Jonah Ballow
Wolves Editor/Writer
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Final: 112-105 Pacers
The Pacers found a way to score points and get a victory without their star players. Granger and Dunleavy did not play in the game but Indiana cruised behind 24 points from Daniels and 14 boards from Murphy. Rush added 10 points off the bench while the Pacers shot 48.2 percent in the victory. Indiana was solid from the 3-point line by hitting 10-for-19. The Wolves were sloppy on several offensive possessions, which led to 19 turnovers. The mix of poor defense and horrid free throw shooting dropped Minnesota to 18-36 on the season. The Wolves only connected on 56.1 percent of their 41 free throw attempts. Foye was spectacular from deep range and finished with a career-high 36 points. Gomes also had a great game to record a season-high 26 points. A valiant comeback attempt from the Wolves but the team could not get enough defensive stops early in the game.

More postgame coming soon...



Third Quarter: 86-71 Pacers
The quarter started promising for the Wolves as Gomes hit a 3-pointer to start the third period. Collins picked up two quick fouls, which hurt the flexibility for McHale and his use for frontcourt players. Foye picked up where he left off in the second quarter with a deep three to trim the Pacers lead to seven at the 8:17 mark of the quarter. Unfortunately for the Wolves, Indiana continued to shoot proficiently from the field and Minnesota could not hit its free throws. With 29 attempts from the charity stripe, the Wolves are just 58 percent. Foye leads the team with 22 points while Love recorded his fourth foul on a ticky-tack call from the officials. The Pacers are shooting an incredible 69.2 percent from the 3-point line and 50 percent from the field. Daniels scored eight points in the quarter to help Indiana maintain its lead.

Halftime: 61-48 Pacers
The Pacers extended their lead in the second period behind a solid performance from Daniels. With seven points in the quarter, Daniels pushed Indiana’s shooting percentage to 50 percent. On the negative side, Hibbert picked up his third foul early in the quarter, not a stat sheet to remember with three fouls in seven minutes. Murphy has destroyed the Wolves from the outside with 11 points and punished them on the glass with 11 boards. For Minnesota, Foye caught fire late in the quarter with three straight buckets from the arc. The last 3-pointer was an absolute rainbow shot that cut the Pacers lead to 10 points at 3:02. Foye led the Wolves in scoring with 16 points in the half. In the final seconds of the quarter, Rush launched a half court shot that missed short but Josh McRoberts was there for the put back and gave Indiana a 13-point lead.

First Quarter: 33-26 Pacers
Don’t expect a defensive struggle at the game tonight. Both teams are out to run the floor and are searching for easy buckets in transition. The contest started with a 5-0 run from the Wolves, Indiana then answered with a 10-0 spurt to capture the lead. Mike Miller was aggressive in driving to the paint and led the Wolves with eight points in the quarter. Minnesota used a drive-and-kick style of offense to speed up the game on an Indiana team that allows 106 points per game. The Pacers shot 46 percent by forcing the action on the offensive side of the floor. Former Kansas guard Brandon Rush jumped off the bench for five points while Murphy scored six in the period. Kevin Ollie made his first appearance in over a month at the 2:39 mark. The Wolves will need to get some stops on defense in order to turn the tide and earn a victory at the Target Center.

Wolves Shootaround Audio
Kevin McHale

Sebastian Telfair

Kevin Ollie

Craig Smith

Scouting Report
Injuries are spreading like wild fire around the league. The Indiana Pacers are the most recent team to watch a star player go down with a significant injury, as All-Star Danny Granger will be out at least three weeks with a partial tendon tear in his right foot. In addition to the absence of Granger in the starting lineup, the Pacers are also missing shooting guard Mike Dunleavy with a right knee injury. Indiana had an outside shot at making the playoffs but will face an uphill battle in the Eastern Conference. At 22-34, the Pacers are a high scoring team by posting 104.6 points per game under head coach Jim O'Brien. Indiana ranks second in the league in rebounding without size in the paint. Due to the fast pace style of play, Indiana allows 106.8 points per game and struggles to defend on the perimeter.

In the first meeting 17 days ago, the Wolves scored 38 points in the fourth quarter to top the Pacers 116-111 in Indiana. Both teams played lackluster defense by allowing over 45 percent shooting from the field and the 3-point line. Minnesota pounded the glass by outrebounding one of the best teams in the league on the boards. The Pacers and Wolves combined for 51 trips to the free throw line.

O'Brien has elected to place Jarrett Jack in the starting lineup to replace Dunleavy. Jack is six inches smaller than Dunleavy but offers a different style of basketball at the shooting guard position. The Pacers will use Jack's ability to run on the fast break and his strength to reach the paint, which will stretch the defense. T.J. Ford will continue to orchestrate the offense at the point guard spot. This year, Ford averages 14.9 points and 5.2 assists per game. With Ford and Jack in the backcourt, Indiana will look similar to the Wolves with Sebastian Telfair and Randy Foye. Telfair is fresh off a career-high 30-point performance in the win over Miami on Wednesday night. Both Telfair and Ford are extremely quick and will try to elevate the pace of the game for their respective teams tonight. Foye only scored 14 points in the contest against the Heat; however, he should have the advantage against Jack.

The Pacers will have to find a way to replace 25 points a game in their frontcourt. Without Granger, Indiana may go to a smaller lineup with the 6-foot-6 guard/forward Marquis Daniels. The adjustment from the Pacers will give 6'8 Mike Miller an opportunity to shoot over Daniels. Surprisingly, power forward Troy Murphy is averaging a double-double this year and has really provided a boost to the Indiana frontcourt. In the first meeting against Minnesota, Murphy scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Ryan Gomes had a nice 20-point night in the win over Miami by shooting 8-for-14 from the field. The Wolves will count on Gomes for his defensive skills on Murphy and making sure he does not have an impact on the glass. At the center position, Kevin Love will battle 7-foot center Roy Hibbert. Love was successful in the game against Indiana on February 3 with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 23 minutes of court time.

The Wolves hope to string together back-to-back wins against a Pacers team that has lost 10 straight road games. In fact, Indiana is just 6-23 away from home and 4-6 in its last 10 games. Tipoff set for 7 PM at the Target Center.

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Projected Starters
Indiana Pacers
T.J. Ford PPG: 14.9 RPG: 3.5 APG: 4.8		Jarrett Jack PPG: 28.3 RPG: 5.0 APG: 7.0		Marquis Daniels PPG: 13.3 RPG: 5.3 APG: 5.2		Troy Murphy PPG: 13.1 RPG: 11.4 APG: 2.3		Roy Hibbert PPG: 6.2 RPG: 2.8 APG: 0.7
Minnesota Timberwolves
Sebastian Telfair PPG: 8.6 RPG: 1.8 APG: 4.5		Randy Foye PPG: 16.3 RPG: 3.3 APG: 4.7		Mike Miller PPG: 9.3 RPG: 5.7 APG: 3.8		Ryan Gomes PPG: 11.8 RPG: 4.4 APG: 1.6		Kevin Love PPG: 9.7 RPG: 8.8 APG: 1.1