2015 Hardwood Classics

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INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers will wear their iconic Flo-Jo jerseys once again for Wednesday’s nationally-televised game at Memphis, the final game of the regular season. The Pacers have received approval from the NBA to wear their throwback uniforms for Wednesday’s game, which will be televised locally on FOX Sports Indiana and nationally on ESPN. Indiana can clinch a playoff berth for the fifth straight year with a win over the Grizzlies.

A longtime fan favorite, the Pacers originally wore the Flo-Jo jerseys, designed by USA Track and Field star Florence Griffith-Joyner, for seven seasons from 1990-1997; which coincided with the first major steps of success of the franchise during its NBA Years.  During that time, the Pacers made six appearances in the playoffs and two Eastern Conference Finals appearances.

2015 HARDWOOD CLASSICS: Flo-Jo Photo Galleries, Highlights, and More »

This season, the team originally wore the Flo-Jo jerseys in six games as part of the NBA’s Hardwood Classics program. After receiving permission from the NBA, the team wore them on April 10 in Detroit. The Pacers have not lost when wearing the jerseys, winning by an average of 10.7 points per game.

PHOTO GALLERY: See the Pacers Rock the Flo-Jo's in Their Win over the Pistons »

In wearing the uniforms, the Pacers organization has attempted to honor the legacy of Florence Griffith-Joyner, a three-time Olympic gold medalist who passed away at the age of 38 due to a cavernous angioma. Mary Joyner, Griffith-Joyner’s daughter, sang the national anthem before the March 29 game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. In addition to Joyner and her family, the Pacers also invited a group connected with Angioma Alliance, an organization by and for those affected by cavernous angiomas, to attend the game as special guests of the franchise.

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Pacers to Wear Iconic "Flo-Jo" Jerseys for Regular Season Finale

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Photo Gallery: Pacers 107, Pistons 103

Just a few minutes into the third quarter, with the Pacers trailing by one to the Detroit Pistons, George Hill threw a dart pass into the paint to Roy Hibbert, who quickly shoveled it off to David West on the baseline. Without hesitation, West fired a line drive to C.J. Miles, who was waiting beyond the arc with his hands outstretched. Miles lifted up and drilled the 3-pointer to complete the idyllic passing sequence from the Pacers.

On the next offensive possession, Miles did it again; this time from the corner. The shot, which was once again assisted by West, put the Pacers up by five at that point, as they went on to gut out the 107-103 road victory and keep their playoff hopes alive into the final week of the season.

Talking to the media last week, team president Larry Bird presented a rather simple equation for beating opponents, “Every time we move the ball to the open man, we win games," he said.

That ball movement was on full display on Friday night at the Palace at Auburn Hills, where the Blue & Gold dished out 29 assists as a team, led by Hill and West, who each had nine.

But as succinct as Bird made it out to be, beating the plucky Pistons proved to be a daunting task, as the Pacers trailed for a large chunk of the fourth quarter. But thanks to the contributions of Rodney Stuckey and Miles, who had 24 points apiece, Indiana was able to escape Michigan with a win in hand.

The victory, which was their fourth straight, keeps the Pacers in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference Playoff race. Although both Boston and Brooklyn are ahead in the standings — and both hold the tie-breaker over the Pacers — the players on Indiana were rightfully treating Friday night's game as a must-win situation.

"We're in survival mode," said West after the game, "We're just fighting for our lives. We know we need help from somebody else but we're just taking care of our business."

The fourth-quarter comeback came to fruition for the Pacers when Luis Scola was fouled with just over four minutes remaining in the game. Scola calmly sank both to tie the game at 93.

Other than a tie at 95, Indiana led the rest of the way, picking up key scores from Stuckey, who made all three of the Pacers' final field goals against his former squad. George Hill, who finished the evening with 13 points, made the Pacers' last six points, draining all of his free throw attempts at the end to ice the game.

"You all know what he can do," Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said of Stuckey. "I mean Rodney can score the ball, and when he gets it going he’s very good. He was fabulous tonight.”

While neither the Cavaliers or Wizards did the Pacers a solid by defeating their playoff relevant foes, Boston and Brooklyn, respectively; it made the win all the more vital for Indiana, whose odds of making the postseason would have plummeted dramatically with a loss.

"We know those teams are playing really well. We're going to need some help along the way," said Pacers coach Frank Vogel. "We'll just control what we can and stay in the fight. It's what we did late in the game tonight."

The Pacers four-game winning streak is their second longest of the season.

David West's nine assists were the most he's had all season, surpassing his previous high of seven, which he had accomplished three times.

The Pacers' bench, which already leads the NBA in scoring at 41.2 points per game (prior to tonight's game) once against stepped up, pouring in 48 points, including 10 from Paul George.

"It's pretty much the story of our season. Finding ways to win games. Finding ways to stay together. We knew it was going to be a tough game coming in here." -Pacers swingman C.J. Miles

"He's just aggressive. We encourage him to shoot the three ball. He made some big threes, but really he was aggressive down the stretch. Attacking Reggie Jackson - getting him in foul trouble. He just played a solid game all the way around." -Pacers head coach Frank Vogel on Rodney Stuckey

“That’s the game. You can’t go 12-for-23 in the game and miss six free throws in the fourth quarter. We had some bad fouls and we missed our free throws. We also missed some standing-by-yourself wide open shots so it’s frustrating. I thought we did a lot of good things. I thought we played pretty hard and did some really good things offensively, but our inability to make wide open shots and free throws ends up getting us beat.” -Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy

The Pacers' 29 team assists were their most since a March 10 game when they dished out 37 against the Magic.  Prior to that, you have to go back until late December to find a game in which the Blue & Gold compiled 29 or more team assists.

The Pacers return home to Bankers Life Fieldhouse for a Sunday matchup against Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder at 6 PM. Select seats still available » Get Tickets Now

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Game Rewind: Pacers 107, Pistons 103

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers will wear their iconic Flo-Jo jerseys for one additional game this season. Due to the massive popularity of the uniforms and the team's success while wearing them, the Pacers have received permission from the NBA to wear the jerseys for Friday's game at the Detroit Pistons.

"I'm very excited to get to wear the Flo-Jo jerseys for another game," Pacers forward Paul George said. "The players love them and so do the fans. Whenever we wear them, it adds a little extra energy and excitement to the game."

This season, the team has worn the Flo-Jo jerseys in six games as part of the NBA's Hardwood Classics program. The Pacers have not lost when wearing the jerseys, winning by an average of 11.8 points per game.

PHOTO GALLERY: See the Pacers Rock the Flo-Jo's in Their Win over the Knicks »

"We've had great success when wearing the Flo-Jo jerseys this season," said Pacers center Roy Hibbert. "Hopefully we can keep it rolling on Friday in Detroit."

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Pacers to Wear Iconic "Flo-Jo" Jerseys for One More Game

The Indiana Pacers led by as many as 28 points on Wednesday night and never trailed as they defeated the New York Knicks 102-86 at Madison Square Garden. The Pacers (35-43) came in hot off of a pair of wins and were looking to avoid a let-down against a Knicks (15-63) team with the worst record in the NBA this season.

Paul George played his allotted 15 minutes and stayed active while working out the kinks. PG scored in double figures again with 10 points to go along with three rebounds and a pair of steals. Paul didn’t shy away from contact either, taking bumps, hitting the ground and bouncing back multiple times.

"I think the more contact I get into it, the more I trust it," George said. "I haven't had really any lower leg contact – getting banged up below. That was really the first time I've been hit in the leg was tonight. Again, the more and more I get hit there, the better I feel there."

The Pacers held a 54-38 lead at the half and scored the first eight points in the third quarter to extend their advantage to 24. The woeful Knicks were not able to mount any sort of comeback and the Pacers rolled to a third straight decisive victory.

Indiana controlled nearly every facet of the game, displaying poise for the full 48 minutes. The Pacers controlled the tempo of the game, dominating the boards 54-34. Indiana also shot the ball effectively at 49 percent while holding the Knicks to 35 percent from the field.

Six Pacers players scored in double figures on the night. George Hill got himself out of his brief scoring slump (he had failed to score in double figures in the past two contests), adding another 20-point game to his resumé to go along with six rebounds and five assists. Roy Hibbert recorded the only double-double of the game with 11 points and 11 rebounds in only 16 minutes of play.

"I was just trying to be aggressive," Hibbert said. "We've been playing three centers, so not as many minutes for myself. I have to make the best and most of the minutes I have."

Langston Galloway led the way for New York with 19 points, many of which came after the game had essentially been decided. Andrea Bargnani scored 15 points and collected nine boards for the Knicks.

Wednesday night’s victory completed the Pacers’ four-game season sweep of the New York Knicks.

Indiana currently sits in the ninth spot in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets.

Luis Scola came into the game needing only a single point to reach 8,000 on his career. Scola scored 11 points on the night.

Oddly, the Pacers have a losing record when attempting more field goals than their opponent and now have a winning record (20-19) when attempting fewer shots than the opposition.

With six dimes, Donald Sloan has now led the Pacers in assists 25 times this season. That is the most of any player on the team.

"We need them all at this time of year. We've been behind the eight ball. It's an uphill battle. We'll need some losses from some other teams – we can't control that. We have to just control what we can control and take care of our business and get another win." – Pacers head coach Frank Vogel

"This was an important game for them. Every game is like a playoff game for Indiana. They played that way. They were physical right from the start and kind of overmatched us." – Knicks coach Derek Fisher

"It feels good. We're playing good. With me coming back, it definitely has sparked a little bit and strengthened the team. It gave us more depth and more experience." – Paul George

"We should embrace playing teams in the playoff hunt. They are going to give us their best effort and we have to give our best effort. Tonight wasn't our best effort. We could have played a lot tougher. Indiana has been a tough team and I don’t think we met that physicality." – Knicks forward Lance Thomas
 

With Wednesday's win over the Knicks, the Pacers will end the season with a perfect 6-0 record while wearing their renowned Flo-Jo throwback uniforms.
 

On Friday, the Pacers will take on the Pistons (30-48), who are officially out of the playoff hunt, in the Motor City. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Game Rewind: Pacers 102, Knicks 86

Wheat Hotchkiss

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Pacers 102, Knicks 86

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The only way for the Pacers to beat the better teams, the teams that are certain to be in the same playoffs they're fighting to be part of, is to get a landslide of contributions big and small. One or two guys aren't going to carry them far, as they've proven all season.

Sunday's victory over Dallas brought several, which was barely enough for a 104-99 escape that tied them with Boston for ninth in the Eastern Conference standings and lifted hopes heading into the most crucial four games of their season, all against teams they're jostling with for a spot among the eight conference playoff teams. Breaking it down to its details would nearly require a microscope, and more words than people would reasonably want to read.

C.J. Miles scored 28 points, and saved the Pacers from being outscored for an 11th consecutive game in the first quarter by hitting all four of his 3-point shots and scoring 14 of their first 22 points in the first 8 minutes, 50 seconds.  Damo Rudez took up where he left off by hitting 3-pointers on consecutive possessions in the final minute to give the Pacers a 33-27 lead, but that's another story.

Miles comes and goes, as many shooters do, but he's come on strong lately. Sunday's efficient performance – he hit 9-of-12 shots – came after a 26-point game at Milwaukee on Thursday. He's hit 9-of-14 3-pointers over those two games, but found other ways to contribute, too.

He didn't rely too heavily on 3-point shots, for one. He mixed in a 12-footer in the first quarter, a breakaway layup in the second, a post-up and a dunk off a drive in the third and five foul shots.

“I wanted to keep them off-balance,” he said. “I was able to get some cuts to the basket, and hit one from the free throw line. Coming out hot like that sets you up for the rest of the game.”

Miles hit the game's biggest shot, a 3-pointer with a minute left that opened a five-point lead. He then drew a charging foul from Chandler Parsons with 32.8 seconds left to help the Pacers preserve a three-point lead, and hit two foul shots to end the scoring with 1.7 seconds remaining.

In other words, he saved them from another slow start, and saved them from a poor finish, too.

Solomon Hill, by the way, followed up the charging foul Miles drew from Parsons by effectively defending Parsons' 3-point shot with 3.9 seconds left, keeping him from driving into the lane and keeping a hand in his face. But that would be another story, too.

The Pacers' good start didn't start well, though. Dirk Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer on the game's first possession.  Which, strangely enough, might have been a good thing, Miles thought.

“We had a breakdown on the first play, but I think that even made it more of a conscious effort, like we can't do this again,” Miles said.

So why have the Pacers made such a nasty habit of bad starts? Miles shrugged that one off.

“If I knew I'd send a group-text to everybody in the locker room,” he said. “I'd Tweet it, Instagram it, I'd do everything I could to make it known that we had it figured out.”

George Hill didn't have much to do with the good start, contributing just two points and two assists in the first quarter, and giving up six points to his defensive assignment Rajon Rondo, but he dominated the final period with eight consecutive points.

He hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer over Nowitzki with 5:38 left after the 7-footer had switched off onto him after a screen. Hill wanted to drive, but Nowitzki backed off too much to allow that, so Hill hit a step-back three. After Parson's turnover, Hill hit a 30-foot 3-pointer in transition, a bit of a heat-check but one that that opened a six-point lead, the Pacers' largest since early in the second quarter.

Hill followed that with the most memorable individual play of the game, backing Rondo down and executing a spin move for a layup that regained a six-point lead. Hill posted-up defenders frequently in high school and college, but hasn't been asked to do it much since arriving in the NBA. Lately, though, he had been showing that weapon in individual one-on-one drills after practice, and suggested it to the coaches.

“(Coach Frank Vogel) threw me a couple of bones and it kind of worked out so we stuck with it,” Hill said.

Moments such as that eight-point flurry remind Hill to be assertive. And if he needs further reminders, his teammates are happy to do it. It's a fine line for a point guard to look for his shot when Miles and others are scoring, but the Pacers don't want Hill hibernating for long.

“My teammates kept telling me to be aggressive and look for opportunities,” he said.

The only thing Hill didn't do was get to the foul line, but the Pacers got their often enough without him. They attempted 26 foul shots, seven more than Dallas. They hit five more foul shots than Dallas, which not so coincidentally was their margin of victory. Roy Hibbert hit two big ones with 1:30 left to give the Pacers a two-point lead, and raised his season percentage to a team-best .849. But that's another story, too, as is the fact his backup, Ian Mahinmi, is getting increased minutes and is getting the nod for key defensive possessions.

The story of this game should include David West, though. He finished with a routine stat line – 10 points, five rebounds and five assists – but made crucial plays at crucial times, as he tends to do. Entering the game for the first time in the final period with 3:06 left and the game tied at 97, he immediately forced a miss from Nowitzki on the left baseline, not falling for Nowitzki's classic hesitation on his jumper.

West got plenty of experience guarding Nowitzki during his eight seasons in New Orleans. They played in the same division then, and saw each other four times a season.

“I'm pretty comfortable guarding him,” he said.

West also is comfortable directing the offense. He later got the assist on Miles' 3-pointer with a minute left, and had three assists over a two-minute stretch in the third period when the Pacers took Dallas' lead from eight to two. One set up Solomon Hill for a layup, another got Miles a layup and the third got Hibbert a short jumper.

This frankly hasn't been the most pleasant season for West, who's fought injuries and other unexpected maladies from the very start. He's 34, winding down his career, and seeing his hopes for another title shot diminished by Paul George's injury. To top it off, he played Sunday's game with red eyes, the result of some sort of allergic reaction that kept him out of the loss at Milwaukee, but one he doesn't care to discuss.

“Crazy,” he said, forcing a smile. “It's been a bad  year.”

His teammates still consider him a sight for sore eyes, though.

“Just all-out leader,” Solomon Hill said. “He's doing everything that needs to be done for our team, vocally and on the floor. Sometimes he looks for his shot and sometimes he looks to create for others. He's our balancer. He finds Roy when he needs to. He finds other guys when he needs to. Defensively, he's always locked in and he's always talking.”

Sunday's game was the last home contest in which the Pacers will wear their “Flo-Jo” uniforms from the '90s (they'll wear them once more on April 8 in New York). If they could, they'd wear them out. They're 5-0 in them, and will take every bit of mojo they can get heading into their games at Brooklyn on Tuesday, at Boston on Wednesday, at home with Charlotte on Friday and at home against Miami next Monday. That stretch likely will make or break their playoff hopes.

George Hill, for one, considers the Pacers' regular uniforms “boring.” He'd prefer they wore the pinstripes at home and the Flo-Jos on the road. But that's another story, too. They'll have to make do with their regular uniforms from here on out, and create their own excitement. Which shouldn't be difficult, given their circumstance.

“It's weird,” Miles said. “I've never been in a situation like this, where so many teams are one game, half-game … two losses can put you in 11th and two wins can put you in sixth. We know the importance.

“It's like the (NCAA) tournament that's going on right now. Win or go home. That's the way we've got to treat it.”

Have a question for Mark? Want it to be on Pacers.com? Email him at askmontieth@gmail.com and you could be featured in his next mailbag.

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Indiana Pacers. All opinions expressed by Mark Montieth are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Indiana Pacers, their partners, or sponsors.

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Plenty of Subplots in Pacers' Win

C.J. Miles got the Pacers off to the fast start they needed on Sunday. He also provided Indiana (32-41) with the finishing blow to knock off the Dallas Mavericks (45-29) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 104-99.

Miles, who scored a game-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting, made some huge plays down the stretch on Sunday. The veteran guard scored the Pacers' final five points and drew a crucial charge on Chandler Parsons in the final minute to help seal the victory.

"We’re just in a time right now where we need to win all of our games," Miles said. "Everything is a must. For us to step up and beat a good team like that feels good."

In a back-and-forth game that saw neither team ever extend their lead to double digits, the Pacers appeared to seize control of the contest midway through the fourth quarter.

George Hill buried a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to give Indiana a 95-89 lead with 5:15 to play.

But Dallas responded with a surge of its own. Parsons scored two straight layups and then Rajon Rondo sank a floater in the lane to tie the score at 97 with 2:20 remaining.

Roy Hibbert put the Pacers back in front with a pair of free throws with 1:30 left and Miles swished an open trey from the right wing 30 seconds later that proved to be the difference.

Dallas twice had the ball down three, but Miles drew a charge on Parsons on the first possession and secured the game-sealing rebound on the second before calmly knocking down a pair of free throws on the other end. It was a much-needed win for the Pacers, still fighting for a playoff spot with nine games remaining in the regular season.

"This is do or die for us," Hill said. "Everyone's got to put on their hard hats and go out there and continue to fight to the end of the game. Every guy in this locker room made a great effort to give us a win tonight."

It was a fitting finish from the man who got the Blue & Gold off to the right foot earlier in the night. Pacers head coach Frank Vogel spoke at length over the past couple days about the importance of his team getting off to better starts. Miles ensured that happened on Sunday.

The 6-foot-8 swingman drilled four 3-pointers and scored 14 points in the game's first 7:42 to ignite Indiana's offense. As a team, the Blue & Gold made 11-of-17 shots in the first quarter — including all six of their attempts from beyond the arc — to jump out to a 33-27 lead.

But the Mavericks battled back, outscoring the Pacers 23-10 over a 6:47 stretch in the second quarter to regain the lead, which changed hands several times up until the final minutes.

The Pacers regained the services of two key players on Sunday. After sitting out the last three games with a sore calf, sixth man Rodney Stuckey played just over 30 minutes. The Pacers' second-leading scorer tallied 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Starting power forward David West, who sat out Thursday's loss in Milwaukee due to an allergic reaction, had 10 points, five boards, and five assists in 25:06.

George Hill added 14 points (eight of them coming in the final quarter) and five assists, while Roy Hibbert finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Mavericks, playing without injured leading scorer Monta Ellis, had a balanced offensive attack. Parsons led the way with 27 points and 10 boards, Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points, and Rondo had 17 points and 10 assists.

The Pacers are now tied with Boston for ninth place in the Eastern Conference, just a half-game back of Brooklyn for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Pacers play the Nets in Brooklyn on Tuesday night.

RELATED: Playoff Picture (Latest Standings and More) »

"Tonight’s a good win, but we can’t really get too happy about it," Pacers center Ian Mahinmi said in the postgame locker room. "We have to look to the next game and we could use the same type of effort."

Sunday's win snapped the Pacers' four-game home losing streak. Indiana is now 19-18 this season at Bankers Life Fieldhouse with four home games remaining. Indiana has posted a winning record on its home court in each of the past 25 seasons – the longest active streak in the NBA.

Miles has now scored 20 or more points on 11 occasions this season, tied with Stuckey for the most 20+ point games on the Pacers roster. Indiana is 6-5 when Miles tops 20 points.

After giving up 61 points in the first half on 52.2 percent shooting, Indiana held the Mavs to just 38 points in the second half on 36.4 percent shooting.

Pacers forward Solomon Hill tied a career high with a team-high six assists in just 14:17.

George Hill had just six points through three quarters, but a late surge pushed him into double figures for the 17th time in the last 18 games.

Parsons recorded a points-rebounds double-double for the third time this season in the loss.

"I think we really badly needed a win and wanted a win. They raised their level." -Vogel

"It was a great game playing against a great team with great players that made plays. I think it was a fun game from the fan’s standpoint to watch, us going at each other and making big plays." -Miles

"I think everybody was a little disappointed in the second quarter. They got hot. We came back in the locker room at halftime and we looked at each other and it was like, we gotta have a better effort on the defensive end.  I think that’s what we did. We came out aggressive." -Mahinmi on the Pacers' improved defense in the second half

"They hit big shots in the fourth quarter. I know we battled them hard, but they made some plays." -Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle

"Miles hit some tough shots and George Hill hit some big ones also. It’s frustrating. It was like a story of two different halves. We can make it look as easy as good be sometimes and then just as difficult other times." -Parsons

"We scored close to 100 points. Offense is not the problem. You have to give their defense some credit. Once they’re able to set their defense with their two bigs clogging the paint, they can make it difficult for an offense." -Rondo

The Pacers shot a season-best 58.8 percent from 3-point range in the victory, going 10-for-17 from long range. Miles was 5-for-6 and Damjan Rudez was 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.

The Pacers travel to Brooklyn, where they'll take on the Nets on Tuesday at 7:30 PM ET.