Player of the Game
DANNY GRANGER
Scored 26 points, including a pair of 3-pointers that gave the Pacers a 12-point cushion in the fourth quarter before leaving the game after taking a blow to the cheek in the final minute.
Plus-Minus
Name Game Season
Dunleavy +13 -64
Ford DNP -173
Foster DNP -9
Granger -2 -125
Hansbrough DNP -56
Head DNP +7
Hibbert +2 -32
D. Jones -3 -229
S. Jones +10 -142
McRoberts DNP -64
Murphy -2 -373
Price +3 +15
Rush +8 -241
Watson -4 -209
Noteworthy
  • The Pacers' win tonight gives them the outright win of the season series, 2-1, against the Bobcats and it has won two games in a row against Charlotte for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
  • The Pacers have won three in a row at Conseco Fieldhouse for the first time since winning their first four home games of 2010 (Jan. 2 to Jan. 13).
  • Indiana shot just 41.0 percent from the floor to Charlotte's 46.5 percent FGS, but the Pacers outscored the Bobcats from the field, 76-69, as they had 12 more shot attempts than the opposition had hit five more 3-pt FGS (8-3).
  • Tonight's win is the Pacers' eighth (8-30) against a team with a record at, or above, .500.
  • Tonight's win is also the Pacers' fourth of the season (4-29) in a game in which they did not score 100 points.
  • Mike Dunleavy's bench-high 15 points tied the high of his last 27 appearances and ended a streak of 10 straight games in single digits.
    • Hustle Board
    Points in the paint:
    Bobcats 40, Pacers 32
    Second-chance points:
    Pacers 13, Bobcats 13
    Fast-break points:
    Bobcats 21, Pacers 14
    Points off turnovers:
    Pacers 22, Bobcats 9
    Starters scoring:
    Bobcats 72, Pacers 61
    Bench scoring:
    Pacers 38, Bobcats 22
    Stat of the Night
    With 15 points including three 3-pointers, Mike Dunleavy scored in double figures and made multiple 3-pointers for the first time since Feb. 19 at New Orleans.
    Up Next
    The Pacers travel to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers Wednesday (7 p.m., Fox Sports Indiana, 1070 The Fan).
    Related links
  • Blog replay
  • Video
  • Box score
  • Recap
    • More Video: Granger gets it to go | Granger with the steal and score
    END RESULT
    A much-needed 99-94 victory over a quality opponent produced an uneasy feeling for the Pacers as leading scorer Danny Granger was knocked from the game in the final minute and did not accompany the team to Cleveland for Wednesday night's game.

    Granger scored a game-high 26 points, including a pair of 3-pointers that gave the Pacers a 12-point cushion heading into the final three minutes. But Charlotte scored nine in a row, a run that concluded after Granger took a blow to the cheekbone battling for an offensive rebound with just under a minute left, wobbled toward the bench and dropped to the floor before being escorted to the locker room for evaluation by the team's medical staff.

    Stephen Graham's three-point play made it 97-94 with 56.3 seconds left and the Bobcats got the ball back with a chance to tie. But Troy Murphy stepped in front of Tyrus Thomas in the lane to steal a pass and A.J. Price sealed the verdict with a pair of free throws that closed out the scoring.

    IMPACT
    The Pacers won their third in a row at home to improve to 22-45 overall, 15-16 at Conseco Fieldhouse. They snapped Charlotte's win streak at six games, one short of the longest in franchise history, while preventing the Bobcats (34-32) from matching last season's win total of 35 games. Charlotte dropped to 10-24 on the road.

    QUOTEWORTHY
  • “Good win against a good basketball team. We didn’t execute down the stretch against pressure and we didn’t space the court, but we’ll take the W." – Jim O'Brien
  • "Danny got hit in the upper cheek, is being evaluated and will not play tomorrow." – O'Brien on Granger
  • “I thought we just got out there and dug it out. And we will take this victory. We needed it. We got good play on both ends of the court. We came together, played together because we do have a good group of guys and we have been in a little bit of a funk." – Mike Dunleavy
  • “We had great effort from the whole group. We’ve got to give credit to everybody because everybody contributed. We got a great effort from Mike off the bench tonight and that helped carry us." – Troy Murphy
  • “This is still a young team that’s growing and we tend to get away from what’s important and what’s at stake. At this point, this is the playoffs for us already because we have to win every game. The race is so close you have to approach every game like the playoffs." – Charlotte forward Stephen Jackson

    KEY MOMENTS
    With a big lift from the bench, the Pacers took control in the second quarter, scoring 14 in a row to take a 38-29 lead. After the Bobcats closed to 41-37, the Pacers scored nine unanswered points and took a 52-43 lead into the break.

    Dunleavy hit a pair of 3-pointers in a 14-4 third-quarter run that gave the Pacers their biggest lead of the game, 70-55, and they led by the same margin, 89-74, with 6:32 remaining. But Jackson scored seven in a row as the Bobcats cut the deficit to 91-83 before Granger's two 3-pointers appeared to seal it, putting the Pacers ahead 97-85 with 3:11 remaining.

    Granger was injured after missing on a hard drive to the basket. Dahntay Jones elevated over Granger in an attempt to dunk the putback but missed and as the players from both teams contested the rebound, Granger emerged from the scrum in obvious discomfort.

    BY THE NUMBERS
    Granger shot 9-of-25 from the floor, including 3-of-9 from the 3-point line, adding eight rebounds and two assists but committing five turnovers. Murphy had a solid all-around game with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 13 rebounds for his 29th double-double, five assists and two steals. Dunleavy had 15 points, making 3-of-6 from the 3-point line, and Price scored 11 with three rebounds and three assists off the bench. The Pacers shot just 41 percent but pulled 15 offensive rebounds and forced 19 turnovers to wind up attempting 12 more shots than the Bobcats.

    Jackson was 8-of-22 for his 20 points, adding nine rebounds, six assists, three steals, two blocks and six turnovers for the Bobcats. Boris Diaw scored 20 with five rebounds and four assists and Graham had 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, adding eight rebounds.

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