INDIANAPOLIS – If the Pistons and Pacers wind up meeting in the playoffs – and in this year’s Eastern Conference, anything is possible – they won’t be easing into rivalry mode. It’s already in full flower.
A physical, hand-to-hand combat game ended with appropriate fireworks – Stan Van Gundy’s ejection with 22 seconds left and a mass of players doing a little jostling and a lot of jawing at mid-court as Indiana’s 94-82 win concluded.
“It was physical most of the game,” Brandon Jennings said. “Sometimes we felt like we were going to the basket, we didn’t get a call here and there. Then we would come down and retaliate. It was a little chippy. And then Paul kind of got it going and towards the end, we kept playing and you know how it gets sometimes.”
About that “Paul got it going” thing: On a night both teams struggled mightily to get anything approaching an offensive rhythm going, Indiana’s bona fide star decided the game by being the one player capable of pulling himself from the quicksand.
Through two full games earlier this season, split by the Pistons and Pacers at The Palace, and 43 minutes of this one, George had been shackled by the Pistons. He’d made 2 of 11 shots for the game and 11 of 44 for the season against the Pistons with five minutes to play Saturday, the Pacers leading 73-71 at the time.
Then George hit seven straight shots, including three triples, and all four of his free throws ��� two for Van Gundy’s two technicals, administered by Lauren Holtkamp – to score Indiana’s last 21 points and finish with 32. At one point midway through the third quarter, George had more turnovers (seven) than points (six).
“They’re called superstars in this league for a reason and he continues to show himself as one,” Reggie Jackson said. “He got hot, made some shots, made some great one-on-one moves. He took the shots we wanted him to take. He just made ’em.”
“He hit a couple of tough shots, then we left him open on the fast break and he got it rolling,” Van Gundy said. “He did a great job.”
Van Gundy was asked before the game about what magic the Pistons had applied to limit George in the first two meetings, where he shot 9 of 33. He fairly winced at the question.
“I think my main answer is we’re lucky he missed some shots that he normally makes,” he said. “You try not to give guys anything easy. You try not to put them on the line. You try to get help. But guys like Paul George, LeBron James … the same shots Paul’s gotten against us in the first two games, he could make all of those.”
He didn’t make them for more than 3½ quarters, but that’s all it required to best the Pistons on a night nobody could muster even a mediocre shooting performance. The Pistons scored 42 points in the paint and 13 at the foul line, but got precious little from jump shots. They shot 23.5 percent – 12 of 51 – on shot attempts taken outside of the paint, 3 of 20 from the 3-point arc. As the night wore on and frustration set in – especially with the Pistons within one or two possessions for the vast majority of the game – poor shooting begat poor shots.
“I think some guys missed good shots,” Van Gundy said. “I think some guys took poor shots.”
“I had a bunch of good looks – didn’t go in early,” Jackson said. “But you’ve got to continue to take ’em. We feel like we’re going to make them more than we miss them. Unfortunately, tonight wasn’t one of those nights where the ball went in.”
Van Gundy’s bench didn’t shoot it any better than his starters – the four reserves used were a combined 6 of 17, 0 of 4 from the 3-point line – but their results were better. While all five starters finished double digits into the red in plus/minus, all four reserves were in the black.
“The bench was great,” Van Gundy said. “It’s our starting lineup now. We’re struggling. We can’t get both units to play well on the same night. Our starters tonight got destroyed and our bench did a pretty good job keeping us in the game.”
Some of that was Jennings’ doing. He played 19 minutes, getting a little more than 11 in the first half due to minor foul trouble for Jackson. He was just 1 of 5, but gave several glimpses that he’s physically nearing his pre-injury levels.
“I’m still trying to find it on the offensive end as far as my shot, but as far as running the team I think I’m doing what I’m supposed to do,” he said. “Trying to find guys. Stanley (Johnson) got it going a little bit in the second half. I was just trying to find a way to keep us, when I’m out there with the second unit, to just keep a vibe going and a grind.”
It was a grind, all right, one that ended with Van Gundy blowing off steam in the locker room and the seeds of a rivalry being planted in a mid-court scrum.
Van Gundy demurred when pressed on what led to his ejection, which came on the heels of a foul call that put George at the line.
“I said something that obviously offended the official,” he said. “I just said something they didn’t like.”
There was a lot of that going around at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. If they ever meet with bigger things at stake, civility figures to get a test.