Indiana Pacers defeat New Jersey Nets for fourth straight win
Quality shots, good defence, and enthusiasm - those were the ingredients that gave the Indiana Pacers an impressive 105-86 win over the New Jersey Nets at the Prudential Centre on Sunday night. The result marked their fourth consecutive win.
Pacers interim head coach Frank Vogel is a native of New Jersey, which is why he was especially delighted at the end of the game.
"This was a huge moment for me and I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who showed up. It was a good day for us."
With Dahntay Jones pacing the bench in flip-flops, it seemed like a day at the beach for the Pacers. Jones scored a season-high 18 points for Indiana, who have won five of their last six contests.
Mike Dunleavy chipped in with 17 points and four rebounds in the victory. Meanwhile Paul George sparkled in reserve duty for the Pacers as he contributed 14 points and six rebounds. Roy Hibbert and Danny Granger ended with 11 points apiece for Indiana, who won their 21st game of the 2010-11 season.
Only three New Jersey players scored in double figures. Devin Harris and Brook Lopez did all they could as both scored 13 points in the home defeat. Anthony Morrow came off the bench with 11 points for New Jersey, who have lost three consecutive and five of their last six games.
Match Analysis
This was a great game for Frank Vogel, who saw his team improve under his watch.
The game's top-scorer Dahntay Jones appreciated the efforts of Vogel by saying, "He always has positive things to say. He tries to make you feel special. He is giving a lot of guys confidence. There is a huge parallel between him and Doc [Rivers] in terms of personality and love of the game.”
The Pacers got off to a blistering start as they shared the basketball, and ran all over the Nets to take a 33-24 lead into the second.
Indiana extended their defensive play to the second quarter as they went on a 13-2 run to take a 56-43 advantage at half time.
The Nets fought hard in the third quarter to make the score a respectable one, as they went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to nine (63-54), capped by six points from Harris. However, the Pacers got it going offensively half way through the third, to take an 81-67 advantage into the final stanza.
The Pacers came on strong in the fourth and Jones’ lay-up shot extended Indiana's lead to 91-74 with seven minutes remaining. Paul George and Josh McRoberts wowed the crowd with acrobatic dunks, as the Pacers maintained a double-digit lead throughout the final stanza to seal another easy victory.
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