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Granger's 36 leads Pacers past LeBron-less Cavs 116 - 113
April 9, 2010
The game was on the schedule, so they had to play it. But neither the Indiana Pacers nor Friday's version of the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to the playoffs. In fact, some fans who showed up to watch the real Cavs may have felt like they were witnessing the summer-league team instead. The verdict: Indiana 116, Cleveland 113 in front of a 20,562 at Quicken Loans Arena. Not that any of it truly mattered. After all, the Cavs (61-19) secured the NBA's best record at the beginning of the week, and the Pacers (31-48) have been playing with one eye on next season for quite some time. Still, both teams deserve credit for conjuring up a reason to win and putting on a pretty good show. The Cavs were trying to prove they could get it done without their four leading scorers (LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams and Shaquille O'Neal), while the Pacers were trying to snap a 10-game losing streak in Cleveland. Mission accomplished for the suddenly hot Pacers, who have won three straight and four of five. For the most part, it was a night of strange occurrences, with the Pacers practically treating every shot inside the 3-point arc like a mistake. They took a whopping 32 threes, hitting 14. "We'll take 50 threes if we're open," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said proudly. "We're winning right now because we're averaging 11 or 12 made threes a game."
It was indeed a night for the bizarre, as Cavs guard Delonte West started after sitting out the previous two games, then got ejected in the third quarter for arguing a call. Or perhaps it was a non-call. Nobody could really say for sure. Adding to the interesting evening was the fact that the man who tied for the Cavs' lead in scoring was playing in just his second game with the team. That would be none other than Sebastian Telfair, who came over from the Los Angeles Clippers in a mid-February trade. Until Thursday's game in Chicago, he had never put on a Cavs uniform. But Telfair finished with a season-high 21 points off the bench, displaying the type of point guard skills and leadership that could land him a spot in the playoff rotation. "For being a new guy and a young guy, you can feel the leadership qualities that he does have," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "He is extremely intelligent, he has a great feel for the game and a great change of gear, and he's worked extremely hard on his mid-range game." As for the winning side, Danny Granger was his usual dominant-when-healthy self, scoring 36 points on just 17 shots. Considerably more of his damage came from the free-throw line, where he knocked down all 14 attempts. That included four in the game's final 11.6 seconds to keep Cavs Lite at bay.
Granger led a balanced effort in which all five Pacers starters scored in double figures -- with guards Earl Watson and Brandon Rush hitting for 16 apiece, Troy Murphy scoring 14 (and grabbing 11 rebounds) and center Roy Hibbert tallying 12. "I've been playing great lately," Granger said. "Unfortunately, it's a little bit too late, but what we're doing right now is trying to establish something for next season." The Cavs, on the other hand, are trying establish something for the postseason. They are doing it mostly by keeping James safe and healthy in a sports coat on the sidelines, and giving others such as Williams and Jamison a little time to take it easy. They also want to help reserves such as Leon Powe, Jamario Moon and Jawad Williams become more comfortable with their roles, increasing the overall depth for the bigger picture. "We boast about having a great bench, 15 guys who can play," Jawad Williams said. "So we have to go out there and show it."
Cavs big man J.J. Hickson scored 21 points and grabbed 10 boards, and West passed for 12 assists before getting the old heave-ho. The loss snapped an 11-game home winning streak for the Cavs, who finished 12-4 against the Central Division. "It's a great confidence [builder] because Cleveland is a great team," Granger said. "I don't care who is not playing for them, they're still very good. So, it's a great road win for us."