Roy Hibbert stars as Indiana Pacers hold off desperate Milwaukee Bucks – NBA Recap
The Indiana Pacers were able to pull off a 105-99 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks in a closely contested match here on Saturday. The Bucks came into this match desperately needing a win to close in the gap between them, Philadelphia
76ers and the New York Knicks to improve their chances of making the playoffs.
However, Indiana had other goals in mind, winning their 4th straight game in a row. Roy Hibbert had an amazing night for Indiana, scoring 23 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, 7 of them on the offensive glass. Monta Ellis
had a team high 20 points for the Bucks, and added 5 rebounds and 4 assists to the tally.
"It's tough. You want to protect your home court always. That's been something that's been our weakness all season is losing close games at home and not taking advantage of the home-court advantage" said Milwaukee centre Drew Gooden,
who had just 7 points and 8 rebounds in the game, about losing at home.
It was an amazing first quarter to begin with, which included 12 lead exchanges and 4 ties. After tying the game at 16 with a hook shot by Roy Hibbert, Indiana went on to score 6 more points to lead 20-16. An Ekpe Udoh shots later,
Granger and Roy Hibbert struck twice from within the arc to extend the Indiana lead to 24-18, their largest of the quarter.
Milwaukee ended the first quarter with a three point play by Luc Mbah O’ Moute followed by a tip shot by Larry Sanders to tie the game at 27.
The game was quite evenly matched in the 2nd quarter as well, but an 11-0 run by Indiana gave them a 53-41 lead, their largest of the night with 2:14 left in the 1st half. Indiana led 59-48 at halftime.
A three pointer by Carlos Delfino followed by 5 straight points by Brandon Jennings brought Milwaukee back within three with 6:24 left in the third period. However, Indiana held on to the lead to go into the final quarter leading
by 80-78.
Two back to back three pointers by Leandro Barbosa extended the Indiana lead to 88-80 early in the final period. However, 5 straight points by Ellis brought the Bucks back within 1 point. Granger made two crunch time shots and
Hibbert went 6 of 6 from the free throw line in the final minutes of the game to give Indiana a 105-99 victory.
Granger scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds for Indiana in the win. 7 Indiana players had double figure points, including all five starters. George Hill had 13 points and Paul George added 10 points and 7 rebounds.
Brandon Jennings added 16 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds for Milwaukee, and Carlos Delfino scored 14 points.
At 44%, Milwaukee shot better from the field than Indiana, but were only 16 of 26 from the foul line as compared to 24-26 free throw shooting by Indiana. Pacers also out-rebounded the Bucks 54-43. Both teams managed to keep turnovers
on the lower side, at ten apiece.
The Bucks are now in a difficult spot in terms of clinching the last playoff spot. They are 2 wins behind of 8th placed New York with only a few games left in the season. Their chances of making the playoffs seem bleak.
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