2013 Playoffs: Pacers inject defense into series DNA
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS – It took the Indiana Pacers a few games to feel it out, but feel it they did. At long last the series felt like a classic, slug-it-out Eastern Conference matchup, not one of fast breaks and 3-pointers.
The NBA’s best defense is back.
After the high-flying Atlanta Hawks ran them into submission in Games 3 and 4, the Pacers were ready for the series’ fulcrum. They were the more physical, more aggressive team from the first horn, even when it resulted in mistakes – like Lance Stephenson’s deflected behind-the-back pass, or the eight turnovers in the first quarter.
Indiana’s prize was a 106-83 win over Atlanta that gave them a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven series; the two sides will regroup for a day before Game 6 in Atlanta on Friday.
The reality of the series, though, is this: If the Pacers can play defense at an elite level, or something in that vicinity, they’ll close it out quickly. The Hawks don’t have a real identity to fall back on. Josh Smith had five fouls by the 7:25 mark of the third quarter, and Atlanta again failed to stay focused and engaged at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. When Smith barked at the officials on the way to the bench, his technical foul might as well have been the final bell. The Hawks were finished.
Indiana’s sounding points in Game 5 were grit and toughness. The Hawks, who had been averaging 52.8 points on 52.8 percent shooting in first halves in the series, had just 43 on 38 percent shooting by intermission Wednesday.
We had a couple of fiery film sessions, said Pacers forward David West, who scored 24 points. It was just setting the tone early. We were a little more focused. We were active. We didn’t give up that four- or five-minute stretch we had down there where they extended their lead. This is the first time we played legitimate defense in this series.
We knew that was going to happen so we weren’t surprised, Atlanta guard Devin Harris said. We’ll have to make more adjustments Friday. I thought they made some adjustments in how they defended the pick-and-roll.
The biggest contribution in that respect came from George Hill, who had to play some shooting guard after coach Frank Vogel removed Gerald Green from the rotation. Hill totally shut down Harris as well as Jeff Teague, who went the entire second half with just one field goal after torching the Pacers for 26 points and 11 assists during those four days in Atlanta.
George’s defense was really good and we eliminated them in transition and from the 3-point line like we need to, Vogel said.
The other key factor was that the Pacers contested the interior looks of Smith and Al Horford much more aggressively. Those two combined to make nine shots from the paint in Game 4, on just 14 attempts. While a couple were difficult hooks from Horford, many of them were clean, easy attempts.
Not this time. The Atlanta duo took just 11 shots from the lane and made only five, including a fortunate tip-in by Smith in the second quarter.
I take the blame for us not being able to get going offensively, Horford said.
While West and Roy Hibbert set the tone, defensive contributions came from unexpected places. Jeff Pendergraph, of all people, asked to play some small forward, banged bodies with Smith down low and moved adeptly off the ball. Lance Stephenson earned minutes in the frontcourt, too, and crashed the glass time and again, earning 12 rebounds.
I’m really proud of our guys for playing a complete game, Vogel said. We just had to sort of go out and reestablish our confidence and ability to slow this team down.
Of course, the score wouldn’t have been so lopsided without a corresponding dose of potent offense. The Pacers drove, shot, cut and passed their way to 51 percent shooting on a series-low 69 opportunities. Talk about efficiency. Paul George scored 21 points on just eight shots, including a far-out contested trey with time running down on the shot clock.
And West bounced back from an ordinary series to hit six of seven shots in Indiana’s pivotal 17-6 run in the heart of the second quarter. One of them was a left-handed banker when he aggressively took the ball right at Horford, while three others were catch-and-shoot jumpers set up by Indiana guards. His lone miss was from an awkward spot at the corner of the lane about 12 feet from the rim. West’s hot hand energized a rocking sellout crowd.
I wanted to come out, be aggressive and take a couple jump shots, West said.
George also got involved in some extracurricular activity with Teague that may be frowned upon by the league office, mainly a shot Teague got in before an inbounds play in the second half.
I did not see it until I just watched it at the end of the game, Atlanta coach Larry Drew said. To me there was nothing that should have made Teague react the way he did. He just lost his composure.
All told, Indiana’s starters simply were fantastic, scoring 86 points on just 48 shots in addition to the defensive exploits of West, Hibbert and Hill. After back-to-back stinkers, the Pacers again played like the No. 3 seed in the bracket.
The all-around team effort allowed Indiana to build a 20-point lead before the Hawks rallied to within 13 points inside of nine minutes to play, helped along by some Pacers mistakes that included a shot-clock violation and an offensive three-seconds infraction by Tyler Hansbrough. Hibbert was great for Indiana (18 points, nine rebounds), but the main takeaway from the Pacers’ fourth-quarter game-clinching spurt may be that putting the ball in Hill’s hands can calm the offense when it is out of rhythm. He scored 15 points, all but two of them in the second half, and made 10 assists, including six after the break.
To knock out the Pacers, the Hawks still need to win one in Indianapolis, and they’ve now blown three chances. The series moves back to Atlanta on Friday and it will be the first shot for the Pacers, not only to clinch, but to impress their defensive sensibilities in someone else’s gym.
While Philips Arena has been a longtime house of horrors for the blue and gold, the terms are now different. Finally, the Pacers can stop the Hawks. Their suffocating defense, largely missing since March, issued a reminder that it will perform under postseason pressure.
