INDIANA 95, PORTLAND 89
Tinsley, Granger come up big in Portland
At Portland | Nov. 28, 2007
Neither was having much of a shooting night and both dealt with pain and frustration.
Both, however, shook out of their doldrums when it mattered most. Danny Granger and Jamaal Tinsley combined for 16 fourth-quarter points, including 13 in a row in the final minutes as the Pacers pulled away for a 95-89 victory over the Trail Blazers in Portland on Wednesday night.
The Pacers (8-8) returned to .500 with their second win in a row and fourth in five games. They also won their third straight road game to improve to 4-3. Portland (5-10) lost for the seventh time in eight games.
"I had a bad shooting night but I'm just glad we got the win," said Granger, who left the game briefly in the third quarter after banging knees with Portland's Brandon Roy. "We were aware they have been playing well at home (the Blazers are 5-3 in the Rose Garden) but we came in with the mindset we wanted to get back to .500 and we accomplished that."
Granger finished with 23 points, adding four rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots. His driving three-point play with 1:45 remaining gave the Pacers an 87-82 cushion. A pair of jumpers by Travis Outlaw brought Portland back to 89-86 but Tinsley – who was bothered by a sore left knee carried over from Tuesday night's 112-110 victory in Denver -- hit a cold-blooded pull-up jumper over Jarrett Jack with the shot clock expiring to make it a five-point game with 24 seconds left and the Blazers shot airballs on their next two possessions.
Tinsley produced his third consecutive double-double with 15 points, 10 assists, adding six rebounds and five steals, though he did commit six turnovers and shoot 4-of-16 from the field, including 1-of-8 from the 3-point line. Mike Dunleavy scored 20 with 11 rebounds and three steals, while Jeff Foster had 11 points and 17 rebounds. Foster had consecutive offensive boards that set up Granger's scores in the final two minutes.
Though the Pacers failed to score 100 points for the first time in eight games, they buckled down defensively, holding Portland to 34 percent shooting in the second half.
“Our guys were not happy with the way we played defense in the first half," said Coach Jim O'Brien. "We started to challenge their shots, which enabled us to get out and run and the combination of good defense and running offense really was key for us."
Portland was led by Outlaw, who scored 26 with seven rebounds off the bench. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 with nine rebounds and Jack had 12 points. Roy struggled through a 4-of-14 shooting night but had 10 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
The Pacers appeared to take control when a 17-point run early in the third quarter gave them a 59-49 lead. It was 69-59 early in the fourth when Portland used a trapping defense to fuel a 13-point run that gave the Blazers a 72-69 advantage. The teams then traded short runs before Kareem Rush put the Pacers up for good, 78-77, with a layup.
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