{"id":333816,"date":"2011-03-24T01:49:21","date_gmt":"2011-03-24T01:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/24\/pacers-rout-bobcats-tighten-hold-on-8th-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-03-24T01:49:21","modified_gmt":"2011-03-24T01:49:21","slug":"pacers-rout-bobcats-tighten-hold-on-8th-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/24\/pacers-rout-bobcats-tighten-hold-on-8th-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Pacers rout Bobcats, tighten hold on 8th (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)\u2014Danny Granger<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored 33 points and the Indiana Pacers<\/a>
\ncreated breathing room from one of their closest competitors for the Eastern
\nConference\u2019s final playoff spot with a 111-88 victory over the slumping
\nCharlotte Bobcats<\/a> on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Tyler Hansbrough<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> added 24 points and Roy Hibbert<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had 13 points and 14
\nrebounds for the Pacers, who moved three games ahead of Charlotte for eighth
\nplace by completing a four-game season sweep.<\/p>\n

The Pacers turned a 12-point, second-quarter deficit into a rout behind the
\nhot-shooting Granger, who scored 25 points in a 16-minute stretch bridging the
\nsecond and third periods.<\/p>\n

D.J. Augustin<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> scored 17 points and Kwame Brown<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had 16 points and nine
\nrebounds for the Bobcats, who got 11 points from top scorer Stephen Jackson<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> as
\nhe labored through a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

Already holding the tiebreaker over Charlotte, Indiana interim coach Frank
\nVogel wasn\u2019t shy before the game in comparing the matchup to an \u201celimination
\ngame if you were up in the playoffs 3-1 or 3-2.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think this would be a knockout blow if we get this win,\u201d Vogel added.<\/p>\n

They might just have done that with their sixth straight victory over the
\nBobcats.<\/p>\n

Charlotte\u2019s roster was gutted by the trade that sent former All-Star Gerald
\nWallace<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> to Portland last month, and couldn\u2019t keep pace with Indiana in its
\nfourth straight loss and 10th in 12 games.<\/p>\n

The Pacers were mired in a six-game losing streak. But behind Hansbrough\u2019s
\ncontinued emergence and Granger\u2019s scoring, the Pacers have won two straight and
\nfive of seven.<\/p>\n

Indiana, which entered the night also two games ahead of Milwaukee, took
\nadvantage of Charlotte\u2019s limited scoring options with Jackson hobbled.<\/p>\n

Jackson, who has been slowed by the injury for the past month, sat out
\nSaturday\u2019s loss to San Antonio and aggravated the left leg again in Wednesday
\nmorning\u2019s shootaround.<\/p>\n

But Jackson returned to the arena in the afternoon and declared himself
\nready to go. It just wasn\u2019t pretty watching him try to run.<\/p>\n

Despite his limited mobility, Jackson started 4 of 5 from the field as the
\nBobcats built a 38-26 lead early in the second quarter. Jackson often retreated
\nto an exercise bike when he came out to stay loose, but Charlotte struggled to
\nscore without him.<\/p>\n

Granger scored 14 points in the second quarter when the Pacers took their
\nfirst lead. He was up to 28 points by the time Indiana took control in the
\nthird.<\/p>\n

Indiana also survived a scare when point guard Darren Collison<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> collided with
\nAugustin in the second quarter and crumpled to the floor clutching his right
\nknee. Collison returned after halftime and had seven points and four assists,
\nleading an offense that shot 54 percent from the field.<\/p>\n

Since trading Wallace, the Bobcats have needed strong games from promoted
\nstarter Gerald Henderson<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Boris Diaw<\/a>(notes)<\/a>.<\/span> Neither did nearly enough.<\/p>\n

Henderson never got in a rhythm, missing 10 of 14 shots and committing a
\nflagrant foul on Granger in the decisive third quarter. Diaw kept passing up
\neasier shots for more difficult ones for teammates.<\/p>\n

Coach Paul Silas immediately yanked Diaw in the third\u2014and never put him
\nback in\u2014after instead of attempting a shot in the lane he threw an
\nover-the-head pass that was intercepted and led to Kareem Rush\u2019s<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> 3-pointer.<\/p>\n

Indiana\u2019s 33-19 third quarter also included a nasty fall by Charlotte\u2019s
\nTyrus Thomas<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> who went to the locker room with bruised ribs and didn\u2019t return.<\/p>\n

Notes: Bobcats assistant Charles Oakley missed the game as he awaits test
\nresults for a painful back injury that forced him to be carried from the bench
\nSaturday in San Antonio. \u201cRight now it\u2019s hard for him to walk,\u201d Silas said.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s struggling.\u201d \u2026 Pacers and CBS college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg
\nhas the Charlotte-Newark, N.J. flight path down. He was in Charlotte last
\nweekend for the NCAA tournament, flew to Newark on Monday for the Pacers\u2019 game,
\nback in Charlotte Wednesday and returns to Newark on Friday for the NCAA East
\nregional.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

See original article:
\nPacers rout Bobcats, tighten hold on 8th (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHARLOTTE, N.C. 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