Dahntay Jones sizzles; Pacers sprint to a 116-105 win over Timberwolves
Dahntay Jones who hurt the Minnesota Timberwolves the worst with his sizzling shots in the fourth quarter put the Wolves away when it looked like they might be able to steal this victory on their home court.
Jones played scored 17 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Indiana Pacers posted their second straight win with a 116-105 victory over the woeful Timberwolves on Friday night at Conseco Field house.
The Wolves centre-guard, Dahntay Jones, appreciated the support of his teammates.
Jones stated, "I praise our point guards in getting the ball to me in a way that I could score." "I just took the open shot and felt pretty good when it was released. We had to be scrappy for the whole game and we were extremely scrappy and tough in the
fourth quarter."
Danny Granger also contributed 19 points while Tyler Hansbrough scored 14 points for the Pacers, who have now won a season-high five consecutive games at Conseco Field house.
Kevin Love did all he could as he came off the bench with game-high 22 points and 15 rebounds for Minnesota, who lost the 40th game of the current season.
Nikola Pekovic tied a career high with 15 points and pulled down six boards in the season’s sixteenth defeat at home.
Wayne Ellington and Lazar Hayward registered 14 points each for Minnesota, who saw their brief two-game winning streak snapped.
Game Story
The Pacers got off to a fast start, using quality defence and efficient scoring to take an early a 20-12 lead, capped by 14 points from Dunleavy. However, the Wolves got it offensively as they went on a 13-4 run to take a 31-28 lead. Both teams played the
game at a crisp pace by the mid, using 31 possessions apiece in the opening quarter.
Minnesota and Indiana played more or less the same shots in the second quarter, as more than four points never separated the teams in the second. Anyhow, Jonny Flynn came around the court with a sizzling floater in the final ten seconds, helping the Wolves
to take a 58-56 lead into the locker room.
The Wolves extended their strong defensive play to the third quarter as they opened the third with a quick 8-1 run to take a 66-57 lead at 08:42 mark. The 9-point lead was Minnesota’s largest of the game. The Pacers played sloppy basketball, providing the
Wolves with an opportunity to take a 90-83 lead into the final stanza.
The Pacers took the control of the contest at the right time as they began the fourth very active, getting under the skin of Minnesota. Jones has played a more extensive role and he scored all of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter. Darren Collison
and Granger then combined to hit five free throws to seal the victory at 116-105.
Minnesota head coach, Kurt Rambis, said, "Obviously, we couldn't get stops in the fourth quarter," "I didn't do enough to help my team with stopping Jones. I should have done better things to find ways to get stops to take him out of the ball game. He just
had an amazing night."
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