Post game
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NBA.com Video Highlights (http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap_1019_detind.asx)

Chat log (http://www.wtfdetroit.com/chatlogs/3.24.06_pacers_chatlog.txt)

Box score (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2006032411)

Pistons 75, Pacers 72

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Ben Wallace could not seal the game from the free throw line, so he went to what he does best -- playing great defense -- to make up for it.

Wallace blocked Danny Granger's 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Detroit Pistons held off the Indiana Pacers 75-72 on Friday night.

Wallace, the reigning NBA defensive player of the year, was glad to have made the final play, but said the Pistons should have been further ahead at that point.

"It was a tough play," he said. "We were able to get the block and get the win, but it never should have came down to that. We played terrible down the stretch. We had control of the game, we let it slip away. It was just one of those nights. We were fortunate to come out of here with a win."

Wallace was 1-for-8 from the foul line in the second half. The one he made came with 4.6 seconds left, and it forced the Pacers to try a 3-pointer to tie.

"After throwing eight up there, you're bound to hit one," he said. "It is what it is."

Richard Hamilton scored 15 points and Antonio McDyess and Tayshaun Prince each added 11 for Detroit, which extended its winning streak to four games.

David Harrison led the Pacers with 14 points and Stephen Jackson added 13.

Detroit led 74-70 and had possession in the final minute, but Indiana's Jamaal Tinsley stole the ball from Chauncey Billups with the shot clock winding down, and Billups fouled him. Tinsley made both free throws with 28 seconds left to cut Detroit's lead to 74-72.

On the ensuing possession, Billups put up a jumper and Wallace was fouled on the rebound with 4.6 seconds left. Wallace made only the second free throw to extend Detroit's lead to 75-72.

Granger then pump-faked before Wallace smothered his 3-point try from the wing at the buzzer. He was the third option on Indiana's final play.

"I just ran up to get it because we had five seconds left and nobody was getting open," he said. "I just ran up to try to bail Jamaal out. Obviously it wasn't for me. It was for Peja (Stojakovic) first and probably Jack (Stephen Jackson) secondary.

Detroit Pistons' Richard Hamilton, left, and Ben Wallace celebrate after Detroit defeated the Indiana Pacers 75-72 in an NBA basketball game Friday, March 24, 2006, in Indianapolis.
AP - Mar 24, 9:40 pm EST
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"He (Wallace) knew we needed a three. He knew I wasn't going to drive by him because we needed a three. It was probably an easy defensive play for him."

Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal struggled in his second game back after sitting out for two months with a torn left groin. He finished with eight points on 3-for-9 shooting and had seven rebounds.

"I'm still very raw," he said. "It hurts my ability to make plays. I've got to find a rhythm. To get to our ultimate goal, I must pick up my play."

Detroit led 62-51 in the fourth quarter before Indiana went on a 10-5 spurt that included six points from Stojakovic that got the Pacers back into striking range.

Harrison had 10 points in the first quarter to help the Pacers take a 20-15 lead. Indiana led 26-19 before Detroit went on a 17-1 run, sparked by two 3-pointers from Lindsey Hunter, to take a 36-27 lead. The Pistons led 42-36 at halftime.

Indiana closed the gap to 46-44 early in the third quarter, but the Pistons responded with an 11-2 run to take a 57-46 lead. Detroit led 60-49 at the end of the period.

Detroit's bench outscored Indiana's 28-24. McDyess led the reserves with 11 points, Hunter scored eight points and Carlos Delfino added seven.

"The bench was big, no doubt about it," Billups said. "All those guys played great tonight. We're going to need that from them in the playoffs."

Notes

Indiana guard Fred Jones sat out with a torn ligament in his left thumb. He has been the team's top scorer off the bench for most of the season. ... Detroit started the same lineup for the 68th consecutive game. ... McDyess led the Pistons with eight rebounds. It was just the seventh time this season someone without the last name Wallace has led the Pistons in rebounding. ... Jackson heaved a 45-foot shot with seven-seconds left in the first half, thinking time was running out. The ball bounced off the top of the backboard and out of bounds for a turnover.

Pregame

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VS
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(david harrison has been starting at C, but i'm going to assume that melonhead Germ will want to start tonight. also, tinsley is back from his toenail injury)

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After missing 24 games with a torn left groin muscle, Jermaine O'Neal is excited to be back on the court.

O'Neal, in his second game back from the injury, and the Indiana Pacers host the Detroit Pistons, owners of the NBA's best record.

"I'm looking forward to playing against those guys," O'Neal said. "To tell you the truth, I'm looking forward to playing against anybody. I've been out so long."

O'Neal scored 16 points off the bench in his return to action on Wednesday, a 95-85 win over the Chicago Bulls. Indiana had dropped three of its previous four contests.

The Pacers' leading scorer has 16 regular-season games to regain his form before the playoffs start, provided his team reaches them. Indiana is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, six games ahead of ninth-place Chicago.

"It's essential that we have some time to get him re-integrated into our team," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "There's going to be an adjustment here because we've been running a lot more, we've been doing a lot more movement stuff. We're going to have to continue with that but at times the ball is going to have to go through him inside."

Jamaal Tinsley also has returned after missing time with a back injury and sinus infection. Austin Croshere will miss Friday's game because of concussion symptoms, but the Pacers should return to full strength soon.

"Nobody can make excuses now," Pacers guard Stephen Jackson said. "We have everybody back. It's time to go to work and play like we know how."

O'Neal said will use the rest of the regular season to help develop chemistry on the court with his teammates.

"It's not necessarily about getting a rhythm," said O'Neal, who has missed both Pistons games this season. "It's about me and my teammates getting a rhythm together and making a run. We feel like we have something special but we have to put in the work to get to that special level."

The Pistons won their third straight game on Wednesday, coming back from a 12-point deficit to defeat Miami, 82-73. Chauncey Billups led the way with 24 points and 10 assists. The winning streak follows a 4-4 stretch which matched Detroit's worst eight-game period of the season.

The Pistons are 36-0 when holding opponents to fewer than 90 points this season.

"This wasn't any kind of statement," said Rasheed Wallace, who had seven points and 10 rebounds. "This was just playing a game against a very good team."

Detroit has won four of the last five meetings with Indiana, including the final three games of last season's Eastern Conference semifinals.

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I think this is where we give back the recent HCA gains. Indiana sees this as a much bigger game than we do.

The Pacers have not scored 100 points against the Pistons in 22 straight games.

That's the second-longest streak in the league, behind only the Spurs, who have kept the Jazz below 100 for 27 straight games.

Pretty impressive, if you ask me.

Indiana sees this as a much bigger game than we do.
i actually disagree on that for once. Indy has been talking alot of shit to us and i think we're itching to beat up on them at "supposed" full strength. JO's mouth may give us enough rise to school these punk bitches.

I think we remember getting embarrassed in Indy last time.

They'll be ready for this one.

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If our jumpers fall, we'll have a ball.

I'll tell you the truth, most Pacers fans have but one tooth.

We'll get some respect, from these rednecks.

That's all for now, gotta tip a cow.

http://www.11alive.com/assetpool/images/0532918419_cochran.jpg




If our jumpers fall, we'll have a ball.

I'll tell you the truth, most Pacers fans have but one tooth.

We'll get some respect, from these rednecks.

That's all for now, gotta tip a cow.
You do realize that ghost and paranormal practicing for lawyers from the dead hasn't been put into the american justice system yet right?

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The passion of frenzied hestreria,
The senseless berseker of an enraged pyschopath
Endless raving, Lunacy of eternity.

Insanity , A Fragrance By Ron Artest.

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Ronnie plays with us now. Weeeeeeeeeee!

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Don't tell Ronnie, It's a surprise!

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Did someone say cake?



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Why so blue Panda Bear?

http://insider.espn.go.com/media/nba/2004/0317/photo/g_oneal2_ft.jpg
I miss Ron Ron.


http://www.deadspin.com/sports/peja-chest.jpg
BUT You have Peja!


http://207.44.220.101/images/wiretap/photos/04/oneal_j_ind_4.jpg

Everyone else does it, I just wanted to be cool too http://wtfdetroit.com/images/smiles/Pacers.gif

Everyone else does it, I just wanted to be cool too http://wtfdetroit.com/images/smiles/Pacers.gif

No worries, Bubs.

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lol, nice, BubblesTheLion [smilie=2thumbsup.g:

that Peja shirtless pic is.........scary. [smilie=anxious.gif]

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"We'll probably lose this game because Carlisle is my daddy."




Eat a dick fuckface!

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Is that shirtless Peja pic more or less yucky than the Tigger Ginobili??

Brownie points for anybody who can find that Gino pic, I've exhausted my efforts to no avail.

i'm going to be out for the night, but i'm going to put my Skype on "auto-answer", and leave the radio on all night. so if anyone wants a radio feed, try calling me.....hopefully it works :)

If Flip doesn't start giving Delfino the big rotation minutes over Evans after this one, then Mo will obviously need to be traded before something happens. He is the complete package. He can penetrate and dish (he had a few nice plays today. Only one was converted though), and he can shoot. More shots/minutes = more consistancy offensively, and his defense is as good as it gets. Mo did nothing but play horrid defense on Stephen Jackson and throw up a few bricks.

magic number to clinch the east-5

to clinch the NBA- 12

games remaining- 14 (9 home 5 away)

2 more road wins sets a new franchise record.

Latham sighting!

Right after the "giant Eli Zaret head" sighting.

Latham sighting!

Right after the "giant Eli Zaret head" sighting.
Glenn made his keyboard messy. [smilie=404.gif] [smilie=arrgh.jpg] [smilie=anxious.gif]

Great game. The bench carried us tonight.

If Lindsey's offense stays like that I might actually start liking him.

Also, why didn't Jasikavukicgdrutu56576 play? He's been pretty good this year, and his fiance is Miss Universe.

Also, why didn't Jasikavukicgdrutu56576 play? He's been pretty good this year, and his fiance is Miss Universe.

Carlisle benched him because of defense and the fact his shot has dropped off the earth.

The country of lithuania is demanding carlisle be fired.

In all fairness to rick, Anthony Johnson has clearly outplayed jasikevicius this season. He earned it.

Also, why didn't Jasikavukicgdrutu56576 play? He's been pretty good this year, and his fiance is Miss Universe.

Carlisle benched him because of defense and the fact his shot has dropped off the earth.

The country of lithuania is demanding carlisle be fired.

In all fairness to rick, Anthony Johnson has clearly outplayed jasikevicius this season. He earned it.
are you guys talking bout Justcabbages the PG? yea he's not panning out to be the type of pg Rick wants.

%37 from the arc and a 1.5/1 assist/TO ratio will do that to you....

Sarunas is the kind of player who looks great in short strethes (like the olympics) but his game doesnt translate well over an entire season.

If Flip doesn't start giving Delfino the big rotation minutes over Evans after this one, then Mo will obviously need to be traded before something happens. He is the complete package. He can penetrate and dish (he had a few nice plays today. Only one was converted though), and he can shoot. More shots/minutes = more consistancy offensively, and his defense is as good as it gets. Mo did nothing but play horrid defense on Stephen Jackson and throw up a few bricks.

Yep, Delfino made his case tonight. If he gets no tick after this, Mo has to go.

Mo doesn't have to go. I think Mo is awesome, just not as good as Del-del-delfino.

I'd love to see a lineup of Delk/Evans/Delfino/Dyess/Davis off the bench.

Mo wouldn't have to go if Saunders had a clue. However Dumars has said that he'll never tell his coaches who to play - he never said he wouldn't trade away certain players to make the coaches choice more to his liking.

With Amir expected to be on the active roster next season, I think we could see Evans traded if there is any takers. Prince/Delfino/Johnson would be our SF rotation.

A lot will depend on how we finish this season i.e. title or no title.

Theres no way that Flip plays a unit as a bench out there. He will keep at least a starter on at all times.

Delfino needs to stop running into that screen though

Fuck those punk motherfuckers. I'm glad they only lost by 3.

Let them get their hopes up. I wish nothing but bad things for
the Pacers, their fans and the entire state of Indiana. Fuck them.

Stat of the Night: SIX points in the paint. SIX

we got a lot of baskets close up on the sideline. Sometimes I wish they'd just make a stat for all baskets within 12 feet from the basket.

an 8-footer directly in front of the hoop will count as a basket in the paint while a 4-footer on the baseline won't. It's a skewed stat for us because so many of our close shots come from the baseline.

I don't see the point in valuing a 12-footer straight away over a 5-footer from the baseline.

we got a lot of baskets close up on the sideline. Sometimes I wish they'd just make a stat for all baskets within 12 feet from the basket.

an 8-footer directly in front of the hoop will count as a basket in the paint while a 4-footer on the baseline won't. It's a skewed stat for us because so many of our close shots come from the baseline.

I don't see the point in valuing a 12-footer straight away over a 5-footer from the baseline.

Still. It means they aren't getting layups and dunks. Nothing that's an automatic 2 points to get the team out of a shooting slump. Nothing easy.

I laughed my ass off when Ben blocked that shot.

Afterwards, I said,

"GOOD! I'm glad we only beat them by 3 and they had a chance!
I love the fact that we gave them hope and then stomped on their
rednecks in the end. The fans in the arena were unaware that they
were doing the wave. Every time they thought they had a chance,
our Pistons made them sit back down on their gay asses.

Fuck Indiana, fuck the Pacers and fuck their fans. They are all idiots.
I hope they leave Conseco only to find out that all of their cars are
either gone or all have flat tires and broken windows. When they go
home, I hope they find that they have no food. I hope thier pets are
all dead and I want their children to cry."

...then I started laughing my ass off and my girl did too.
I felt a tad bit evil but I don't care about anyone there, so
I laughed even harder. My girl did too. That's just another
reason why we're getting married. She's dope.
I'm going to have another beer and then go to bed.

I love the Pistons and I hope that the Pacers and their fans continue
to suffer. It makes me so fucking happy to see them lose, by 30 or by 3.
I hate them with a passion. Fuck the Pacers.

Goodnight all.

Latham sighting!

Right after the "giant Eli Zaret head" sighting.

You know I saw that G. She was rockin' the ponytail and multiple layers of clothing look. First thing I thought was "Glenn will be pissed if he didn't catch this."

check out the original post for all the post game information.

The best part about the win was the bench minutes. unter has been on Saunders about trusting the bench more and it seems to be working. Davis should get 10-12 minutes a game the rest of the way out - he's an old-mans Ben Wallace in what he brings to the court.

Only Billups played a lot of minutes, and probably had his worst statistical game of the season, however that's because Delk is still having hamstring issues.

Did Delfino get subbed in before Evans? Or did Evans lay an egg and then Delfino was put in? Saunders said that Evans doesn't respond well if Delfino is subbed in before him and I'm just wondering is all. Maybe Delfino only played becasue Jackson and Granger are too big for Evans to guard...

Did Delfino get subbed in before Evans? Or did Evans lay an egg and then Delfino was put in? Saunders said that Evans doesn't respond well if Delfino is subbed in before him and I'm just wondering is all. Maybe Delfino only played becasue Jackson and Granger are too big for Evans to guard...

Yes, Delfino came in before Evans. Delfino played the entire 2nd quarter (the quarter when the game was won). Most of it was on Peja. He defended him very well. Forced him into 1 ugly looking brick and pressured him into scrambling and throwing the ball right to Lindsey on another occassion.

Evans came in toward the end of the first half. He threw up a couple bricks and played some hideous D on Stephen Jackson (gave up 5 straight easy points to him in a matter of about a minute).

In the 2nd half Delfino came in in the 4th quarter. He played good D on Peja except for 1 occassion where he got nailed by a screen. But that was the only half decent look Peja got the entire time Delfino was on him.

Did Delfino get subbed in before Evans? Or did Evans lay an egg and then Delfino was put in? Saunders said that Evans doesn't respond well if Delfino is subbed in before him and I'm just wondering is all. Maybe Delfino only played becasue Jackson and Granger are too big for Evans to guard...

Yes, Delfino came in before Evans. Delfino played the entire 2nd quarter. Most of it was on Peja. He defended him very well. Forced him into 1 ugly looking brick and pressured him into scrambling and throwing the ball right to Lindsey on another occassion.

Evans came in toward the end of the first half. He threw up a couple bricks and played some hideous D on Stephen Jackson (gave up 5 straight easy points to him in a matter of about a minute).

In the 2nd half Delfino came in in the 4th quarter. He played good D on Peja except for 1 occassion where he got nailed by a screen. But that was the only half decent look Peja got the entire time Delfino was on him.

I've stayed quiet about this until now cause I kinda hate on Fino, but it was so clear yesterday that one guy gets his role on the floor and is a playmaker and the other still isn't sure how to help and even with hustle can't make a difference. Evans will still be a value with his cheap deal, but if Flip doesn't serioulsy change the minutes Joe is gonna have to force his hand by peddling im off cause not playing Los may cost us some games.