http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...611020430/1088
PACERS SEASON OPENER
True team effort yields victory
After Harrington and O'Neal fall into foul trouble, rest of Pacers come through
By Mike Wells
mike.wells@indystar.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- They weren't perfect.
They weren't supposed to be. That would have been too much to ask of a team still searching for an identity.
That's why the Indiana Pacers aren't complaining about playing well for just 24 minutes Wednesday in their 106-99 season-opening victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
"There was a lot of mysteries, questions coming into this game and there will continue to be until we can prove over time we're a solid basketball team," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "We showed signs of doing some good things tonight."
The Pacers ended the preseason needing more time to figure themselves out.
They're now forced to use the early part of the regular season to work out any lingering kinks and attempt to mix in new faces.
The Pacers had only three players score in double figures, but they also had Jeff Foster's 11 rebounds, Darrell Armstrong's three 3-pointers and David Harrison's seven points in 10 minutes. The Pacers got 48 points, 22 rebounds and 14 assists from their bench.
"The bench was huge," starting forward Al Harrington said. "Those guys gave us a huge lift. Without it, I don't know what would have happened. It's a compliment to them because they've been working hard and they've been doing everything they're supposed to do as far as bringing that type of energy."
Carlisle played 11 players in the first quarter and used all 12 players by halftime.
"It's going to take some time," he said. "When you're playing this style, I don't think you can have as much of a set rotation as you can when you're playing a slower tempo because you have fatigue and other things that come into play. We'll learn and adjust and keep going."
If anything, the Pacers found out how deep they can be. Foul trouble limited Harrington and Jermaine O'Neal, the team's two best players, to a combined 15 first-half minutes.
Sarunas Jasikevicius made up for a disappointing preseason by coming off the bench to score 20 points and hand out five assists with just one turnover. Jasikevicius, usually a point guard, spent most of his minutes playing shooting guard.
"All through the preseason I felt good," Jasikevicius said. "Physically, stuff just wasn't falling and I was making bad decisions. I really hope this is the beginning of a couple of good games in a row. That's what I'm shooting for. I would like to get on a roll."
The Pacers spent the first 24 minutes not matching the intensity of the scrappy Bobcats. That style of play caused them to commit 12 turnovers and trail by as many as nine points.
"I didn't like the way we started the game," Carlisle said. "We eased into it, which can't happen for us. We're not that kind of team that can take five, six minutes off to start the game."
O'Neal's two free throws with 5:17 left in the third quarter gave the Pacers their first lead, 63-61.
The Pacers scored 18 of the first 25 points in the fourth quarter to turn a three-point lead into a 14-point cushion with just more than seven minutes left.
O'Neal scored 20 points. Stephen Jackson added 18 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds. Emeka Okafor led the Bobcats with 19 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots.
"Our whole motto this year is we're going to do it as a team," O'Neal said. "If one or two people can't get it done, we're going to pick up the slack from other people. Our team did a great job. We've got 81 more games to go, but it was a great win for us because we struggled in the first half and turned it up in the second half."
GAME MVP
Sarunas Jasikevicius came off the bench to score 20 points and hand out five assists in 21 minutes.
KEY TO THE GAME
The Pacers committed just five turnovers in the second half.
PACERS SEASON OPENER
True team effort yields victory
After Harrington and O'Neal fall into foul trouble, rest of Pacers come through
By Mike Wells
mike.wells@indystar.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- They weren't perfect.
They weren't supposed to be. That would have been too much to ask of a team still searching for an identity.
That's why the Indiana Pacers aren't complaining about playing well for just 24 minutes Wednesday in their 106-99 season-opening victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
"There was a lot of mysteries, questions coming into this game and there will continue to be until we can prove over time we're a solid basketball team," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "We showed signs of doing some good things tonight."
The Pacers ended the preseason needing more time to figure themselves out.
They're now forced to use the early part of the regular season to work out any lingering kinks and attempt to mix in new faces.
The Pacers had only three players score in double figures, but they also had Jeff Foster's 11 rebounds, Darrell Armstrong's three 3-pointers and David Harrison's seven points in 10 minutes. The Pacers got 48 points, 22 rebounds and 14 assists from their bench.
"The bench was huge," starting forward Al Harrington said. "Those guys gave us a huge lift. Without it, I don't know what would have happened. It's a compliment to them because they've been working hard and they've been doing everything they're supposed to do as far as bringing that type of energy."
Carlisle played 11 players in the first quarter and used all 12 players by halftime.
"It's going to take some time," he said. "When you're playing this style, I don't think you can have as much of a set rotation as you can when you're playing a slower tempo because you have fatigue and other things that come into play. We'll learn and adjust and keep going."
If anything, the Pacers found out how deep they can be. Foul trouble limited Harrington and Jermaine O'Neal, the team's two best players, to a combined 15 first-half minutes.
Sarunas Jasikevicius made up for a disappointing preseason by coming off the bench to score 20 points and hand out five assists with just one turnover. Jasikevicius, usually a point guard, spent most of his minutes playing shooting guard.
"All through the preseason I felt good," Jasikevicius said. "Physically, stuff just wasn't falling and I was making bad decisions. I really hope this is the beginning of a couple of good games in a row. That's what I'm shooting for. I would like to get on a roll."
The Pacers spent the first 24 minutes not matching the intensity of the scrappy Bobcats. That style of play caused them to commit 12 turnovers and trail by as many as nine points.
"I didn't like the way we started the game," Carlisle said. "We eased into it, which can't happen for us. We're not that kind of team that can take five, six minutes off to start the game."
O'Neal's two free throws with 5:17 left in the third quarter gave the Pacers their first lead, 63-61.
The Pacers scored 18 of the first 25 points in the fourth quarter to turn a three-point lead into a 14-point cushion with just more than seven minutes left.
O'Neal scored 20 points. Stephen Jackson added 18 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds. Emeka Okafor led the Bobcats with 19 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots.
"Our whole motto this year is we're going to do it as a team," O'Neal said. "If one or two people can't get it done, we're going to pick up the slack from other people. Our team did a great job. We've got 81 more games to go, but it was a great win for us because we struggled in the first half and turned it up in the second half."
GAME MVP
Sarunas Jasikevicius came off the bench to score 20 points and hand out five assists in 21 minutes.
KEY TO THE GAME
The Pacers committed just five turnovers in the second half.
Comment