First Thoughts: Indiana 90, Detroit 72
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
Let’s take a quick look at how the Indiana Pacers easily achieved a 90-72 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
WHY IT HAPPENED: After sitting on the bench for the first 55 games of the season because of a left knee injury, Danny Granger enjoyed a victorious return against the Pistons. He didn’t have to do the heavy lifting; David West and George Hill took care of a lot of that. Granger scored two points, grabbed two rebounds and blocked a shot in 19 minutes of playing time. West had 16 points and eight rebounds, while Hill scored 17. Paul George nearly got his second triple-double, finishing with 12 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Will Bynum led Detroit with 15 points, 13 of which came in the second quarter.
WHAT WE LEARNED: Indiana didn’t play particularly well but found a way to win comfortably. Granger appeared very rusty, shooting just 1-for-10 and missing all four 3-point tries. His lone make was a 15-foot jumper that had the entire Pacers bench standing, applauding and smiling. When Granger checked out of the game for good in the fourth quarter he was beaming and embraced teammate Roy Hibbert before sitting down. The Pistons struggled to get clean looks at the rim, as Indiana challenged almost everything, and on top of the inability to finish, Detroit couldn’t hit from outside and was dominated on the boards. Playing shorthanded without key pieces Brandon Knight and Andre Drummond, coach Lawrence Frank looked even wearier after Bynum was ejected early in the fourth quarter for hitting Tyler Hansbrough in the chest. Replays showed the blow landed close to Hansbrough’s right arm. Hansbrough avoided retaliation as both coaches ran over to the confrontation, which was broken up by officials. The Pacers swept the season series, and Detroit did not play well in any of the four games.
KEY NUMBER: Detroit scored a season-low 28 points in the first half, and shot 33.8 percent from the field for the game, the fifth straight time Indiana has held an opponent to 39 percent or less.
TURNING POINT: After Charlie Villanueva’s long 3 capped a 12-0 Pistons run that gave them a 21-20 lead, Indiana made sure it would be their last, unleashing a 19-5 counter that crushed Detroit’s will to compete.
NEXT: The Pacers face former starting point guard Mark Jackson, now the rookie coach of the Golden State Warriors, on Tuesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
