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PACERS at BOSTON Saturday Noon, FleetCenter TV: ESPN, WB4 | RADIO: WIBC Pacers Notes | Celtics Notes |
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By John Clayton
April 24, 2004
Game 4 against the Boston Celtics could end a three-year string of playoff futility for the Pacers, who would finally advance to the second round for the first time since 2000 -- and do so in convincing fashion.
The top-seeded Pacers handed a proud Boston franchise its worst home playoff defeat (23 points) in Game 3 Friday night and are on the verge of sweeping Boston out of the playoffs. A loss in Game 4 today at Boston's FleetCenter would extend the Celtics' team record string of playoff losses to eight and put them on the losing end of their second consecutive playoff sweep. New Jersey swept Boston in the second round last year.
Indiana has refused to play the revenge card in this series, but sweeping Boston from the playoffs on its home floor would be the utmost in payback for last year's opening-round upset. While the Pacers appears to be hitting its stride, while the Celtics appear undermanned and, after three straight lopsided losses, demoralized.
"They have an answer for everything that I see right now," said Celtics Interim Coach John Carroll. "They have length. They have strength. They have depth. They have inside game, outside game. I know the focus is on what we weren't doing. I'm not trying to deflect that for one second. I'm just telling you, they are a really good, well-coached, disciplined, powerful basketball team and if you're not of the same calliber, they can make you look a little silly at times."
Each of the Pacers' three victories in the series has come by double digits (104-88 in Game 1, 103-90 in Game 2 and 108-85 in Game 3). In Game 3, the Pacers' bench proved dominant for the second straight contest, outscoring Boston's reserves 58-31. Al Harrington and Jonathan Bender came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points each, while Boston All-Star Paul Pierce was held to a career playoff-low nine points on 4 of 17 shooting. Since losing three playoff games in Boston a year ago, the Pacers are 3-0 at FleetCenter and have won those games by an average of 18.0 points.
Going down 3-0 on their home floor has created trying and desperate times for the Celtics, while creating a sense of security for the Pacers that they know could be dangerous heading into Game 4.
"I think we've got to have the same sense of urgency (for Game 4)," said Jermaine O'Neal. "We've got to come out and try to win and get some rest for the second round. Coming out and playing hard and doing what we're supposed to do on both ends of the floor will do that for us. I don't think anybody's content with going up 3-0. We put ourselves in a great position, but it's still not over. We've still got to go out and play the game and I think we should have no problem coming out and playing hard."
With little having worked consistently against the Pacers in the series, Carroll said the Celtics could try and change things up strategically in Game 4 in an effort to level the playing field.
The Pacers have only one playoff sweep of a seven-game series to their credit - against Philadelphia in the second round of the 1999 NBA Playoffs. Another chance to sweep the Sixers came in 2000, again in the second round, but Philadelphia was able to win Games 4 and 5, forcing the Pacers to win Game 6 at Philadelphia to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals and on to the NBA Finals that year.
"The advantage is in our favor right now, but you can take nothing for granted," said Reggie Miller. "You're always an ankle sprain away from a team coming out and being able to even a series up, but I'm very encouraged by the way 12 guys came out collectively and focused in (for Game 3)."
Celtics - None.
