{"id":328131,"date":"2011-03-22T02:14:21","date_gmt":"2011-03-22T02:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-03-22T02:14:21","modified_gmt":"2011-03-22T02:14:21","slug":"pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Pacers open 2-game lead for 8th in East (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

NEWARK, N.J. (AP)\u2014Roy Hibbert<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored 24 points and Danny Granger<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had 17 of
\nhis 20 in the second half as the Indiana Pacers<\/a> opened a two-game lead in the
\nrace for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with a 102-98 victory
\nover the New Jersey Nets<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n

Darren Collison<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> added 15 points\u2014nine in the final 2:24\u2014and 12 assists
\nfor the Pacers (31-40). Charlotte (28-41) and Milwaukee (28-41) are tied for
\nninth, with the Bobcats playing host to Indiana on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Brook Lopez<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had 20 points to lead the Nets, who saw Sundiata Gaines<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and
\nSasha Vujacic<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> miss tying 3-point attempts in the final 15 seconds.<\/p>\n

Gaines finished with a career-high 18 points, while Vujacic and Jordan
\nFarmar<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had 14 apiece for New Jersey, which lost its fourth in the row.<\/p>\n

The Nets played without point guard Deron Williams<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> who missed his second
\nstraight game with a wrist injury.<\/p>\n

The final three minutes were wild with the Pacers seemingly putting the game
\naway when Collison converted a three-point play to open a 94-83 lead 2:24 to go.<\/p>\n

Anthony Morrow<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to eight. After Josh
\nMcRoberts<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> (14 points) hit a shot in the lane for Indiana, Vujacic hit a
\n3-pointer after New Jersey got an offensive rebound following a miss free throw
\nby Lopez, cutting the margin to 96-90.<\/p>\n

After Collison made two free throws with 1:20 to go, the Nets came up with
\nfour more points. Morrow hit the first of two free throws and Vujacic nailed
\nanother 3-pointer after New Jersey got the offensive rebound, making it a
\nfour-point game.<\/p>\n

Collison missed a jumper and Gaines was fouled hard by McRoberts. He made
\none of two free throws to cut the lead to 98-95 with 40.5 seconds to go.<\/p>\n

After Hibbert, who was 10 of 14 from the field missed a jump hook, the Nets
\nhad their chances to tie it, but Gaines missed a long 3-pointer and Vujacic had
\nhis 3-pointer come up short.<\/p>\n

Collison iced the game with four free throws.<\/p>\n

The Pacers, who were blown out at Memphis on Saturday night, looked listless
\nfor most of the first half. They were down by 12 with 3:03 left in the first
\nhalf when they suddenly woke up.<\/p>\n

Hibbert scored five points and Granger, who missed his first seven shots
\nfrom the field, nailed a 3-pointer in a 12-4 run that closed the gap to 44-40 at
\nthe half.<\/p>\n

The Pacers scored the first nine points of the second half with Hibbert, who
\nwas limited to two points in a foul-plagued game Saturday, scoring twice inside
\nand Tyler Hansbrough<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> converting a three point play.<\/p>\n

Notes: The Pacers\u2019 15 first-quarter points were the fewest New Jersey
\nallowed in the opening quarter this season. Oklahoma City had 16 on Dec. 1. \u2026
\nNets rookie F Damion James<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> missed the game with a sore right foot. \u2026 Indiana
\ndid not commit a foul in the third quarter. \u2026 The most consecutive
\ndouble-doubles in a season by a Nets player is 13, by Buck Williams, during the
\n1982-83 season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

More:
\nPacers open 2-game lead for 8th in East (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWARK, N.J. (AP)\u2014 Roy Hibbert (notes) scored 24 points and Danny Granger (notes) had 17 of his 20 in the second half as the Indiana Pacers opened a two-game lead in the race for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with a 102-98 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Monday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-328131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nPacers open 2-game lead for 8th in East (AP) - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Pacers open 2-game lead for 8th in East (AP) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"NEWARK, N.J. (AP)\u2014 Roy Hibbert (notes) scored 24 points and Danny Granger (notes) had 17 of his 20 in the second half as the Indiana Pacers opened a two-game lead in the race for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with a 102-98 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Monday\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/b0e2746c8d7791c5338.jpg-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Pacers open 2-game lead for 8th in East (AP)\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-22T02:14:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/\"},\"wordCount\":525,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/b0e2746c8d7791c5338.jpg-150x150.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/\",\"name\":\"Pacers open 2-game lead for 8th in East (AP) - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/b0e2746c8d7791c5338.jpg-150x150.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-22T02:14:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/b0e2746c8d7791c5338.jpg-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/b0e2746c8d7791c5338.jpg-150x150.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pacers open 2-game lead for 8th in East (AP) - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/22\/pacers-open-2-game-lead-for-8th-in-east-ap\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Pacers open 2-game lead for 8th in East (AP) - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"NEWARK, N.J. 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