Recap: Indiana vs. New Jersey
Sports Network | November 08, 2008
Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Danny Granger led a balanced Indiana scoring attack with 23 points, as the Pacers pulled away late to crush the Nets, 98-80, at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Troy Murphy had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who snapped their two-game slide. Jeff Foster added 12 points and 13 boards, while T.J. Ford had 13 points, nine assists and nine rebounds. Marquis Daniels gave 14 points in the win.
"Close but can't seem to quite get there," said Ford of missing a triple double. "One day it will be my night and I'll get there. I'm really proud of my rebounds tonight."
Vince Carter had 31 points for the Nets, who dropped their third game in four attempts. Keyon Dooling ended with 17 points, while Yi Jianlian had only two points but hauled in 11 boards.
One night after a career-best performance of 38 points, Nets guard Devin Harris didn't suit up for Saturday's setback. Harris sprained his left ankle in Friday's win over the Pistons, but finished that game.
The Pacers led 32-27 after the first quarter, but the Nets battled back to take a 51-49 lead at the half.
Indiana scored the first 12 points of the third quarter to assume a 61-51 lead with eight minutes left in the stanza. Ford sparked the run with a pull-up jumper and Murphy had a three-pointer, but Granger accounted for seven of the points on the surge.
The Pacers led by as many as 12 in the third, but two free throws from Bobby Simmons and a Dooling fadeaway shot pulled the Nets within 74-66 heading into the final frame.
Following Granger's three-point play, a Jarvis Hayes free throw pulled New Jersey within 10 points, 77-67. However, Granger scored the next five points to make it 82-67 with 8 1/2 minutes left in regulation.
Indiana's lead hovered around the mid-teens for the rest of the game.
"They played harder than we did," said Hayes. "They made more plays than we did, and they made more stops than we did. Coming off of last night, it's disappointing."
Indiana center Rasho Nesterovic (ankle) didn't play in Saturday's game...New Jersey had won six of eight and seven of the last 10 matchups in the series. Indiana has beaten New Jersey three straight times at Conseco Fieldhouse.
