On a night where the Indiana Pacers swept the floor with
the Golden State Warriors, Bankers Life Fieldhouse was loud, fun and energetic. Despite a small crowd of just over 12,000 people in attendance
the lower bowl of the Fieldhouse was buzzing and the players responded. Former Indiana Pacer star and now head coach
of the Golden State Warriors, Mark Jackson, left the Fieldhouse on Tuesday
night with an ugly 102 to 78 loss to the Indiana Pacers. This might have been a loss for the former
Pacer star but it was a loud win for a Pacers team that doesn’t have a
star. Instead this Pacers team is built
upon a solid foundation of young hard working players, a smart young coach and
a couple of veteran leaders.
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| Pacers vs. Warriors - Tip Off! |
On this warm February night I was accompanied by my
beautiful girlfriend in Section 4, Row 18, seats 1&2. The night started out with a $25 meal for the
two of us at Dick’s Bodacious Bar-B-Q where we both dove into pulled pork
sandwiches. The
service was great and the restaurant is connected to the parking garage.
The Fieldhouse was packed in the lower bowl as the Pacers
won the tip off and jumped out to a 10 point lead. The crowd was loud but as the quarter pressed
on Golden State didn’t back down pulling within 4 by the end of the quarter. Like in many other games this year the zone
gave the Pacers problems early on in the game.
Fortunately for the Pacers Danny Granger had his mid-range jumper on
target as he led the team in scoring.
Besides Granger having a good scoring night with 25 points the Pacers made
adjustments in the first half that allowed them to attack the zone vertically instead
of horizontally – leading to either fast breaks, dunks or a combination that
left the crowd going crazy!
The Pacers only gave up the lead once early in the second
quarter 25 to 24 but regained the lead and pulled away quickly from Golden
State. The rest of the game was all
Pacers and by halftime they had opened up a 14 point lead.
The crowd cheered on the Pacers with only a few quiet
moments throughout the entire game. One of those silent times lead to the story
of the night as a fan from Area 55 yelled out to Nate Robinson of Golden State
that he “Looked like a Smurf.” The rest
of the night was filled with Area 55 chants of “Smurf, Smurf, Smurf, Smurf,” as
Nate Robinson took foul shots and put up the occasional air ball. Besides the crowd giving Golden State a hard
time the highlights came from an array of high soaring dunks supplied by Paul
George, Tyler Hansbrough, George Hill and even Lou! Darren Collison and George Hill did a good
job throughout the game pushing the ball up the court keeping Golden State on
their heels.
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| Pacers win big over the Warriors! |
At the end of the night the Pacers looked strong against a
below .500 team and they did so in fashion by leading throughout the second
half of the game by 30 points. The Pacers would end this electric night with their fifth straight win 102 –
78. If you enjoy basketball and haven’t
been to a game this is a team that you must see in person. FSIndiana does a great job broadcasting the
game but the energy at the Fieldhouse and this group of players is something
special. If you have the means, which I
found my section 4, row 19 tickets for $10 a piece on StubHub, then take your
buddy, wife, husband or entire family – you will have stories to tell for the
next week.
Sincerely,
The Indy Minute
