones -18 -171
S. Jones DNP -133
McRoberts DNP -20
Murphy -26 -254
Price -3 -11
Rush -25 -146
Watson -16 -73
Noteworthy
  • Employing his 18th lineup of the season, Coach Jim O'Brien started Earl Watson, Brandon Rush, Dahntay Jones, Danny Granger and Troy Murphy.
  • This was the 12th game in which the Pacers started a small lineup with just one big man, and their record dropped to 7-5.
  • Tyler Hansbrough (inner ear infection) missed his sixth straight game and 13th in 17, and Jeff Foster (back) missed his 20th in a row.
  • The Pacers shot 25 percent from the 3-point line and dropped to 3-21 when they shoot less than 33 percent.
  • The Pacers also dropped to 3-22 when they fail to score at least 100 points.
  • With just five rebounds, Troy Murphy had a streak of five consecutive double-doubles snapped.
    • Hustle Board
    Points in the paint:
    Lakers 54, Pacers 32
    Fast-break points:
    Lakers 24, Pacers 13
    Second-chance points:
    Pacers 12, Lakers 12
    Points off turnovers:
    Lakers 16, Pacers 9
    Starters scoring:
    Lakers 87, Pacers 57
    Bench scoring:
    Pacers 39, Lakers 31
    Stat of the Night
    Though he contributed little (two points, two rebounds), Ron Artest picked up just his third victory in 14 career games against the Pacers.
    Up Next
    After facing the defending champions tonight, the Pacers host the top team in the Eastern Conference Friday when LeBron James and the Cavaliers come to town. (7 p.m., Fox Sports Indiana, 1070 The Fan).
    Related links
  • Blog replay
  • Video
  • Box score
  • Recap
    • END RESULT
    Small lineup, big lineup, it didn't matter. The Lakers were simply too much for the Pacers.

    Kobe Bryant scored 29 points and flirted with a triple-double and Andrew Bynum dominated things inside with 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting as the Lakers pulled away in the second half and cruised to a 118-96 victory over the Pacers before a sellout crowd of 18,165 Wednesday in Conseco Fieldhouse.

    Starting a small lineup for the second game in a row, the Pacers stuck around in the first half but couldn't keep up with a Lakers team playing its fifth road game in seven nights.

    IMPACT
    The Pacers dropped to 16-30 overall and lost their third straight home game to fall to 10-12 in the friendly confines. The Lakers had dropped seven of 10 in Conseco Fieldhouse but improved to 35-11 overall, 12-8 on the road.

    QUOTEWORTHY
  • “They’re a great basketball team. I’m stating the very obvious. They were just too much for us." -- Jim O'Brien
  • "He got off on Troy (Murphy) then when Roy (Hibbert) came in he got off on Roy." -- O'Brien on Andrew Bynum
  • “We played them pretty well the first half, but we couldn’t get it going and let them beat us up on the boards in the second half. Roy played Bynum pretty well. Roy had a very good game. We just didn’t have the run in it to get us back in there and get the game to our side. They’re a great team.” -- Murphy
  • "He is a big guy and by playing against him I did learn. I can play against big or small lineups." -- Hibbert on Bynum
  • "I don’t know if Jim (O’Brien) was baiting us by starting Murphy at center. It was impossible for them to cover Pau (Gasol) and Andrew. We had to find a way to move our offense to get it into them." -- Lakers Coach Phil Jackson
  • "I thought he played hard in the post. He had a good first half against us." -- Jackson on Hibbert
  • "We kept in mind the game from last year. We were up 16 points, I think, in the fourth quarter. And we ended up losing. We kept that thought in our heads. The Pacers really play well here and they can put runs together. That makes them real dangerous.” -- Gasol
  • "We picked up the pressure. We knew Danny was capable of coming out for a big second half. We were fortunate enough to have him in a little foul trouble early on. " -- Ron Artest on the second half

    KEY MOMENTS
    Bynum dominated the game early, making his first eight shots and scoring 22 in the first half but the Pacers got solid early contributions from Hibbert, Granger and Murphy, who had 11 apiece in the half as Indiana trailed just 59-56 at the break.

    O'Brien switched to a traditional lineup to start the second half but the Lakers turned to Bryant and Gasol and began pulling away. A nine-point run late in the third pushed the advantage to 92-76. The Pacers closed to 96-87 with 8:56 left in the fourth quarter on a post-up by Hibbert but the Lakers answered with an eight-point run that included Granger's fifth foul and the rout was on.

    BY THE NUMBERS
    Hibbert's 21 came on 10-of-18 shooting, and he added six rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Murphy scored 18 on 8-of-15 shooting but had just five rebounds. Granger scored 14 and attempted just eight shots. Brandon Rush had 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds but shot 5-of-15. The Pacers shot .419 overall and were just 7-of-28 from the 3-point line. They were outrebounded 62-42, including 32-19 in the second half.

    Bryant shot 10-of-15 overall, including 3-of-4 from the 3-point line, adding nine rebounds and seven assists to his 29 points. Bynum was 12-of-14 from the field for 27 points, with 12 rebounds. Gasol scored 21 with 13 rebounds and Lamar Odom had 12 points and 14 rebounds. The Lakers shot .454 and outscored the Pacers 25-11 from the free-throw line.


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