Indiana Pacers News & Notes

[TheGeneral+]

INDIANAPOLIS — As the playoffs near, injuries are starting to mount for the Indiana Pacers, most notably to star forward Jermaine O'Neal. He has a bone bruise to his left knee and will not play in Wednesday's game against Dallas.
Reserve forward Jonathan Bender is also out with a strained right shoulder and Austin Croshere plans on playing with a bulky brace protecting his sprained left thumb.

That means coach Rick Carlisle has some lineup-juggling to do.

"We don't have a choice, we're going to have to have guys step up and be ready and go out there and play our game," Carlisle said. "We're in a tough spot right now."

The good news is that all three injuries appear to be minor.

An MRI exam performed Tuesday on O'Neal's knee revealed only a bruise and no structural damage, an encouraging sign considering how bad it looked at first Monday.

"It's positive news, without question," Carlisle said. "The fact that there is a bruise means there's some significant pain, so we'll deal with it."

The All Star injured his knee during Monday's win over the Chicago Bulls. He collided with Bulls guard Ronald Dupree while trying to set a pick on the baseline and immediately crumpled to the floor.

Two teammates had to help him off the court and into the locker room with 8:21 left in the first half. He did not return to the game.

Carlisle said Al Harrington would start in O'Neal's place against the Mavericks.

The Pacers have managed to play well while dealing with injuries all season long, something point guard Anthony Johnson doesn't expect to see change if they are without their leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker.

"We have a very talented, deep roster," Johnson said. "Whenever somebody's been down, that's given someone else a chance to step up and play well. Guys are taking great pride in that and I'm pretty sure someone's going to fill the void (Wednesday) night."

The timing certainly doesn't help the Pacers (51-19), who are tied with the Sacramento Kings for the NBA's best record in the race for homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.

Bender injured his right shoulder after a brilliant first quarter against Sacramento on Friday. He scored 11 points in the final three minutes of the period and 15 for the game before leaving with a stretched ligament in his non-shooting shoulder.

The injury makes it difficult for Bender to raise his arm when shooting.

"If I can get my shot off, I'll be all right," he said Tuesday.

Croshere injured the thumb on his non-shooting hand in the fourth quarter of Monday's game against the Bulls. He spent practice on Tuesday getting used to playing with a brace on his hand and X-rays showed that the thumb is not broken.

Croshere said he has some pain when he catches the ball, but has no problem shooting and doesn't expect to miss any games. Because the injury is to his left hand, he joked, there's no need to worry.

"I really don't use my left hand," Croshere said with a wry smile. "It's just there to not make my right hand feel too important. It has no real function."

There's no joking when it comes to O'Neal. The All Star has battled nagging injuries to his shoulder and back all season in addition to tendinitis in his knee.

"I don't think anyone's real concerned about me or Jonathan," Croshere said. "The main concern is just with Jermaine, what a huge role he has on the team and to have it be your knee. It's scary to have happen to anybody, but to have it happen to your leading scorer and your big play guy, it becomes more significant."

http://www.usatoday.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

INDIANAPOLIS - Almost nightly, Bulls coach Scott Skiles claims that his team doesn't respond well to physical play.

So, it was certainly a bad sign when 15 seconds after the opening tip, center Eddy Curry was knocked to the floor by an errant elbow from Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal and had to leave the game temporarily.

Less than a minute later, former Bull Ron Artest unloaded on Linton Johnson - giving a hard shove while Johnson attempted a jumper - and was assessed a flagrant foul.

"Early on, there were signs that we just mentally weren't really here," Skiles said. "Then they just got physical with us and we had no response."

The end result was predictable, considering that Indiana entered Monday's contest on a two-game losing streak. The Eastern Conference-leading Pacers pounded the Bulls early and often on the way to a 101-77 thumping at Conseco Fieldhouse.

With the loss, the Bulls (19-50) became the eighth team in NBA history to lose 50 games five consecutive seasons.

It didn't matter that O'Neal, the Pacers' top scorer and rebounder, left the game with a sprained left knee after playing just 11 minutes. O'Neal collided with Bulls guard Ronald Dupree, went to the floor clutching his knee and was helped off the court.

Things got so bad for the Bulls that Skiles removed all five starters two minutes into the second half. Johnson later returned, but Curry, Kirk Hinrich, Jamal Crawford and Antonio Davis sat out the final 21:50.

"I think it's pretty common sense," Skiles said of the mass substitution. "We just turned it over and they threw it end-to-end and laid the ball in the basket. Nobody ran back. It's an obvious move.

"I'm operating under the assumption that they were too tired to go for the most part. I wasn't making a decision that they were done for the night when I took them out. It was just the way the game played out. There was no need to bring guys back."

In the Bulls' locker room, emotions ranged from quiet disgust to head-shaking laughter.

"It's been a long year," Hinrich said. "Frustration is at an all-time high."

"I'm not surprised. It's happened before," said Davis. "It's kind of tough to swallow when you're a part of it."

"Nobody in the starting unit deserved to be out there tonight for very long, the way we came out there," added Curry.

On the other side of the building, Artest basically thanked Skiles for benching the starters.

"Crawford could have come in and gotten things going," he said. "So that was good. We needed the victory."

Curry led the Bulls with 13 points, followed by newcomer Jannero Pargo with 12.

Reggie Miller led Indiana (51-19) with 17 points. Artest collected his second flagrant foul in three games after going all season without one.

"They'll probably rescind that one. There wasn't a lot of contact on that," said Artest, who was either joking or forgot what happened. "I got way more contact than that one during this game."

The Bulls did get some payback. In the fourth quarter, Tyson Chandler hammered Fred Jones and earned a flagrant foul.

http://www.dailyherald.com/sports

 

[TheGeneral+]

They waited 71 games to play with the kind of anger and force that their coaches and fans wondered if they possessed.

Seventy-one games to show the kind of resiliency and ability to trade blows with another one of the NBA's heavyweights.

That they did it without their franchise player might come as a surprise to some.

That the Indiana Pacers were able to do it all in their 103-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse is what pleased coach Rick Carlisle.

Playing at times with reserve forward Austin Croshere at center, the Pacers overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to improve to 52-19.

They also overcame themselves (20 turnovers that led to 23 Dallas points), a relentless Dallas team that outscored them (25-24) in the final quarter and a sloppy game that included eight technical fouls, two flagrant fouls and an ejection.

"This was a topsy-turvy game. When you play Dallas, you have to deal with a lot of different things," Carlisle said. "The first half we were sluggish, the second half we were really great. We had to overcome some tough situations out there tonight. Finally in the second half we were able to play with some force and anger."

Six players scored in double figures, including all five starters, as the Pacers won for the third time this season without Jermaine O'Neal in the lineup.

The earliest he will return is Sunday's home game against Miami, the bruised left knee he suffered in Monday's win over Chicago likely to keep him out of Friday's game at Orlando as well.

But as they have all season, the Pacers compensated for the absence of one of their stars with excellent depth.

Croshere turned in perhaps his finest effort of the season, scoring a season-high 16 points. He made 6-of-10 shots from the floor, 3-of-4 from 3-point range and added six rebounds while causing fits for Dallas' ever-changing defensive schemes.

"They show zone and go man and just throw a lot of gimmick defenses at you," said Croshere, who scored 13 of his points in the fourth quarter. "When it's a gimmick defense, there's usually a way to beat it. You have to be decisive and aggressive. You can't be on your heels. You have to make them react to you."

The Pacers attacked the zone repeatedly in the second half, using their guards to feed easy passes into the post, where Croshere and the other frontcourt players converted them into easy baskets.

Croshere looked particularly comfortable banging bodies in the paint, something he hadn't been asked to do very much this season in his limited role.

"I've actually been playing (center) a decent amount this year," he said. "It's interesting; usually when I'm at the five, it forces other teams to go smaller. And that give us an advantage because we can spread the floor a little bit.

"They played a zone a good amount of the game, and a big part of beating a zone is playing behind it on the baseline and swinging the ball around and catching them sleeping."

Of course, the Pacers didn't play with that kind of direct approach until after halftime. It wasn't until Reggie Miller's high-arching 3-pointer from the corner with 23.7 seconds to play that they had secured the win. It was his second dagger in the final three minutes of the game, the first coming with 2:47 to play to give the Pacers a 95-86 lead.

"We didn't want to zone him in the game," Dallas coach Don Nelson said. "He got his two 3s in our zone. They had six in double figures that play well and played pretty good team ball."

The Pacers beat the Mavericks for the second time this season, marking the first time since the 1993-94 season that they've swept the season series against the Western Conference team.

"It was a pretty rough game," Nelson said after watching his team pile up a franchise record five technical fouls. "We just have to learn how to buckle down and play a physical game. I can take the loss as long as everyone gives their all."

Ron Artest made sure the Pacers did just that. He had a career-high tying eight steals, while also leading the Pacers' balanced scoring effort with 20 points. He added eight rebounds and five assists and played a strong defensive game against Dirk Nowitzki.

"I think Ron set the tone, especially at the defensive end," said Pacers forward Al Harrington, who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds subbing for O'Neal in the starting lineup. "We were pretty disappointed with our effort in the first half. We said at halftime that we had to turn it up and we did."

http://www.indystar.com/articles/3/132285-5643-036.html

 

[TheGeneral+]

ORLANDO -- Tyronn Lue took the scoring role normally played by Tracy McGrady, who decided to rest his sore left knee. And Lue played it well Friday night, scoring a career-high 32 points.

But the Indiana Pacers had someone better. Ron Artest put up a career-high 35 points and the Pacers handed the Magic their seventh straight loss, 10792, before a crowd of 15,571.

Known for his defense, Artest got to the basket at will against 6-foot-10 Drew Gooden, who started at small forward for the first time since November. Artest made 12-of-22 shots and 8-of-14 free throws.

"I think he's got a chance of winning Defensive Player of the Year this year," said Lue. "On top of that, he's able to draw fouls, he's able to shoot, he can score and he likes contact. So it was a difficult matchup tonight, especially with Drew playing the three."

Artest scored seven straight Indiana points late in the game after the Magic had chopped a 17point lead down to six.

"You can't allow any one player to dominate the game and I thought Artest did that on us tonight," said Magic coach Johnny Davis. "He pretty much drove the ball and kind of willed the game for Indiana tonight."

Winning for the 32nd time in their last 41 games, the Pacers improved their record to 53-19, the best in the NBA. Indiana made 9-of-16 three-point shots, 17 layups and six dunks.

Reggie Miller, who played 25 minutes, had the second scoreless game of his 17-year career.

Juwan Howard had 24 points and eight rebounds for the Magic (19-55), but the Magic had 21 turnovers.

McGrady has missed three of the Magic's last four games. He decided early in the day not to play.

"I can't even jump. Man, I can't even remember the last time I had a dunk," he said. "My knee is killing me."

He may or may not play in Sunday's nationally televised game against Dallas.

"By sitting out those two games on the West Coast trip, I thought it would be fine after I came back," McGrady said. "But it's just too sore for me to play right now. The last game (Wednesday against Miami) I wasn't explosive at all. So I'm just day-to-day right now, rehabbing it and treating it."

The Pacers played without AllStar power forward Jermaine O'Neal, who has a bruised right knee.

http://www.theledger.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

MILWAUKEE -- The scoreboard at the Bradley Center wasn't the only thing that spent part of Tuesday night misfiring.

The Indiana Pacers, the NBA's best road team this season and one of its better defensive teams, were busy malfunctioning as well.

Struggling all night to find easy shots on one end and struggling to defend them on the other end, the Pacers fell to the Milwaukee Bucks 95-86 in a game Pacers coach Rick Carlisle called a "complete demolition from start to finish."

It's the third time this season the Bucks have waved their kryptonite in the face of the Pacers, who still need a win -- or a loss by Detroit -- to sew up the best record in the Eastern Conference.

The Pacers (54-20) get one last chance to exorcise their Milwaukee demon tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse.

But if Milwaukee forward Joe Smith duplicates his monster numbers -- 25 points and 14 rebounds -- or the Pacers' effort is anywhere near as uneven as it was Tuesday night, they'll continue to struggle against the Bucks.

"We got outscored in every quarter except one, which was tied, and they played with more force and conviction the entire night," Carlisle said. "The good news is we've got another shot at them (tonight) and the bad news is we've got another shot at them (tonight).

"Give them credit. In three straight games now, they've physically outworked us and I'm sure that shows up in the stats somewhere. It's disappointing to lose three in a row to anybody, so we're going to have to figure it out and find a way to beat these guys."

Watching the film of Tuesday night's game won't provide any clues for the Pacers. They trailed by eight at halftime and after three quarters and never got closer than four in the fourth quarter. And they were outworked, according to the stats. In grand fashion.

Milwaukee won the rebounding battle (42-33), had a slight edge scoring in the paint (42-40), got more second-chance points (11-7) and held the edge on fast-break points as well (10-7).

"They did a good job. They played together defensively and came up with all the clutch plays," said Pacers forward Al Harrington, one of four Pacers to score in double figures (13 points). "They played the way we normally play."

The most glaring difference statistically, however, was the Bucks doubling the Pacers' free throw attempts (25-of-30 to 13-of-15), a clear indication of which team was more aggressive.

"When you go the entire first quarter and don't have a team foul, that's a pretty strong indicator that you're playing soft out there," Carlisle said. "They laid the ball in four or five times and we were nowhere near them. For us to be successful, our physical disposition has to be there. Especially against a team like Milwaukee, because they're a knowledgeable team and they're unselfish."

Both teams played without starters -- the Pacers without Jamaal Tinsley, who sat out with flulike symptoms, and the Bucks without Keith Van Horn, who's nursing a sore calf and ankle.

Jermaine O'Neal led the Pacers with 20 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Ron Artest struggled through a 6-of-16 shooting night, finishing with 12 points, just one rebound and two steals.

Harrington and Kenny Anderson (14 points and four assists) provided a lift off the bench, but it wasn't nearly enough to counter Milwaukee's balance.

Six Bucks scored in double figures, led by Smith, who tied a season high with his 25 points.

"Joe Smith was feeling it and he just killed us," Pacers center Jeff Foster said. "I'm one of the people that's responsible for him as well as others, and we just didn't have an answer for him. (Tonight) is a must win game, to show to ourselves, our fans and to show them that we can beat them."

http://www.indystar.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

Coach Rick Carlisle called it a "total demolition" when his Indiana Pacers were beaten by the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night at the Bradley Center.

As it turns out, that game was a minor home remodeling job compared to the wrecking ball that leveled the Bucks on Wednesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Leading from start to finish and by as many as 35 points in the fourth quarter, the Pacers reduced the Bucks to a pile of bricks and rubble in a 111-78 victory and put an end to Milwaukee's three-game winning streak against them.

From the opening tip, the Bucks had nothing going, and went on to their most lopsided loss of the season.

"We knew they were going to come at us," Bucks coach Terry Porter said. "No doubt about it. Those guys over there are proud and they're the best team in the league, so you know they're going to come at you. It's just disappointing that we didn't come out with the effort we needed to come out with. We just didn't compete tonight.

"I'm not saying that we would have beaten them but we definitely didn't come and compete the way we're capable of. That's the most disappointing thing."

For the Pacers, the victory clinched the Central Division championship and the best overall record in the Eastern Conference. It also sent a message to the Bucks, who had won the first three games in the season series and could conceivably be a second-round opponent in the playoffs. It was Indiana's biggest margin of victory this season and widest ever against the Bucks.

Indiana shredded the Bucks' defense from the start, sinking 10 of its first 14 shots and racing to a 21-6 lead and never letting the Bucks get into the game.

The Pacers dominated all facets of the game, outshooting the defenseless Bucks, 56 percent to 37 percent, out-rebounding them, 46-36; and outscoring them in the paint, 46-28.

Seven Pacers scored in double figures, with Ron Artest's 21 points leading the way. Toni Kukoc scored all of his team-high 15 points in the second quarter, when the Bucks showed their only signs of life.

During a timeout with 2 minutes 52 seconds left and Indiana leading, 106-75, the Pacers' mascot took the floor wearing a female opera costume to do a pantomime to a song being played over the sound system.

"The Fat Lady has sung," announced the public address announcer, providing an assist for those in the crowd who didn't catch the drift.

"They were at home and they came out energized, more energized than they were last night," said Bucks guard Michael Redd, whose six points tied a season low and snapped a streak of 48 games in double figures. "A little more fired up than last night and it showed. Their team totally out-teamed us; that's all it was."

The Pacers led by 28-9 late in the first quarter and by 30-13 at the end of the period. Kukoc gave the Bucks a brief lift, scoring the team's first eight points of the second quarter on a pair of three-pointers and dunk to trim the lead to 34-21. But the Pacers weren't about the let the Bucks off the canvas. Jermaine O'Neal, who sat out much of the first quarter in foul trouble, returned and scored six straight Indiana points to push the lead back up to 40-23.

The Bucks were still hovering within 13 at halftime. But Indiana, limiting Milwaukee to 22 percent shooting in the third quarter, built its lead up to 81-55 heading into the fourth quarter, which amounted to little more than 12 minutes of garbage time.

In other NBA action: Trail Blazers 105, Celtics 98; Warriors 85, Raptors 78; Bulls 109, Magic 91; Nets 103, Wizards 99, OT; Heat 100, Hawks 97; Timberwolves 90, SuperSonics 83; Pistons 108, Clippers 99; Spurs 107, Kings 89; Jazz 89, Hornets 76.

http://www.etaiwannews.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

The Indiana Pacers routed Toronto in their latest win.

Yet, Al Harrington still sees room for improvement from the team with the NBA's best record.

Ron Artest scored 21 points, and Harrington added 16 points and 11 rebounds in the Pacers' 84-64 victory over the Raptors on Friday night.

But Harrington insisted Indiana will have to play better in its matchup with Detroit on Sunday.

"It's going to be a big-time game, definitely a playoff preview," he said. "We must stay focused and we must remember our roles and help pick up the slack when need be."

A win over the Pistons would be a major boost for the Pacers. At 56-20, Indiana has already wrapped up the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Pacers lead the Los Angeles Lakers by three games in the race for the NBA's best mark and homecourt advantage throughout the postseason.

A win would also give Indiana a four-game sweep of the season series against the Pistons, who have the East's second-best record.

The Pacers pulled most of their starters in the second half against Toronto after building a 15-point lead. Jermaine O'Neal played just 18 minutes while recovering from a sprained left knee. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said O'Neal is experiencing slight residual effects since injuring the knee and will play limited minutes.

The Pacers outrebounded Toronto 52-38 behind Harrington and Jeff Foster, who finished with nine points and 13 rebounds.

Neither team shot particularly well, with the Pacers holding a 39 percent to 35 percent advantage over the Raptors from the field. Jalen Rose led Toronto with 22 points on 10-of-22 shooting.

"You would like to come in here and put up a four-quarter fight and see what happens in the last quarter," Rose said. "But we didn't have enough of a team effort for us to be in the game and allow that to happen."

The Raptors have lost six straight to fall well behind in the race for a playoff spot in the East. The firing of longtime general manager Glen Grunwald on Thursday has only added to the team's frustrations, with many inside the Raptors' locker room fearing Raptors coach Kevin O'Neill could be next.

"If you ask them, every one of them is assuming that I'm going to be fired after all the articles that have come out," O'Neill said. "Unfortunately, it puts those guys in a tough position because they don't really know or have a feeling for who they're going to playing for in their minds."

Indiana's Kenny Anderson, who made his third straight start in place of Jamaal Tinsley, had eight points and four assists. Tinsley did not dress for the game because of a viral sinus infection and might not be available until early next week, Carlisle said.

Notes:

Carlisle credits O'Neill, his former assistant with the Pistons, for helping his Detroit teams to back-to-back 50-win seasons and two division titles. He is confident O'Neill will find a place in the NBA if things don't work out in Toronto. "No matter what happens, he's a guy that's going to be at the top of someone's list," Carlisle said. ... The Pacers will keep F Jonathan Bender on the injured list on Sunday. He has a sprained right shoulder.

http://sfgate.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

Even though it was just a regular-season game, Richard Hamilton believed it was important for Detroit to beat Indiana for the first time this year.

Why?

"Because of the whole swagger thing," Hamilton said after scoring 24 points to lead the Pistons past the Pacers 79-61 Sunday in a matchup of teams with the top two records in the Eastern Conference.

The NBA's top defensive team gave up its fewest points this season and held the league-leading Pacers to a season low.

The Pistons were 0-3 against the Pacers this season, but hadn't played them with Rasheed Wallace. Detroit was 12 games over .500 before Wallace was acquired from Atlanta in a three-team trade on Feb. 19 -- and is 16-5 since.

While many, including Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, have said the Pistons are a different and better team with Wallace, the power forward has consistently downplayed his impact.

"Before I even got here, this was already a good ballclub," said Wallace, who had seven points and eight rebounds. "It's not just me."

Wallace also deflected credit to the other Wallace, Ben Wallace, for the defensive effort against Jermaine O'Neal, who scored just nine points in 37 minutes.

"Ben was on him the whole game," Rasheed Wallace said. "Ben did all the work."

O'Neal, still recovering from a sprained left knee, missed nine straight shots before finishing 4-of-15.

"I got the looks I wanted, so it wasn't all their defense," said O'Neal, who often settled for long jumpers. "I just haven't been playing much lately, and I didn't have any rhythm. I was flat on my shot and I was flat on my free throws.

"We have to have a long memory and remember this if we see them in the playoffs."

Indiana, which has already wrapped up home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, could meet the Pistons in the conference finals.

"If they keep playing the way they've been playing the last two weeks, they'll be there," Rasheed Wallace said. "And if we keep playing the way we've been the last 20-something games, then we'll be right there."

Indiana may need to finish strong to stay ahead of the West powers and have the NBA's best record when the regular season ends April 14.

The Pistons took the lead for good early in the second quarter, but couldn't put Indiana away until an 11-0 run gave them a 70-53 lead.

They won their eighth straight at home despite making just 38.6 percent of their shots because they held Indiana to 32.4 percent shooting. Detroit set NBA records earlier this season by holding five straight teams under 70 points and 36 consecutive opponents under 100.

"I think our `D' keyed everything," Pistons coach Larry Brown said.

Detroit's Chauncey Billups had 10 points and seven assists. Reserve Elden Campbell scored 11 points and reserve Corliss Williamson added 10 points.

Ron Artest scored 16 points for the Pacers, who had won six of seven.

Notes:

Ben Wallace has improved offensively this season, but in the past three games he is 4-of-26 from the field and 5-of-19 from the free throw line. ... Jamaal Tinsley (flu) missed his fourth straight game. ... Indiana's previous season low was 71 points in a win over Denver on Nov. 4.

http://sfgate.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

The New York Knicks will likely face Indiana, New Jersey or Detroit in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Their recent play against those three teams doesn't exactly bode well.

Ron Artest had 26 points and Jermaine O'Neal had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead Indiana to a 107-86 win over New York on Tuesday night in the Knicks' latest debacle against the East's upper echelon.

New York has lost by an average of 20.3 points in its last three meetings against the top three teams in the conference. The Knicks lost to Detroit 100-85 on March 27 and 108-83 at New Jersey on April 2.

"I don't know what to say," guard Penny Hardaway said. "We prepare the same, we just come out and we don't get it done. For us to be a good team, we have to be more consistent, especially against the good teams."

The Knicks gave another uneven performance. They shot 59 percent in the first quarter to stay with the NBA-leading Pacers, but followed that by shooting 28 percent in the second period to fall behind.

That didn't give team president Isiah Thomas much to smile about in his return to Conseco Fieldhouse as he attended a game at the arena for the first time since being fired as Pacers coach in August.

Nazr Mohammed got the Knicks going early, scoring nine points in the first quarter, but they were eventually overwhelmed by the Pacers' depth and balance.

Six Pacers scored in double figures, including Jeff Foster and Al Harrington, who both had 12.

The Pacers shot 51 percent, helping to put behind them an embarrassing 18-point loss to Detroit on Sunday.

"We wanted to come out and play hard and I think our guys wanted to show that Sunday was just a fluke," Foster said.

O'Neal scored 10 points during a decisive 14-4 run to open the fourth quarter.

That production piggybacked a strong finish to the third period by Artest.

"Jermaine and Ronnie both played huge games tonight," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.

Kurt Thomas helped fuel an 8-0 run late in the third quarter that pulled New York within nine. Artest responded with eight points in the final two minutes to give Indiana a 78-65 lead.

"It was very important for us to come back and play well together and work hard and win this game," Artest said. "We had our game faces on from start to finish."

The Pacers also benefited from the Jamaal Tinsley's return to the lineup. Tinsley, who missed the previous four games with a viral sinus infection, had 10 points, nine assists and five steals.

Nazr Mohammed led the Knicks with 20 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.

The loss reduced New York's lead over Boston to a half-game for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

O'Neal has been battling a bruised left knee for the last two weeks and is questionable for Wednesday night's game against Toronto. The Pacers are trying to avoid giving their star heavy minutes in back-to-back games and will evaluate him before tipoff.

The Knicks, meanwhile, have to figure out a way to win on the road against top competition.

"The teams we've just gotten done playing -- the Detroits, the New Jerseys, the Indianas -- I'm not worried about us at home, it's on the road that I'm worried about," Hardaway said.

Notes:

Pacers F Austin Croshere played 11 minutes despite a bout with the flu. He missed practice Monday and was listed as doubtful for the game.

http://sfgate.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

The Indiana Pacers eliminated the Toronto Raptors from the playoff race with a milestone win.

The Pacers tied a franchise record set in 1997-98 with their 58th win and officially ended the Raptors' playoff chances with a 94-90 win on Wednesday night.

"That's an important mark for us," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "We felt if we could be a good road team, it would be a good sign for us heading into the playoffs."

Ron Artest scored 19 points, while reserve Al Harrington added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Eastern Conference-leading Pacers. Reggie Miller had 13 points.

Donyell Marshall scored 26 points and had 10 rebounds for the Raptors, while Jalen Rose added 17 points and eight assists.

Vince Carter had a quiet night with 15 points.

"Of course it's disappointing," Carter said. "That should be obvious, that's a question you shouldn't have to ask. ... We need to get a playoff team in here. We've gone through a lot of injuries, controversies. You can't really control that."

The Raptors, who never led, clawed back from an 18-point deficit after Carlisle began to use more bench players midway through the second half. Rose cut Indiana's lead to 87-81 when he hit a 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining, and then Carter scored on a layup with 1:01 to go.

Miller, who played stellar defense on Carter, hit two free throws to open a six-point lead with 24.6 seconds left. But Marshall came right back and sank a desperation 3 with 16 seconds on the clock.

Artest was fouled and hit both free throws. Chris Bosh scored on a tip-in to make it 91-88, and Artest was sent to the line again. He made one of two foul shots for a four-point edge that put the game out of reach.

"They definitely turned it up," Artest said. "Reggie picked up his defense and I don't think a lot of people really respect that. Reggie just wants to win games."

Marshall keyed Toronto's comeback when he hit a 3-pointer with 9:38 left in the game to narrow Indiana's lead to 77-72. Carter scored his first points of significance when he made a running layup a minute later to make it 77-74.

The game marked yet another low point for the Raptors this season. Long-time general manager Glen Grunwald was fired last week and there are daily reports suggesting coach Kevin O'Neill will not make it to next season. It's also the second straight season Toronto failed to reach the playoffs.

"Hopefully, we can just be pros and keep playing," Marshall said of the Raptors' four remaining games. "It's all about staying together through unity, and show people we are strong."

Notes:

The Pacers swept the season series against the Raptors 4-0. ... Pacers F Austin Croshere, who has been battling stomach flu this week, played 12 minutes. ... The Pacers have three games remaining, beginning Friday against New Jersey. ... Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stood up for former assistant O'Neill, saying before the game "this franchise has proven over the last three weeks that they're undeserving of someone of Kevin O'Neill's integrity and convictions."

http://sfgate.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

Two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference square off tonight, as the New Jersey Nets visit the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The Pacers have won the Central Division and will be the top seed in the playoffs, while the Nets have captured the Atlantic Division Crown and will be No. 2 in the East.

This is the fourth and final meeting of the season between the two squads. Indiana won the two contests at the Meadowlands, while the Nets beat the Pacers, 82-75, on December 27th at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The Pacers come into tonight's game on a two-game winning streak. On Wednesday, Jermaine O'Neal finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead Indiana to a 94-90 win over the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre.

Ron Artest added 19 points and Al Harrington contributed 17 points and eight rebounds in the victory for the Pacers, who have won four of their last five games.

Indiana is 16-5 in Friday games this season. The Pacers are an impressive 32-7 as the host.

On Thursday, Richard Jefferson scored 21 points and handed out eight assists to lead the Nets to a 101-81 win over the Orlando Magic at Continental Airlines Arena.

Kerry Kittles added 19 points for the Nets, who have won four of their last five games. Kenyon Martin dropped in 14 points with seven rebounds in his second game back from injury for New Jersey, and Brian Scalabrine had 15 points with seven boards.

The Nets are 13-5 in Friday games this season. New Jersey is 19-19 as the visitor.

The Pacers have won three of the last four contests in this series. New Jersey has lost 10 of its last 13 at Indiana.

http://www.theindychannel.com/sports/2989481/detail.html

 

[TheGeneral+]

INDIANAPOLIS - Al Harrington took a minute to sum up the Indiana Pacers' season to this point.

"We wanted to win the division and we got that. We wanted to win the conference and we got that. Then we wanted to get home court through the playoffs and we got that, too," Harrington said. "Now our concern is to win the next two games, then get out of the first round."

With the way they've systematically achieved every other goal they've set, would anyone bet against them?

Ron Artest had 24 points and four steals to help the Pacers clinch home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with a 90-80 win over the short-handed New Jersey Nets on Friday night.

The victory assured the Pacers (59-21) of having the best record in the league and also set their NBA franchise record for wins in a season. The Pacers can eclipse their overall record, set in the ABA, with a victory Monday night in Philadelphia.

The wins keep piling up in what is fast becoming a special season in Indiana, and coach Rick Carlisle knows it.

"To have a chance to break (the franchise wins record) certainly would be a milestone," Carlisle said. "The Pacer teams of the late 1960s and early '70s were great, great teams. It's exciting."

But ...

"Our season's going to boil down to what happens in the first round of the playoffs and beyond," he said.

The Pacers have been eliminated in the first round three straight seasons, but the feeling is this team is different. The Pacers are more mature, deeper, better.

The win over New Jersey was a perfect example.

New Jersey was playing without Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin, who are nursing left knee injuries. With the Atlantic Division and No. 2 seed in the East already sewn up, Nets coach Lawrence Frank had the luxury of sitting his two All-Stars for the second game of a back-to-back set.

Even without their two best players, the Nets still managed to make a game of it for 40 minutes.

Rodney Rogers scored 11 of his team-leading 15 points in the first half to keep them hanging around.

"Being short-handed is not an excuse," Rogers said. "You have to play with what you have. Even with that, we were still in the game and had a chance of winning."

The Nets used a 10-0 run to take a 54-53 lead with just under six minutes to go in the third period.

Rather than get flustered and give up, as they would have in years passed, the Pacers stuck with it and eventually overwhelmed the opponent.

Leading by just three points, the Pacers went on a 12-2 run to seal the win.

Jermaine O'Neal rebounded from a tough first half in which he was held scoreless on 0-for-2 shooting with 20 points in the final 24 minutes.

"Jermaine's effort and concentration in the second half and the way he allowed the game to come to him really was a work of art," Carlisle said.

The Nets just didn't have the manpower to compete with the Pacers. They turned the ball over 19 times, which led to 25 Pacers points, while scoring just four points of seven Indiana turnovers.

"The guys gave a good effort," Frank said. "But it's not enough against a good Pacers team."

Al Harrington added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who now have to shift their focus to staying sharp in the final two games of the regular season.

"You have to be careful on this rest thing," Carlisle said. "You can create a little bit of a rust factor. The best way to go into the playoffs is on a roll and we're trying to get on a roll."

Notes The Pacers activated guard/forward Jonathan Bender from the injured list after missing 11 straight games with a strained right shoulder. He was scoreless in four minutes. ... Pacers mascots Boomer and Bowser wore arm bands to pay tribute to the San Antonio Coyote, who is recovering from a stroke suffered earlier in the season. ... The Pacers were 19-for-20 from the free-throw line. ... Frank said Kidd and Martin will probably play against Philadelphia on Sunday.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/8402555.htm

 

[TheGeneral+]

Last season, after the Indiana Pacers improved to 9-1 with a Nov. 21 win at Toronto, Jermaine O'Neal boldly voiced a prediction in the locker room.

Sixty wins.

That lofty objective seemed reasonable through mid-February, before a succession of injuries and personal issues of a variety O'Neal couldn't have imagined conspired to transform the Pacers from beauty to beast. Winning just 11 of their final 30 games, they finished with 48 victories and lost to Boston in the first round of the playoffs.

It turns out O'Neal's prediction was premature by a year. The Pacers return to practice today with 59 wins and two winnable games left in their regular-season schedule. They play at Philadelphia (33-46) on Monday and close at home with Chicago (22-57) on Wednesday.

They have the opportunity to do what they hoped to do last season by not doing what they did last season: unravel.

Most of the issues that tore at their fabric last season have not come up, to their good fortune. But to their credit, they've also managed to deal with those that have.

"We kept the team together," O'Neal said. "That's always the most important thing, when you go through so much like we did last year."

While free of any major problems, the Pacers have had to deal with the usual challenges all teams face in a season. Players unhappy with the system. Players unhappy with their roles. Players unhappy with their minutes. Players unhappy with one another. Players unhappy with the referees.

Their three leading scorers -- O'Neal, Ron Artest and Al Harrington -- are capable of reacting emotionally when frustrated, occasionally making for a high-maintenance operation.

O'Neal acknowledges as much, which is why he has offered unsolicited endorsements for Rick Carlisle as Coach of the Year.

"This isn't the easiest team to coach," O'Neal said.

"We have a very emotional team. We have a team that can be hard to talk to sometimes. But the best part about this year is all we want to do is win and we're willing to do whatever it takes to win."

The Pacers remain capable of looking as if they're on the brink of a breakdown. They were bickering with one another in last Sunday's 18-point loss at Detroit, and sometimes even in victories their emotions threaten to get the best of them. They also show a tendency to stray from the offense against strong defensive pressure.

"At times you can see it fraying a little bit," team president Larry Bird said. "You're going to have times when individuals think they have to do certain things."

Bird told the players in his first meeting with them that they had plenty of talent. The question would be their willingness to adhere to a team approach.

So far they have, but even Bird wonders how they'll fare amid the pressure and fatigue of a long playoff run.

"My worry is, in the playoffs, if they get frayed a little bit and go their own ways, they can have problems," Bird said. "If they do it as a team they can go as far as they want. But they've got to stay together."

Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said their best hope for doing that is to keep a long memory. The first-round playoff exits the past three years, particularly last year, can serve them well if they remember why they lost.

Walsh considers such frustrations part of an inevitable process almost all championship contenders endure.

"Those are the steppingstones that nobody counts," he said. "When I said we were a young team and it was going to take time, everyone was thinking that I was talking about learning the game and physically maturing. But it's more than that. You have to go through certain experiences to get to the next level. That's why teams usually don't just bounce up and win the NBA championship right away.

"I don't think they thought last year could turn out like it did. Now they know it can. And it can happen just like that."

http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/136913-3240-036.html

 

[TheGeneral+]

Jermaine O'Neal has something to say to all the basketball fans who only care to watch the likes of Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal or Tim Duncan: It's time to pay attention to the Indiana Pacers.

"I don't think the rest of the world is thinking about it much," O'Neal said after scoring 28 points to lead Indiana to its 60th victory, 107-93 over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.

"If it was any other team, it would be everywhere and on every paper from Philly, New York, L.A., or some other team that the NBA wanted to be on top of the NBA."

O'Neal has no explanation for why he feels the Pacers have been ignored by the media and basketball fans outside of Indiana. All he wants is for them to receive their proper respect.

"If it was L.A. or someone else, people would be saying all kinds of things," O'Neal said. "It's hard as hell to win 50 games in a season, never mind 60. That's just us though. We put on our hard hat and go to work."

What they've built so far is pretty nice.

The Pacers (60-21) eclipsed the franchise mark for victories set by the 1969-70 team that went 59-25 and won the ABA title. Last year, the Pacers tied the 1969-70 team's record for best start before collapsing in the second half.

Indiana has put itself in prime position to win the franchise's first NBA title. The Pacers have the league's best record and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.

"It means a lot. We're going to be in the history books," said Al Harrington.

Still, the playoffs have been tricky for the Pacers after they decided to rebuild following their loss to the Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals. They've been eliminated in the first round each of the last three years.

"It's great to win 60-plus games, but the ultimate goal is getting out of the first round and seeing what we've got then," O'Neal said.

The Pacers fired coach Isiah Thomas after last year's series loss to Boston and replaced him with Rick Carlisle, who was fired by Detroit after consecutive 50-win seasons. The move worked -- they've improved their win total by 12.

"This year has been another stroke of good fortune," Carlisle said. "When you have this kind of year it's because your players are playing at a high level."

Jamaal Tinsley scored 18 points and Harrington had 14 for Indiana.

Kenny Thomas led the Sixers with 26 points and 11 rebounds, Zendon Hamilton scored a career-high 21 points and Eric Snow had 16 points.

It was an entertaining effort for a game that meant nothing to either team. While the Pacers tuned up for their playoff series with Boston, the Sixers are playing out the season without Allen Iverson.

While some of the Sixers packed their belongings after their final home game this year, Iverson's locker was already empty. Iverson hasn't played since March 20th and has been the subject of trade speculation. He's officially been out with a knee injury and may have played his last game as a Sixer.

It should be a summer of change in Philadelphia.

"I don't think we ever had a stretch where everything went right," Snow said. "Guys got hurt, there were distractions. We never had a time where nothing happened for four or five games."

The feisty Sixers, who played most of this season without their regular starting lineup, led 85-84 with 7:02 left.

Kenny Anderson hit a couple of baskets to start an 11-0 run that put the game away. Harrington, who continues to make a case for top sixth man honors, was plagued by foul trouble and played only 12 minutes through three quarters, but came up strong with a 12-point fourth quarter.

Thomas had a double-double (16 and 10) in the first half and the 76ers led 49-46.

Notes:

Harrington picked up his fourth foul with 8:10 left in the second quarter. ... It was fan appreciation night. The Sixers finished this season with 11 sellouts and a 21-20 record at home. ... The Sixers end the season Wednesday at Orlando; the Pacers host Chicago. ... O'Neal, member of the U.S. team that qualified for the Olympics, has serious concerns about security at the games, which begin in mid-August. "You can't control people strapping bombs to their bodies," he said. "That is a serious concern. I'm the bread winner in my family. It's a hard thing. I think anything that happens from now until (then) will determine if, not just myself, whether a lot of guys really want to go over there and play. It's a life-long dream." ... Carlisle said PG Anthony Johnson will back up Tinsley in the playoffs. ... It was the Pacers' 27th road win.

http://sfgate.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

Indiana coach Rick Carlisle wanted his team to go into the playoffs on a roll. Thanks to the Pacers' second unit, they'll be doing just that.

With the starters watching from the bench, Jonathan Bender and Austin Croshere fueled an 11-2 fourth-quarter run to propel the Pacers to a 101-96 win over the Chicago Bulls in the regular-season finale for both teams.

"The group that finished the game did a great job," Carlisle said. "They collectively demonstrated a strong will out there."

Chicago opened the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 90-81 lead with just over nine minutes to play.

With Carlisle resting his starters in preparation for this weekend's first-round playoff series against Boston, the game seemed all but over.

But Bender's three-point play with just under two minutes to go gave Indiana a 97-96 lead and sent the Pacers into the playoffs with a five-game winning streak.

"It just shows how deep we really are," said Al Harrington, who led the Pacers with 22 points and seven rebounds. "We're going to need everybody in the playoffs."

The loss marked a bitter end to another disappointing season for Chicago, which finished 23-59.

Jamal Crawford scored 31 points, but was held to just eight in the second half as the Bulls slowly let a comfortable lead slip away.

"That's been kind of the story of the season," said Kirk Hinrich, who had 18 points and 11 assists. "We had a lot of them like that this year, where we had a lead in the fourth quarter and were not able to finish it out."

Crawford missed a desperation 3-pointer with less than 20 seconds remaining. Croshere corralled the rebound and made two free throws.

Croshere then blocked Linton Johnson's layup at the other end and added two more free throws to seal the victory. Croshere finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Marcus Fizer had 21 points and 16 rebounds for Chicago.

With a franchise record 60 wins and homecourt advantage throughout the NBA playoffs already secured, Carlisle could afford to sit guard Reggie Miller and forward Ron Artest.

Carlisle also limited the minutes for Jermaine O'Neal and Al Harrington, making sure everyone is rested and healthy. The Pacers open the playoffs Saturday afternoon against Boston.

O'Neal had 19 points and 13 rebounds in 29 minutes.

"We want to win, no matter who's on the court," O'Neal said. "Those guys played extremely hard. They came out and played with a lot of pride."

The Bulls were shooting over 70 percent from the field well into the second quarter.

Crawford led the way, scoring 16 points in the first quarter on 7-for-7 shooting, and 23 in the half. Crawford's offensive outburst came two games after he scored 50 at Toronto on Sunday.

Chicago shot 56 percent in the first half to take a 59-51 lead.

But Crawford was just 3-for-16 in the second half as the Bulls struggled.

"They did a good defensive job," Crawford said of the second half. "They made things a little more difficult for us."

Chicago was playing without three of their regulars, as well. Tyson Chandler (back), Antonio Davis (knee) and Jerome Williams (hamstring) all missed the game.

"We did a lot of good things out there," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "We just didn't have enough for (the Pacers)."

Notes:

Carlisle's decision to rest Miller means the veteran will finish the season with a 10.0 points-per-game scoring average. He has never averaged less than 10 points in his 17 years in the league. ... O'Neal came into the game needing 12 rebounds to average 20 points and 10 rebounds for the season. ... Skiles got a technical foul at 9:36 of the first. ... Carlisle got a technical at 8:11 of the second. ... The Bulls have lost 12 in a row at Conseco Fieldhouse.

http://sfgate.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

INDIANA (61-21) vs. No. 8 BOSTON (36-46)
Season series: Pacers won 3-1, winning twice at Boston after having a six-game losing streak there.

Storyline: Larry Bird's present vs. Larry Bird's past in a mismatch extraordinaire -- the team with the NBA's best record vs. an outsized opponent that finished 10 games under .500.

Key Matchup I: Ron Artest vs. Paul Pierce. The Celtics won't have even a hint of a chance if they can't get their best offensive player going, and Artest -- one of the league's best one-on-one defenders -- relishes the challenge of shutting down scorers.

Key Matchup II: Jermaine O'Neal vs. Mark Blount/Walter McCarty. The Celtics simply don't have the size or the talent to match up with O'Neal, who predicts the Pacers will bring an NBA title back to the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1998.

X-Factor: Will the Pacers take the Celtics too lightly, or will they summon the memories of three straight first-round playoff eliminations to stay properly focused?

Little-known fact: Indiana coach Rick Carlisle began his NBA playing career with the Celtics in 1984. He spent three seasons in Boston and was teammates with Boston director of basketball operations Danny Ainge.

Prediction: Pacers in 4

http://sfgate.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

A franchise-record 61 wins and a Central Division title later, the Indiana Pacers enter Saturday's playoff opener against Boston with home-court advantage throughout the postseason for the first time in the team's NBA history.

"We got off to a good start and were able to get some momentum early and were able to figure it out," coach Rick Carlisle said. "Our players deserve all the credit. It was tough for our players to adapt to different personnel on the court and on the staff."

Carlisle was hired to replace the fired Isaiah Thomas less than a month before the regular season began. While players and coaches worked to come together and overcome injuries, the Pacers went 3-5 in the preseason.

Jermaine O'Neal, Jonathan Bender, Kenny Anderson, Anthony Johnson and Al Harrington missed time with minor injuries early, preventing the team from jelling under Carlisle's new, more structured system. But the Pacers opened the regular season 14-2, led the Eastern Conference from start to finish, and ended with the best record in the league (61-21).

"It doesn't mean anything until we get out of the first round of the playoffs," O'Neal said in a rebuttal uttered by himself and others almost daily as the season wound down.

The time for talk is over as Indiana begins its quest to avoid a fourth straight first-round exit.

"I don't think any of our guys view this as a burden," Carlisle said. "It's viewed universally as an opportunity - certainly an opportunity that has been earned by having the kind of season we've had and an opportunity that we do not take for granted."

But it's clear that the Pacers have much bigger things in mind. "Our ultimate goal is to win a championship," Carlisle said. "We've never made any secret of that fact. But you have to take care of things (in the early rounds) first."

http://www.wndu.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

Jermaine O'Neal posted game-highs with 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead Indiana over Boston, 104-88, at Conseco Fieldhouse in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinals matchup.

Ron Artest also scored 24 points for the top-seeded Pacers, who started their quest towards earning their second berth in the NBA Finals in five seasons on a positive note.

The Pacers, who took three of the four meetings with the Celtics during the season, improved to 35-7 at home this season.

Paul Pierce collected 20 points and 10 boards for the eighth-seeded Celtics, who backed into the playoffs after dropping five of their last six games of the regular season.

The game was tied up 35-35 early in the second quarter, but the Pacers responded with a 15-1 run and they never looked back. Al Harrington capped off the burst on a bucket with 5:33 left in the frame to put the Pacers ahead, 50-36.

Harrington, who averaged just 3.0 points in last season's first-round playoff loss to Boston, added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers.

The Celtics played tough in the first quarter only trailing 30-29 after the opening 12 minutes. But Boston was outscored 35-14 in the second and went into the intermission down 65-43.

After shooting 55 percent from the field in the first quarter, the Celtics were actually outshot 52 percent to 36 percent from the field in the first half.

For the game, The Pacers shot 46 percent from the field, won the rebound margin 46-38 and forced 22 Boston turnovers.

The Pacers led by as many as 29 in the second half as they cruised to the victory.

In the fourth, Boston tallied 12 unanswered points to trim the deficit to 92-76 on a Ricky Davis basket with 8:11 remaining, but it was too little too late.

Davis and Chucky Atkins each finished with 19 points for Boston.

This is a best-of-seven series, with Game 2 scheduled for Tuesday at Indiana.

This is the fourth first round playoff meeting between the two teams, as the Celtics walked away with a win in all four previous meetings. Indiana team president Larry Bird helped Boston defeat the Pacers in a classic five-game series in 1991 before sweeping Indiana the following year.

http://www.sportsnetwork.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

Ron Artest finally got the type of recognition he says he deserves.
The Indiana forward was the runaway choice for NBA Defensive Player of the Year yesterday, the same day he was suspended for one game for leaving the bench during a confrontation in the Pacers' playoff win over the Boston Celtics on Saturday.

He received 476 points out of a possible 605, including 80 of 121 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

"I've been doing it behind the scenes since I was a rookie in Chicago," Artest said. "It's just been behind the scenes. People know I'm coming out to stop them and it hasn't changed since."

Two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons finished second, and the Portland Trail Blazers' Theo Ratliff was third.

Coach Rick Carlisle said Artest, who had 2.08 steals a game, held opponents to 9.4 shots and 8.1 points a game.

"It's mind-boggling he had that kind of impact," Carlisle said. "You know it's going to be tough to score, but it may be even tougher just to get the ball."


KOBE BRYANT: The mother of the Lakers star's accuser spoke publicly for the first time yesterday, saying she was proud of her daughter amid the storm surrounding the high-profile sexual assault case against the player.
"I would like to thank my daughter for teaching me about courage," the woman told about 100 people at a victims' advocates rally. "I'm proud to be her mom."

The accuser's father also was at the rally but didn't speak. They were invited to the annual event by the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance as part of National Crime Victims' Rights Week.

The accuser's mother spoke in support of pending legislation intended to protect alleged assault victims. The measure, which would allow judges to keep the names of alleged rape victims secret, was introduced in part because a woman was misidentified as the accuser in the Bryant case.


JAYSON WILLIAMS: The jury in the retired All-Star's manslaughter trial returned to the courtroom for the first time in almost three weeks after a delay caused by the prosecution's failure to turn over information from an expert witness.

NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting


(Selected by sportswriters and broadcasters)



Player, Team 1st 2nd 3rd Pts


Ron Artest, Indiana 80 20 16 476

Ben Wallace, Detroit 26 61 12 325

Theo Ratliff, Portland 8 10 20 90

Bruce Bowen, San Antonio 4 10 26 76

Andrei Kirilenko, Utah 2 12 21 67


Kevin Garnett, Minnesota 0 7 15 36

Tim Duncan, San Antonio 0 1 5 8

Clifford Robinson, G. St. 1 0 0 5

Kenyon Martin, New Jersey 0 0 2 2

James Posey, Memphis 0 0 1 1


Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers 0 0 1 1

Shaquille O'Neal, L.A. Lakers 0 0 1 1

Earl Watson, Memphis 0 0 1 1


http://www.baltimoresun.com

 

[TheGeneral+]

The Indiana Pacers proved they're more than Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal last night.

A group of reserves rescued the Pacers with an 18-1 run spanning the third and fourth quarters in the victory over the Boston Celtics in the second game of their first-round playoff series.

With erratic O'Neal watching from the bench and Artest watching from home because of a suspension, Austin Croshere and Jonathan Bender ignited a lifeless Pacers team late in the third quarter.

Croshere hit a three-pointer at the close of the third quarter and Bender brought the boisterous fans to their feet with a brilliant three-point play on a dunk in the fourth quarter that gave the Pacers a 72-69 lead.

Bender capped the run with a three-pointer that made the Pacers' lead 82-72 with 7:21 to play and propelled them to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The series will move to Boston on Friday.

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 27 points, but again struggled from the field -- hitting seven of his 18 shots after going 5-for-18 in the first game -- despite the absence of Artest. The NBA's defensive player of the year was suspended for one game for leaving the bench during a confrontation in the first game.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com