2016-17 Hickory Games

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They held bake sales, peddled candles and candy, did whatever they could to raise money, and yet they — or their parents — still had to pay some of the expenses of their cause. But then pioneers usually chart their own course, and this would be no different.

Judi Warren and her teammates from Warsaw High School won Indiana's first high school state tournament for girls' basketball in 1976. They traveled to the finals at Hinkle Fieldhouse in a camper. Yes, a camper, loaned by a local optometrist and driven by their coach. The girls all piled in, as cozy as could be, and headed off for Indianapolis, seat belts be damned in what promised to be a wild adventure. Only a stagecoach would have been more appropriate.

Their 57-52 victory over Bloomfield in the championship game is as relevant to Indiana's high school basketball heritage as Milan's championship in 1954 or the Attucks championships in 1955 and '56. Milan set the standard for the small, rural school taking on the bigger schools. Attucks set the standard for urban dominance, overcoming odds of its own as the first all-black school to win a state title. Two decades later, Warsaw established the template for future girls' champions.

Just as Milan had Bobby Plump and Attucks had Oscar Robertson, Warsaw had Judi Warren. She, too, was the perfect trailblazer, a charismatic and dedicated spokesperson for the cause of girls getting to play competitive basketball and be taken seriously as athletes. She became Indiana's first Miss Basketball, went on to play at Franklin College, and then coached at three high schools, always representing the ideals of the game.

Warren will be honored at the next Hickory Night, when the Pacers play Denver at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Friday. It won't be the first time she's been recognized for her accomplishments at a Pacers' game — or at a Pacers' game against Denver, for that matter. One month after Warsaw won its state championship, the team was honored at a game against the Nuggets at Market Square Arena. Warren was brought onto the court as the "celebrity shooter" between periods.

It made her uncomfortable, but not for the obvious reason of having to step onto a court and shoot in street clothes.

Hickory Central: Check out Pacers.com/Hickory »

"I don't remember if I hit any or air-balled them," she says. "I just remember standing and seeing all those people.

"It's hard to take individual recognition for a team game."

That was the uncomfortable part, which remains the foundation of Warsaw's championship and Warren's career. They had star players like any other championship team, but also a special chemistry. Sophomore Chanda Kline, voted Miss Basketball two years after Warren, led the scoring in the championship game with 19 points, but it was Warren who stole headlines and hearts. Described in the Indianapolis Star's article as Kline's "tireless 5-1 running mate," Warren finished with 17 points and broke a deadlocked game with five free throws in the final minute of the final game.

It was more than her stats, though. Warren played the game with a boundless joy and enthusiasm that projected both innocence and a strong-willed determination to win. She even won the respect of veteran sportswriters. One might think that first girls' tournament would not have been treated as seriously as the boys' tournament, which dated back to 1911. But it was, at least in the Star. Other than one cutesy headline – "Sugar And Spice And Warsaw Was Nice" – the male staff writers heaped praise on the Warsaw girls, with no sniggering references to their sex or their talents.

Bob Collins, the Star's lead sports columnist, had been a champion of both the Milan and Attucks groundbreaking teams, and remained so for the Warsaw girls.

"It was good, exciting basketball," he wrote after their state championship victory. "Please note that I did not say good 'girls' basketball."

Collins and other media members found the girls' attitude toward the game to be refreshing. They — the girls, not the media — led their fans in "We're No. 1" cheers during timeouts, hugged and waved to fans during quarter breaks, and applauded a cheerleader for executing a flip.

"No one was trying to be cool or sophisticated," the Star's lead news-side columnist, Thomas Keating, wrote. "Instead, they just smiled and laughed and played the game with an exuberance and enjoyment not seen in a long time."

Warren, who contributed 31 points and 19 assists in the two "final four" games of the tournament, was the prototype of that approach, with her charisma and hustle. Keating pointed out that as she stood at the foul line with 20 seconds left in the championship game, she "grabbed her hair in both hands and shook it like … well, like a girl overwhelmed by where she was."

She should have been. Growing up, she couldn't have dreamed of playing for a state championship in front of 9,100 people at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The crowds for Warsaw's games had gradually increased from the regular season through the early rounds of the tournament, but the reality of what awaited them in Indianapolis was beyond comprehension — after all, there was no precedent.

"It was just like the movie (Hoosiers)" Warren recalls. "You walk in there and it's like 'Wow, this place is massive!' Then to walk out on the floor and see all those people in the stands and all those people from Warsaw waving the orange hankies, it was amazing.

"But once the game starts, it's the game. You're so focused, you don't recognize that."

Warren, who retired from teaching four years ago, and from coaching 17 years ago, had no inspiration other than her love of playing the game while growing up in Claypool, eight miles south of Warsaw. She had a brother, eight years older, who played with his friends on the goal attached to the garage in their side yard. She watched them, and chased after the ball if it rolled away. When their games were finished they might show her a thing or two, but mostly she played by herself when the court was empty.

Throw the ball off the chimney, fake out the bush, drive and shoot. That kind of thing.

She had no great women's players to emulate, at least none she could watch on television, and there was no girls' program at school other than intramurals. She went to the boys' games, like nearly everyone else in town, and that certainly left an impression, but attendance for the girls' games was limited to friends and family.

Warsaw, though, was advanced for the time, offering an intramural program for the girls as early as the third grade and games against other schools in junior high and high school as part of the Girls Athletic Association program. But then, in a stroke of fortunate timing for Warren and other girls of the Class of '76, the Indiana High School Athletic Association made girls basketball a varsity sport before her senior season.

That, however, presented a sudden budgeting headache for athletic directors, who had to find funding for another program that hadn't produced revenue.  At Warsaw, the school paid for their uniforms, bus rides to away games and whatever was required to host a home game, but Ike Tallman, Warsaw's athletic director and boys' coach, wouldn't or couldn't provide money for anything else. So, the girls ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the way to their road games, and raised their own money for any "luxuries." Such as their shoes. Their warmups were on loan from the boys' track team.

They also had to wait until after the freshman and varsity boys' teams finished practice to use the gymnasium. That 7-9 p.m. time slot was a major inconvenience for some of the girls who lived far from school. Warren, for one, watched the boys' varsity practice, then walked across the street to get something to eat at the dairy bar, then returned for practice. By the time she got home, it was time for bed.

Tickets: Find Seats For Friday's Hickory Game »

She and a teammate met with Tallman to lobby for a share of the desirable practice times. He told them the boys' program paid the bills, and until the girls could draw enough fans to be self-sufficient, they would have to settle for scraps.

The state championship changed that. The Warsaw girls arrived home about midnight after winning the state championship. As they neared town on Highway 15, cars were lined up along the roadside, some with kids standing on top of them, most with their horns honking madly. Everyone gathered for a pep rally at the gymnasium, with many of the younger kids wearing pajamas.

When Tallman stepped to the microphone to congratulate the team, he pointed out the girls had finally packed the gymnasium and it was time to sit down and talk about giving them more equal treatment. The following year, the girls' team was given the prime practice time slot immediately after school ended two days a week.

"That probably meant as much to us as winning the state tournament," Warren says. "It was something that would make a difference for the next teams."

With more resources and exposure, the girls' game has grown exponentially since Warsaw won the first state championship. Girls already had been motivated to play basketball, but the enthusiasm Warren and her teammates generated kicked it into a higher gear. As a player at Franklin and then a coach, she has been able to witness every step of the progress.

"We weren't very good," she says. "I go back and watch that game film and say, "What kind of defense was that?

"You look at this year's tournament, they're all so talented. It used to be you had three or four really good players and then it dropped off pretty quickly. Now they put subs in and they don't give up a whole lot. Just the strength and physical-ness of it … They still need to work more on block-outs and passing --  passing is a lost art -- but the shooting technique and ballhandling … it's impressive to watch them play."

It all had to start somewhere, though. Warsaw was as good a place as any. And Warren was the perfect player to lead the journey.

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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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As Indiana's First Miss Basketball, Judi Warren Blazed a Trail Still Visible Today

They were, indeed, Giants in their field.

Only two schools in the history of the single-class Indiana high school basketball tournament won three consecutive state championships. There was the Franklin "Wonder Five" in 1920, '21 and '22, and the Marion Giants in 1985, '86 and '87. Such feats require a healthy mix of talented players and coaches. Some luck, too. And, oh yeah, a little bravado.

It's too late to go back and check for details with members of the Franklin High School teams led by future Naismith Hall of Famer Fuzzy Vandivier, but here's a story that summarizes the moxie of the Marion teams. It comes courtesy of Woody Austin, who would win the state's Mr. Basketball honor in 1988, the year after Marion's backcourt duo of Lyndon Jones and Jay Edwards shared it.

The Richmond High School team led by Austin had the Giants on the ropes in a game at Marion in 1987, with the score tied at 49. Edwards, however, hit a jumper from the corner with five seconds left for the game-winning basket, avoiding overtime.

As a dejected Austin stood on the court after the final buzzer sounded, Edwards cheerfully slapped him on the butt and said, "You didn't think I was going to let you win, did you?"

That was Edwards. That was Marion. That was just one example of the skill and confidence the Giants displayed on their way to their consecutive champions. And that might be just one of the stories the Marion players relive Friday when they are honored at the next Hickory Night game when the Pacers play Memphis at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Austin, who remains close friends with Jones and Edwards, will be among those on hand to pay respects, but hopes not to be reminded too frequently of nights such as that one.

"Lyndon had fouled out, and I think he was a little under the weather," Austin recalled. "We just knew we had them, but somehow Jay got the ball. It seemed like everything went in slow motion. He shot the ball, and it was all net."

Austin suffered more than most in the midst of the Giants' dominance. His Richmond teams lost to them twice in the championship game of the state tournament, in 1985 and '87, and three other times during the regular season -- which is another thing Jones and Edwards tend to bring up to him now and then. But Austin was hardly alone in his misery. Marion went undefeated in 1985, lost three games in '86 and one in '87, when it was ranked the No. 1 team in the country by USA Today. It left plenty of great players and teams in its path. Damon Bailey's Bedford North Lawrence team, for example, lost to the Giants in the semifinals of the state tournament in 1985, Bailey's freshman year. And there were plenty of outstanding players from other North Central Conference teams that failed to fell the Giants, but like Austin, went on to play major college basketball.

"You could pick your poison," said Austin, who scored more than 1,000 points at Purdue. "From top to bottom, the players were good. You could sub one out and basically you wouldn't miss a beat. One guy had an off-game, somebody else would pick up the slack.

"Obviously, the guard play was excellent, too."

Yes, the guard play. Jones and Edwards comprised what's likely the best backcourt of any state high school team in history. As seniors, Edwards scored 35 of Marion's 69 points in the title game victory over Richmond, while Jones scored 23. The next year, they were starting together for Indiana in the Big Ten, with Edwards winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. A year later, Edwards was the Big Ten Player of the Year and a second-team All-American as a sophomore.

But they quickly acknowledge they had plenty of help. Nikki Mallory, Lefon Bowens, Jay Teagle, Eric Ewer, Daric Keys, Kyle Persinger and others all played important roles. The core of their championship teams had played with or against one another in youth leagues from the time they were six or seven years old, and they developed a special chemistry and bond that still exists 30 years later.

They were rock stars in their hometown, and even in other conference towns.

"We signed autographs until our hands started hurting," Edwards said. "You couldn't go anywhere in town without somebody saying something about the game."

They had a star coach, too. Bill Green won his first state championship in 1969, leading Washington High School to the title. That team was fortunate to beat Marion by one point in the afternoon game of the finals. Green then coached Marion to championships in 1975 and '76. The members of the three-peat teams in the Eighties were barely old enough to remember those titles, and the excitement they generated within the community stayed with them as they grew up.

"It was in our blood since we were young," Jones said.

Green left Marion after the '76 title, but returned in the Eighties. He did more than merely preside over superior teams, though.

"Playing for coach Green was absolutely an experience that I'll never forget," Jones said. "He was more than just a coach, he was a mentor, he was a father figure if that's what you needed.

"He was extremely smart. He said, 'If you get me to state, we'll win. Just get me there and we'll win.' He made all the right decisions with me. He moved me to point guard, taught me how to become a better leader, taught me responsibility. There would be times my senior year he'd ask me if we'd practiced enough, should we cut practice short? Many great lessons I learned from that man."

Added Edwards: "He made us feel we were going to win. He always said, when the tournament starts, I'm the luckiest guy in the world. Just go play hard and we'll be all right."

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How Big Were the 1980s Marion Teams? They Were Giants

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The Pacers have had time to rest and heal, which was exactly what was needed as they entered the All-Star break having lost six consecutive games.

One of the team's most reliable rebounders and hustle players, Thaddeus Young, had missed the Pacers' eight games heading into the All-Star break with a sprained left wrist. Without Young in the lineup, the Pacers (29-28) won their first two contests, but then entered their February slide, dropping six in a row to a series of challenging opponents.

To make matters worse, the Pacers were also hit by an absence from Lavoy Allen, who had been filling in admirably during Young's absence. Allen's scratch from the lineup against San Antonio on February 13th was a surprise to even Coach Nate McMillan, as a sore knee began to flare up during pregame warmups.

Without Allen and Young, the Pacers have been thin at power forward over the last few games, leaving them even more vulnerable to getting beat on the glass.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: Track the Pacers' Playoff Push »

But against the Grizzlies (34-24) on Friday, during the team's Hickory game honoring the 1985-1987 Marion Giants (Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph is a Marion alum), the Pacers will need a full team effort on the glass. So far, Memphis has maintained its reputation as one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA, collecting 50.7 percent of missed shots (9th in the NBA). For comparison's sake, the Pacers grab 47.8 percent of misses (28th in the NBA).

The game against the Grizzlies is the opening of yet another difficult spate of opponents for the Blue & Gold. Following their meeting with the Griz, the Pacers embark on a five-game road trip in which they will play Miami, Houston, San Antonio, Atlanta, and Charlotte.

Additionally, any space the Pacers had created in the standings with their seven-game winning streak has mostly been erased by their six-game skid. Now the distance between them and the eighth seed is just two games, as Central Division foes Chicago and Detroit continue to nip at Indiana's heels.

With a team full of rested players and hopefully a healed batch of power forwards, the Pacers are looking to start their final stretch of 25 games on the right foot, breaking a losing streak and topping a Memphis team that has bested them in five consecutive regular season meetings.

Pacers: PG - Jeff Teague, SG - Paul George, SF - C.J. Miles, PF - Thaddeus Young, C - Myles TurnerGrizzlies: PG - Mike Conley, SG - Tony Allen, SF - Chandler Parsons, PF - JaMychal Green, C - Marc Gasol

Pacers: Thaddeus Young - questionable (sprained left wrist), Lavoy Allen - questionable (sore right knee)

On Nov. 26, 1999, the Pacers began a 25-game home winning streak that would continue until March 9, 2000. The streak started with a 105-86 win over the Vancouver Grizzlies.

December 19, 2015: With the Pacers on the three-game winning streak, the Grizzlies halted Indiana's run, defeating the Pacers 96-84 in Memphis.

The Grizzlies held a lead for nearly the entire night and held the Pacers to just 39 percent shooting.

"With a team like (Memphis), they load the paint so well, it’s kind of hard to play in the paint and get easy baskets at the rim," Pacers forward Paul George said after the game.

George led all scorers with 29 points on 8-of-22 shooting, but he also had seven of the Pacers' 17 turnovers. Monta Ellis had 13 points and Stuckey added 11. Jordan Hill recorded his sixth double-double of the season, finishing with 10 points and 13 rebounds (five on the offensive glass).

For the Grizzlies, Mike Conley led the team with 20 points and eight assists and All-NBA center Marc Gasol was solid all-around, contributing 19 points, 12 boards, and six assists.

The Pacers return from the All-Star break rested and ready to face Indianapolis-native Mike Conley and the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night at 7 PM ET for a Hickory game showdown. Find Tickets »

Broadcast Information TV & Radio Listings »

TV: FOX Sports Indiana - Chris Denari (play-by-play), Quinn Buckner (analyst), Jeremiah Johnson (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: 93.5 FM/AM 1070 The Fan - Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Slick Leonard (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)Please Note: Inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Pacers radio broadcasts can be heard on 1080 AM instead of 1070.

Select Knit Hats - 50% Off. Game Night Specials can be purchased in the Home Court Gift Shop or any of our souvenir stands located on all levels of Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The special is also available online at PacersGear.com until midnight.

Construction Note: The Delaware St. entrance to the Virginia Ave. Parking Garage is no longer in operation due to the construction of the St. Vincent Center. To enter the Virginia Ave. Parking Garage, please use the entrance located at the intersection of E Maryland St. and S Alabama St.

In addition, the southbound lane of Delaware Street from Maryland to just south of the train bridge will be closed for the duration of the construction project.

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Game Preview: Pacers vs Grizzlies

Wheat Hotchkiss

The Pacers dug deep on Friday night, rallying from a double-digit fourth quarter deficit on the second night of a back-to-back to force overtime against the Kings.

In extra time, Paul George knocked down the game-winning shot with 35 seconds to play as Indiana (24-22) came away with a 115-111 win over the Sacramento Kings (18-28) in a Hickory Night game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The win was just the second in nine tries for the Blue & Gold this season when playing on the back half of a back-to-back.

"It was more of a mindset than anything," Pacers center Myles Turner said after the victory. "Just the will to come out here and get this game. We know we're a good team at home and we didn't want to drop another one."

The two teams traded baskets three times in the extra period and were tied at 111 heading into the final minute before George buried a step-back jumper that would prove to be the game winner from the top of the key.

Garrett Temple missed a shot with the shot clock winding down on the other end, but DeMarcus Cousins secured the rebound and called timeout with 7.1 seconds to play.

Out of a timeout, Darren Collison drove to the hole, but Jeff Teague swatted his layup attempt away and a replay review concluded the ball last touched Collison before going out of bounds.

It was the second big comeback for the Pacers against the Kings in less than 10 days. Indiana rallied from a 22-point deficit in a 106-100 win last Wednesday in Sacramento, then came back from 16 points down on Friday night to sweep the regular season series.

"I give my guys credit for always staying in the game, staying in the fight," George said. "Regardless of how the game is going, we always seem to close games out well."

George led all scorers with 33 points in the win. He was 8-for-18 from the field and also got to the free throw line often, going 16-for-17 from the charity stripe.

"When he's attacking and being aggressive like that, getting into the lane, it's a tough cover for anybody," Teague said.

Teague added 17 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. C.J. Miles scored 18 points and Turner chipped in 14 points, four assists, and three steals for the Blue & Gold.

HICKORY HONOREES: For Keller and McGinnis, State Title Memories Never Faded »

The Pacers trailed 98-87 with 6:13 remaining in Friday's contest, but promptly reeled off eight straight points over the next two minutes to make it a one-possession game.

The Kings managed to maintain the lead over the next several minutes despite a few bizarre sequences involving Kings forward Matt Barnes, who first got in the face of Pacers head coach Nate McMillan after a foul call and later was given a flagrant-1 foul for shoving Turner to the ground.

"I know that's what I needed personally," Turner said. "I love it when the game's played that way. Stuff like that fires me up. When people start talking, that just gets me going. Kudos to (Barnes) because that got me going."

Two free throws by George cut Sacramento's lead to 103-102 with 1:58 to play. After Cousins hit one of two on the other end, George drew another foul and knocked down both shots from the charity stripe to tie the game with 1:17 remaining.

Cousins airballed a free throw on Sacramento's next possession, but George missed from the left baseline on the other end. The Kings once again went to Cousins on the post, but this time Lavoy Allen stripped the ball out of his hands, giving the Pacers a shot to win the game in regulation.

George got off a jumper from the right elbow, but it didn't fall and the Kings called timeout with 0.6 seconds remaining. Sacramento ran a lob play for Cousins, whose tip-in grazed off the rim, sending the game to overtime.

Cousins led Sacramento with 26 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists in regulation. Collison, a former Pacers guard, added 26 points and five assists, going 10-for-17 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range.

HICKORY CENTRAL: Learn More at Pacers.com/Hickory »

After they held him without a field goal in the second half last week in Sacramento, the Pacers again kept Cousins in check after halftime. The All-Star center was just 3-for-10 from the field with four turnovers in the second half and overtime.

A big reason for Indiana's success against Cousins was the play of Allen, who played 16:20 off the bench and harassed the Kings' star on the interior. He was only credited with one steal and four rebounds, but Allen also registered numerous deflections.

"He kind of sealed the game for us," George said. "He had some big offensive rebounds, big defensive rebounds, and big stops on DeMarcus. He played huge."

The Pacers return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday night, when they will host the Houston Rockets, owners of the third-best record in the NBA, at 6:00 PM ET.

George's 17 free throw attempts matched his career high, set last season on the road against the Lakers on Nov. 29, 2015. His 16 makes from the charity stripe are a new career best.

Miles went 6-for-9 from 3-point range in the victory, matching his season high for makes from beyond the arc.

After shooting 11-for-16 from three in the first half, the Kings hit just 2-of-10 in the second half and overtime.

Teague has now collected eight or more rebounds six times this season and the Pacers have won all of those games. Prior to joining the Pacers this summer, Teague had only had eight rebounds in a game three times over seven career seasons.

Cousins recorded his 26th double-double of the season in the loss.

Ty Lawson, another former Pacers guard, had 16 points and six assists for the Kings off the bench.

"He's been playing the right way, moving the ball when guys are open. We don't want guys taking low percentage shots. He's capable of putting up big numbers with single coverage and he moves the ball when double-teamed. He's been very efficient." -McMillan on Paul George

"With how this team guards, holding and grabbing almost all game, I was trying to stay aggressive and stay in attack mode and I was able to get to the line." -George

"Lavoy came in and made a huge impact. The team had his back obviously, but he set the tone on Cousins. He and Thad did a great job when I got into foul trouble. It was a team win tonight." -Turner on containing Cousins down the stretch

"It's disheartening. I think we played well up until the beginning of the fourth quarter and then about midway in the fourth quarter the momentum changed...They became more aggressive, they were being more physical." -Collison

"They got more aggressive, especially late in the game. They shot a lot of free throws in the fourth quarter, just way too many, and you can't have that. We turned the ball over a couple of times." -Lawson

George has now scored 30 or more points in three straight contests. The Pacers are 6-2 on the year when their All-Star forward reaches the 30-point plateau.

The Pacers will host MVP candidate James Harden and the Houston Rockets on Sunday, Jan. 29 at The Fieldhouse at 6:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »

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Game Rewind: Pacers 115, Kings 111 (OT)

Even with a furious fourth-quarter rally, the Pacers were unable to overcome the sharp play of the Boston Celtics, who used a dominating second quarter to build an early lead against the Pacers as Boston went on to win 109-102 on Thursday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

On a number of occasions, Indiana got its deficit down to just five points, but each time, the comeback bid was stymied by Boston's offense, spearheaded by the play of Isaiah Thomas, who finished the night with 28 points and nine assists.

"We had to play with a sense of urgency," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said after the game. "We were down. But it's going to be tough to beat any team when you have 19 turnovers and only 20 assists. There was sloppy play, particularly in the first half."

The Pacers' comeback came to life when Thaddeus Young hit a 3-pointer to make it 98-93 with under two minutes remaining in the game, but a quick Avery Bradley bucket in the paint once again pushed Indiana out of striking distance, as the Pacers fell to 15-16 on the season.

Indiana was trailing by 10 late, until C.J. Miles scored seven straight for the Pacers, his last of which also brought the Pacers within five.

But just as Bradley did when Young had cut the lead down, Thomas scorched the Pacers inside, moving the comeback out of reach.

"Isaiah (Thomas) is a strong aggressive guard," Paul George said. "Coach's game plan was right on. We had the right game plan in place for this team and we did a good job for the most part, just not quite good enough."

In the waning moments of the game, needing to foul to stop the clock, Indiana used a 3-pointer from Jeff Teague and free throws from Miles to make it a one-possession game, but the Pacers were never on offense while down three, needing to send opposing shooters to the free throw line to stay alive. Despite giving the home crowd a late thrill, Boston was able to close out the game at the stipe.

The Celtics (17-12)— now winners of four straight — jumped out to an early lead to start the game, up until the Pacers' starting unit began clicking, outscoring the Celtics 14-6 to force a Boston timeout. While the Celtics regained the lead with a 3-pointer to make it 22-20, the Pacers wrested it right back with the help of an 11-0 run triggered by a powerful one-handed Myles Turner slam in transition.

The run helped give the Pacers separation, as Indiana entered the second quarter with a nine-point edge on the visitors.

That lead, it turned out, wasn't built to last, as Boston's offense continued to find chances while Indiana's offense stayed grounded, with the Celtics reeling off a devastating 17-0 run to open the quarter. By the time the Pacers scored a point, 5:30 of game time had elapsed as the score was flipped on its head.

Thanks to their earlier cushion, the Pacers were able to tighten the game on a Thaddeus Young 3-pointer to make it 44-40, but Boston closed the half with force, extending its lead to 11 at the break.

HICKORY NIGHTS: Pacers.com/Hickory For More »

Out of the halftime locker room, the Pacers were able to close the gap to 55-49 following a Teague layup, but Boston responded with a 10-0 punch, six of which came from the hot hand of Bradley.

Even after Thad Young quelled the string of scoring with a pair of buckets to bring Indiana's deficit to 12, Boston continued its torrid play, extending its advantage to 69-53. Thankfully for the Pacers, a transition opportunity gave Turner yet another chance for a rim-rocking slam, bringing life to the crowd and forcing a Boston timeout with 3:44 left in the third quarter.

HICKORY HONOREE: Above All Else, Damon Bailey Was a Winner »

Over the last four minutes of the third, it was the Jeff Teague show for Indiana, as the point guard scored or assisted on all five of Indiana's buckets to close the quarter, including a nifty dime to Al Jefferson, who slammed it home.

A Kelly Olynyk three temporarily stalled Indiana's comeback bid, but the electric Teague hit a baseline jumper to close the quarter, sending the Pacers into the fourth trailing 77-67.

After a converted and-1 from George, the Pacers got a scare when George's legs slipped out from under him while making a crossover dribble with 8:47 in the game. Luckily for the Blue & Gold, George stayed in the game, knocking down two more free throws to bring the lead down to single digits.

With just over 6:00 remaining in the game, Teague knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the score down to 85-80, as the Celtics called timeout to slow the charging Pacers, who had been on a 9-1 run.

But just as they had all game out of timeouts, the Celtics regrouped, extending their lead back to eight points on a pair of Isaiah Thomas free throws.

C.J. Miles, who finished with 19 points, kept the Pacers' offense churning with three inside buckets, the second of which was whistled an and-1, giving Miles a personal 7-0 run to pull the Pacers back into striking distance.

Yet every time the Pacers rallied close, they were parried by the play of Thomas — who dropped a career-high 44 points in his previous game. Thomas split the defense for an easy bucket at the rim to push the gap to seven.

From there, the teams traded buckets the remainder of the way until free throws closed out the game for Boston, who denied the Pacers a Hickory moment in the final seconds of the game.

The Pacers shot a higher percentage and outrebounded Boston, but were undone by 19 turnovers, compared to just 10 from Boston.

Thaddeus Young collected a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while hitting 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.

C.J. Miles led the charge off the bench, scoring 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

Boston outscored Indiana 48-34 in the paint.

"We are all disappointed right now. This is a good group of guys. We like each other and we are there for each other. We know we are better than our record shows. We keep saying it but we just need to go out and show it." -Jeff Teague

"Well we weren't making shots in the first half at all; but I felt like we were getting great looks and I felt like we could play through more in the post to be more efficient. We started really guarding and we got on the floor a couple times and it turned to our favor after that." -Celtics coach Brad Stevens

"Boston got in a groove and we were in a funk. Boston played more physical. We've got to be more physical. I should have stepped up and talked to the team about that more than I did when it was happening. Our lack of physical play is on me." -Paul George

Jeff Teague finished the night with 31 points, leading all scorers. It was his third game this season with 30 points or more, which ties his career-high for games with 30 or more points in a single season.

The Pacers get a few days of rest before heading back on the road, this time to face Jimmy Butler and the Bulls on Monday, December 26th. Tipoff is set for 8 PM ET.

Select Hickory Crew Fleece - $30. Game Night Specials can be purchased in the Home Court Gift Shop or any of our souvenir stands located on all levels of Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The special is also available online at PacersGear.com until midnight.

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Game Rewind: Pacers 102, Celtics 109

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Hickory Night Honoree: Damon Bailey

What if in 1990, the day after Bedford North Lawrence won the state high school basketball championship at the RCA Dome before 41,000 people and a national television audience, someone had asked you to predict what Damon Bailey would be doing 26 years later.

Would you have thought he'd be a former NBA star? A Naismith Hall of Famer? Head coach at Indiana University? Mayor of Bedford? Governor of the state of Indiana?

Each of those guesses would have seemed more believable than what has turned out to be the truth: assistant women's basketball coach at Butler University.

It might not be what anyone expected, Bailey included, but the point of this story, and his story, is that it's all good. He's there by choice, helping coach a team that includes his oldest daughter, but open to the idea of staying beyond her career and proving his heart is in the soul of basketball rather than personal wealth or prestige.

Bailey will be honored at the Pacers' game against Boston at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday in the next Hickory Night celebration, honoring Indiana's basketball heritage. It would require a lot of head-scratching to come up with someone who represents that heritage better than he does.

He was a high school star – make that sensation – who led his team to the state championship, set a state career scoring record and earned Mr. Basketball honors. He was declared by some the national Player of the Year, and received more national acclaim rivaled only by Sports Illustrated cover boy Rick Mount in 1966. He went on to become the Big Ten Freshman of the Year at Indiana University and earned first-team all-Big Ten and third-team all-American recognition as a senior, contributing to hugely successful teams along the way. He was drafted by the Pacers and spent a season on their injured list, then played for Fort Wayne's entry in the CBA. He coached the Bedford boys' and girls' teams, winning a state championship with the girls, and now helps with Butler's women's team.

From the perspective of a middle-aged man – he turned 45 in October – he can look back on his unique career with pride and few regrets. But his most impressive accomplishment could very well be his sanity. While everyone around him seemed to lose theirs during his high school and college careers, he has remained grounded, never straying far from reality.

Bailey was more than a standout player. Many older fans viewed him as a relic from a time gone by, a clean-cut, humble small town kid straight out of a Disney movie. He still receives autograph requests in the mail, still gets photos of newborn babies who have been named after him, still gets heartfelt letters from elderly people telling him how much they enjoyed watching him play. He still gets recognized by strangers on airplanes, too, which provides trash-talking ammunition for the Butler players.

He appreciates the interest, but steadfastly avoids most opportunities for recognition. If you want to know the truth, he had to be cajoled into participating in Thursday's Hickory celebration, and agreed to it only out of respect for the fans who have been so devoted all these years.

"Those things are burdensome at times, but it's like everything else in life, there's good and bad in having that notoriety," he said.

Such notoriety it was, too. Bailey became a national sports figure in the eighth grade, when IU coach Bob Knight's adoration for him was revealed in a best-selling book, 'A Season on the Brink.' He was a marked man after that, forced to live with more celebrity than would be healthy for any high school kid, or adult for that matter. His parents and high school coach helped him deal with it, though, and he managed to live up to the hype throughout high school. He led Bedford North Lawrence to the final four of the state tournament three of his four seasons as a starter and then carried them to the championship as a senior in the single-class tournament days. He scored the final 11 points of that game, then ran into the stands to hug his parents, writing the perfect ending to what seemed a fictional story.

He was the sole reason that game was played at a domed stadium to accommodate the fan interest, and the sole reason it was televised nationally on ESPN, but he would have been just fine without all of that. The hype and hyper-attention meant nothing to him.

"It was what it was," he said. "I played the game because I loved it.

"(Fame) just happened for me at such a young age that it was my life. I don't know anything different. I wasn't a player who all of a sudden as a senior started getting recognition. I just grew up that way. It was just everyday life to me."

He's grateful for one thing, though. Imagine if he had to go through all that in today's social media environment, where every move, every reaction, every success and failure would be dissected by friend and foe alike.

"I would have hated to be playing in that world," he said.

It now seems apparent Bailey matured faster than most boys, physically and emotionally. As an eighth grader, he played like a high school kid. As a high school player, he played like a college kid. But by the time he was finished with his college career, he was no longer the best athlete on the court. He got by on skill and savvy, and despite two knees in need of surgery.

TICKETS: See Bailey Honored on Thursday »

Adjusting from an off-guard role to point guard made the transition to an NBA career that much more difficult, a matter of being in the right place at the right time at best. The Pacers seemed like the right place at the time, though. Bailey's popularity was such that 4,538 fans attended a July intrasquad scrimmage between draft picks and free agent hopefuls at Market Square Arena after the Pacers made him the 44th overall selection. He wound up having surgery on both knees, and spent the following season on the injured list while rehabbing them.

He was released in training camp in 1995 after failing to beat out Mark Jackson, Travis Best and Haywoode Workman for one of the point guard openings. He had averaged 5.5 points in six preseason games, hitting 11-of-21 field goals and all 10 foul shots. It's hardly unusual to release a player after that type of pre-season production, but Bailey was not the usual roster candidate. His release was big news, and somewhat controversial among fans.

"I was in a hotbed of basketball in North Carolina where they kind of revere high school and college players," Pacers coach Larry Brown said at the time. "But I've never seen anything like this with him."

It was at that moment Bailey proved his love for the game, however. Some players accustomed to stardom would have retired right there, and found a new career or gone back home to live off their name. He went to Fort Wayne to play for the Fury of the Continental Basketball Association. He stayed four seasons, earning first-team all-CBA honors in 1998 and a second-team selection in '99, but couldn't break into the NBA. A brief tryout with Cleveland was as close as he got after the Pacers released him.

He played on the U.S. Pan American Games silver medal-winning team in 1999, averaging 10 points per game, and was planning to go back to the CBA for another season before another knee injury led him into retirement from playing. At that point there was no point in trying to keep the dream alive. He's now had seven knee surgeries since college; nobody can say he didn't give the game his best shot.

Although he never played for the Pacers, the benefit of his time with them were great and varied. He got both knees fixed, at their expense, and his two-year guaranteed contract paid him a total of $375,000. He also observed nearly every practice and game throughout the 1994-95 season, including when Reggie Miller's eight-points-in-8.9 seconds spree in Madison Square Garden nearly carried the Pacers to the NBA Finals.

He had once been the 10-year-old boy who thought he was going to play in the NBA and make a million dollars. It didn't work out for him, but he got a lot closer to it than most, and he learned from the likes of Brown, Miller, Jackson, Byron Scott and others.

"The one thing that surprised me about that level -- because I always considered myself a smart player --  was the level they see the game," he said. "I mean, Reggie is a great talent, but just the mental side of the game was really what opened my eyes. I learned a lot of the nuances at that level.

So, too, is coaching, where the purity of Bailey's devotion to basketball still shines through. He's been a co-owner and active participant in the Hawkins Bailey Warehouse, a Bedford-based supplier of heavy duty maintenance products in central and southern Indiana since 1994. He's always made time for coaching, however, whether it's in camps, for AAU teams, at Bedford North Lawrence or Butler. His oldest daughter, Alexa, is a sophomore and starting point guard. Another daughter, Loren, is a freshman at Butler, who gave up the game after high school. His son, Brayton, is a promising freshman player at BNL.

If it's not what Bailey expected to be doing all those years ago, it is what he loves. He did all he could to dissuade his daughters from playing, partly because he didn't want them to face the pressure of being Damon Bailey's daughter.

Since retiring, Bailey has found enjoyment in the women's game, where his players seem less focused on going pro and more devoted to playing by the ideals of basketball. Even better, he gets to coach it at a college that clings to those same ideals.

"Butler is still to me what Indiana basketball is about," said Bailey, who stays in an on-campus residence two or three nights a week during the season, but makes the 90-minute commute to Bedford on the other days. "Basketball today has gotten so commercialized. It's about the film room and the locker room and the training room. You have to do that to compete for today's athlete, but still the mentality that's here is more what I grew up with."

Bailey doesn't live in the past, though. Other than an occasional game of H-O-R-S-E with his players, he doesn't compete any longer. Don't look for him in the "noon ball" games at Butler. He doesn't recall ever going back to watch a recording of his state championship game, either. He's not that interested, and he tries to discourage his kids from watching it, too.

"I don't like them to, because everything I yell at them about not doing, they point out that I didn't do it either," he said, laughing.

Those kids can't criticize his record, though. He won that state championship at Bedford, he was a starter on two Big Ten championship teams and a Final Four team at IU. He's been an assistant to Kurt Godlevske on one state championship team in Bedford, and the head coach of another.

2016‑17 Hickory Games