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kaisy
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Mar 23 2013, 08:09 AM
Post #1
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INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana coach Frank Vogel couldnt have asked for much more Monday night. Bobby Ryan Jersey . Three starters rested, no one got hurt, and the Pacers won. Paul George scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter to help Indiana beat the Detroit Pistons 103-97. "It was a great team win," Vogel said. "A lot of guys contributed, we got guys rest, we got the second unit a ton of work. I think we got a lot accomplished tonight." George made 13 of 15 free throws and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Pacers. David West scored 20 points and Leandro Barbosa and Tyler Hansbrough added 13 points each for Indiana. Vogel could afford to rest regular starters Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert and George Hill since Indiana is locked into the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. West, who has scored at least 20 points in four of his past five games, said he wanted to keep playing even though Vogel gave him the option to sit out. "Frank talked about limiting me a little bit, cutting my minutes down, but just being out there in the flow is most important to me in terms of preparing for the post-season," West said. West said it was important for some of the starters to play so the Pacers could maintain their momentum. Indiana is 12-2 in April. "I just think in terms of mental preparation, just want to kind of keep the train going," he said. "Weve been playing some good ball. Weve been sharing the load in terms of what were doing. I think its just a good idea to keep that rolling." Darren Collison, who has been replaced by Hill as the starting point guard, played with the reserves. He shot 1 fo -8 from the field and committed six turnovers in 31 minutes. He called the situation a "major adjustment." "Just trying to work my way in with them," Collison said. "Trying to get accustomed with how they play. Theyve got some good players on the second unit. It can definitely help my game out. Im just going to have to continue to move forward." Jeff Pendergraph got his first start as a Pacer and registered season highs of 10 points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes. He said it was good knowing he was going to get serious playing time. "Just like anything, if youre more calm, more relaxed knowing that youre going to play regardless of if you make a mistake, long as youre playing hard its all right," he said. "To actually have an opportunity to play hard through your mistakes -- I messed up a bunch tonight, but I was playing my butt off and Coach let me keep playing." Greg Monroe scored 18 points, Brandon Knight had 16 and Tayshaun Prince added 14 for the Pistons. Detroit held the Pacers to 38 per cent shooting, but Indiana forced 18 turnovers and outrebounded the Pistons 56-42. Indiana outscored the Pistons 29-13 from the free-throw line. "We had great opportunities, but all those extra possessions add up, and it puts you in a situation to make a missed game," Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said. "Unfortunately, tonight we missed." A three-point play by Hansbrough gave the Pacers an 87-84 lead in the fourth quarter. George made two free throws, then showed why he was in the slam-dunk contest. He took off from the right side of the paint, pulled the ball back and jammed it through with his right hand to give the Pacers a 91-84 lead with 5:23 to play. A 3-pointer and a runner by Detroits Charlie Villanueva cut Indianas lead to 91-89. Detroit could have taken the lead in the final minute, but Monroe missed two free throws. Hansbrough was fouled on a putback attempt on the other end, and he made both free throws to give Indiana a 99-96 lead with 26.5 seconds to play. Monroe was fouled on a drive with 20.6 seconds left. He made the first free throw and missed the second, and George got the rebound. George made two free throws with 19.4 seconds to play to give the Pacers a 101-97 lead. George made two more free throws with 9.6 seconds left. Indiana led 54-52 at halftime behind 13 points by George. Pendergraph dunked on consecutive possessions to give Indiana a 64-58 lead early in the third quarter. Later, on a fast break, Hansbrough dribbled up the middle of the court like a point guard and found Barbosa for a layup to give Indiana a 73-67 lead. A three-point play by Barbosa moments later pushed the lead to nine. Consecutive 3s by Prince and Knight, and a goaltending violation by the Pacers on a shot by Prince in close cut Indianas lead to 76-75 at the end of the third quarter. Georges strong fourth quarter helped the Pacers close the game out. He shot 2-for-4 from the field and made all eight of his free throws in the final 12 minutes. It was another step towards what Indiana expects to be a successful post-season run. "Everybody pitched in as we should," West said. "We must compete every night, no matter who we are playing. This is the way we want to head into the playoffs." Notes: Indiana C Kyrylo Fesenko, who had played 11 minutes all season since being picked up as a free agent at midseason, had four points in 6 minutes. ... Monroe was issued a technical foul in the third quarter. ... Detroit F Jonas Jerebko didnt play for the second straight game. The Pistons are taking a closer look at Austin Daye. ... Indianas Dahntay Jones made his third start of the season. Ryan Getzlaf Premier Jersey . After spending more than seven years bouncing around the minor leagues and recovering from injuries, hes not letting a thing get past him during his first playoff experience. Saku Koivu Jersey . The 19-year-old has won six of his last eight starts, is now 15-7-3 on the season and among the leaders in every statistical category for goaltenders. http://www.nhlducksteamshop.com/saku-koivu-jersey/ . Team spokeswoman Sarah Melton said Tuesday that coach Rick Carlisle didnt indicate how long the suspension would be. Ryan Getzlaf Jersey . 2 in this weeks womens world rankings. Lewis is still 3.14 average points behind No. 1 Yani Tseng. Tseng and Lewis were again followed by Na Yeon Choi and Inbee Park. Bobby Ryan Authentic Jersey . The team announced on Saturday it had ended Tillmans contract effective immediately and Eskimos president and CEO Len Rhodes said in a statement that he "did not see Eric as a part of this team moving forward.TORONTO -- Mike Ricci won the Battle of Canada, dominating Michael Hill en route to a unanimous decision on "The Ultimate Fighter." Ricci had his way with Hill on the ground, but could not finish him off in a much-hyped fight that saw the relationship between the two turn sour when Ricci asked to fight his fellow Canadian. Ricci showed why in the episode of the reality TV show that aired Friday night. "A lot of people said I was too small to be in this tournament and I want to prove those people wrong," said the 26-year-old from Montreal, who moved up a weight class from lightweight (155 pounds) to welterweight (170) to compete on the show. Ricci advances to meet Neil Magny in one semifinal while Jon Manley fights Colton Smith in the other. The two winners will face off in the live finale Dec. 15 in Las Vegas with a UFC contract on the line. Ricci and Magny are both members of coach Shane Carwins team while Manley and Smith are coached by heavyweight Roy (Big Country) Nelson. The Ricci-Hill fight was more grinding than spectacular. I expected it to be a more explosive fight from both guys," said UFC president Dana White. The two exchanged early leg kicks before Hill rushed Ricci and the two clinched at the fence. Ricci used the position to take Hill down midway through the round. Ricci dominated the rest of the round, hurting Hill with elbows as it ended. Hill, a member of Team Nelson, tried to storm Ricci early in the second round and paid for it again, ending up under his opponent at the fence. Each time the 25-year-old from Kellowna, B. Ryan Getzlaf Authentic Jersey. .C., tried to get up, Ricci got him back down. "You could tell that Hill doesnt have much of a ground game," said White. "He got absolutely dominated by Ricci today." A disappointed Hill said: "It just wasnt my day today ... I just let him beat me up for two rounds." The buildup to the fight proved awkward with Hill, perhaps jokingly, suggesting someone put laxative in Riccis pasta sauce. Ricci taped his casserole dish shut just to be on the safe side. In the other quarter-final shown on Fridays episode, Manley won a majority decision over Nelson teammate Joey Rivera. "Pretty disappointing," White said of the fight between two friends. Said Manley: "I was scared to really exchange with him because in practice he beats my ass." Smith had already defeated Igor Araujo of Team Carwin and Magny beat Carwin teammate Bristol Marunde. The show features 16 fighters -- welterweights on Season 16 -- who spend six weeks locked up in a Vegas mansion other than training or fighting. White says the series, which airs on FX and Sportsnet, is the UFCs equivalent of baseballs triple-A developmental league. Ricci compared life on the show to ancient Sparta. "We just train and got to war and we dont care about anything else." Riccis explanation for picking a fight with Hill was that since he had defeated Dom Waters, Nelsons first pick, he wanted to take on Hill because he was the second pick on the rival Nelson team. Ricci trains at the Tristar Gym alongside Georges St-Pierre. ' ' '
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