Indiana Pacers survive a second half surge to overcome Utah Jazz – NBA Recap
Darren Collison finished with a game-high 25 points while Danny Granger scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter as Indiana Pacers, after making a mess of a 21 points lead, bounced back to hold Utah Jazz 104-99 on Tuesday night.
Collison ended with an impressive 10-of-14 off the field for Indiana, which also got 17 points and 10 boards from Roy Hibbert.
Paul Millsap led Utah with an 18 point-10 rebound double-double while Al Jefferson scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Jazz, who lost their second straight game. C.J. Miles had 12 off the relief, Gordon Hayward and Devon Harris had 12 apiece while Derrick Favors chipped in with 10.
Indiana trailing by 14-18 deep into the first quarter started to heat up with a 13-2 run and then ran amuck with a 21-11 spurt, which started with 6:33 left in the half, to take their advantage into double figures 57-44. The stanza was capped by last second free throw by Devon Harris as the Jazz went into the locker room, staring at a 46-57 hole.
Things got even worse for the Jazz as the Pacers, looking determined to avoid back to back defeats, sprinted to a 14-2 run early to stretch their advantage to 71-50, the biggest of the game.
At that point, it seemed just like a routine blowout win for the resurgent Pacers.
However, they were in for a quick surprise.
In the next five and a half minutes, the Salt Lake City franchise pulled off a remarkable 23-8 to make it a six point game, 73-79.
A 12-0 burst, bridging the third and the fourth quarter, and capped by two free throws from Josh Howard then gave Utah a one point lead, 85-84.
The game had changed drastically and the momentum was clearly with Jazz, who led by 95-92 with 3:47 left on the clock.
Nerves however got the better of Jazz and they went cold. Indiana quickly seized the initiative and opened a 7 point spree to carve out a 100-95 lead. Seconds later, the Jazz pulled within three twice, but after a messy few minutes which saw them commit a travelling foul and a shot clock violation, Al Jefferson summed up the slump with two missed jumpers in the last three seconds.
Frank Vogel, the Pacers coach, gave his opposition the due credit for making it a thriller and also praised the clutch play shown by his team;
"Give them credit for not quitting. We understand big leads are never safe in the NBA. D.C. carried us early and Danny got hot late. When it came down to it, we made the plays at crunch time. Our greatest weapon is the ability to move the ball, find the open man with five guys who can score."
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