Chris Paul finished with 26 points for the Clippers, who had held the Blazers to an average of just 88 points in the first two games ” down from an average of 105.1 in the regular season. The North will be boisterous, but IN matches up well, and they don’t need someone like Ian Mahinmi to have the game of his life as a prerequisite for a Pacer win. He had five assists in his entire playoff career.
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For the first time since the All-Star break, Chris Bosh was with the Miami Heat for a road game, joining his teammates Saturday in Charlotte for Game 3. With the win, the Pacers have tied the best-of-seven series 2-2.
“This is how I wanted us to respond to the Game 3 loss“, George said. “He was huge on the offensive glass”. “If DeMar is a facilitator and he’s making plays for other people, then I think yes. but he has to be a facilitator”.
IN scored the first seven points, took control with a 3-point spree late in the first quarter and led by as much as 25 points in the first half. That notch worked its way up to 25 points midway through the third quarter as George did damage on both ends and point guard George Hill nailed all five of his shot attempts on his way toward 14 first half points.
Lillard had made only 13 of 39 from the floor, and just 3 of 14 from 3-point range in the first two games combined. The most consistent threat for the Raptors has been Jonas Valanciunas and his complete dominance of the paint that IN has absolutely no answer for. Ty Lawson, Solomon Hill, and Rodney Stuckey all put together solid minutes in the second quarter, helping the Pacers add to their lead. “It becomes a fight and I thought together as a group, we did that as a group”. “And we got that (Saturday)”. Everything about this game was great for us.
All night, Jonas was throwing his elbows and flinging his elbows and trying to lock arms, and it was nearly the play before where he did the same thing and I let it slide and Ian shot a free throw. The Raptors never got closer than 11 in the second half of game four.
Good things have typically happened over the course of the season when the Pacers play aggressively and tonight was no exception. “The biggest reason we won”. “I mean they’re still getting some looks we’re not comfortable with but we’ve got to continue to do a better job with”.
The Pacers blew the game open again in the fourth quarter.
Looking to combat the Heat’s height advantage on the perimeter, Hornets coach Steve Clifford moved Williams to small forward – in place of the injured Nicolas Batum – and inserted Kaminsky and Al Jefferson into the starting lineup. Strangely, in a series with three stars – Lowry, DeRozan and George – three of the four games have been decided by the supporting casts.
Both teams have won seven of their last ten games dating back to the regular season.
George was referring to the team playing with a “ticked-off” attitude.
Class moves on back to Toronto for Game 5, though, where IN has already taken care of business.
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“Everybody has to be a scoring option for us, and today they were”, said George. We’ve got to stay grounded. The Warriors bested the National Basketball Association record they shared for 3s in a playoff game when Brandon Rush made one from the top of the key with about 2 1/2 minutes left. Fans should also remember, every game is its own animal in a playoff series.
