Pacers @ Lakers- 1/9: Birthday Game

[slickrickstyles]

This was the most ridiculous thing ive ever seen...We had a chance to bring the game to a stand still then Dun misses that free throw only to come back and hit a great 3...then we continue with the Jack vs. Kobe matchup and Kobe has been burning him all damn day...why the didnt have a bigger body on him drives me insane...and at the end? Seriously is that what is to be expected of this Indiana Pacers team with Obie at the helm? If we wouldnt have hit so many 3s tonight we'd have lost by 20....damnit that was the most frustrating loss of the season right there...Even high school kids know that with 3 seconds left you dont just stand there spinning like your scared to shoot the ball...

[Sting3r]

What a ticky tack foul to be calling on Danny so damn late in the game... UNREAL that they would make that call then... We lose the game to the LA Officials... To bad...

that was not a tick tacky foul. It was clear as day. The official gave you guys a chance by not calling a double tech on that vlad/foster shuffle while calling a t on the lakers so don't complain.

[slickrickstyles]

What a ticky tack foul to be calling on Danny so damn late in the game... UNREAL that they would make that call then... We lose the game to the LA Officials... To bad...

that was not a tick tacky foul. It was clear as day. The official gave you guys a chance by not calling a double tech on that vlad/foster shuffle while calling a t on the lakers so don't complain.

I agree that it was a foul...Granger was just way too emotional...but that was not a double T...Vlad freakin swung at him initially...

[TJFordisGod]

What a ticky tack foul to be calling on Danny so damn late in the game... UNREAL that they would make that call then... We lose the game to the LA Officials... To bad...

that was not a tick tacky foul. It was clear as day. The official gave you guys a chance by not calling a double tech on that vlad/foster shuffle while calling a t on the lakers so don't complain.

Cuz Foster didn't do anything and then got swung at aggresively for no reason.

[nonplayerzealot]

What a ticky tack foul to be calling on Danny so damn late in the game... UNREAL that they would make that call then... We lose the game to the LA Officials... To bad...

You reach, I teach.

[count55]

It was a dumb, if relatively chintzy, foul that Danny committed, and I've seen called a thousand times on players throughout the league. Danny has a tendency to slap, and it burned him.

[TylersLakers]

You guys.. I respect Jeff Foster as a player. Boards well, hustles all over the floor. But even if that shot did get off in time... Lmao.. what did he think he was in the mid post or what?

Damn you guys play us hard. Good young team.

[MillerTime101]

Damn, tough loss. Why was it Foster who got the inbound pass and not Murphy? Murphy is a threat and they would of had to guard him thus giving Dunleavy some space, back to back game winning 3's would have been great.

That Granger foul was a game changer, to those who blame the officials I dont know what you were watching but it was a foul and Danny knew it, he was just frustrated with himself. I think we did get a break on that Tech at the end but its hard to say exactly who said what.

With no TJ and Quis I am still impressed with how we played, up until the last play of the game

Closing thoughts - I hate you Kobe, but I respect your skills.

[chatard5]

You guys.. I respect Jeff Foster as a player. Boards well, hustles all over the floor. But even if that shot did get off in time... Lmao.. what did he think he was in the mid post or what?

Damn you guys play us hard. Good young team.

He can hit that shot, he just panicked when he realized he couldn't pass the ball and there was .2 seconds left on the clock. He should've reacted 1 second sooner so he could've gotten a decent shot off, but you could tell he didn't want to shoot it...

[count55]

Damn, tough loss. Why was it Foster who got the inbound pass and not Murphy? Murphy is a threat and they would of had to guard him thus giving Dunleavy some space, back to back game winning 3's would have been great.

That Granger foul was a game changer, to those who blame the officials I dont know what you were watching but it was a foul and Danny knew it, he was just frustrated with himself. I think we did get a break on that Tech at the end but its hard to say exactly who said what.

With no TJ and Quis I am still impressed with how we played, up until the last play of the game

Closing thoughts - I hate you Kobe, but I respect your skills.

I don't know why Foster was on the floor, but Murphy didn't get the inbound because he was the threat. The defense was/would switch to keep Murph from getting the ball, and they basically left Foster open.

I thought Rad got the tech because he threw an elbow.

[Miller4ever]

Foster's back was turned. He couldn't see the clock.

I was originally extremely upset at the outcome of the game, but I think it helps to continue looking at this positively.

The Lakers had injured guys, and so did we, plus, Dunleavy still wasn't 100%. Jarrett Jack was 0/6 from the field, and had to defend Kobe Bryant. But somehow, they kept the door open for us. Obviously, a couple of heartbreaking rim-rattlers that were simply unlucky did us in, as well as Kobe taking the final minutes over as he usually does, but while it's another L in the column that we didn't want, there were a lot of things that we as fans should definitely be happy about. The Lakers are a tough defensive team, and our offense still managed to generate shots and Danny got his. Our reliance on the 3 was hurtful when some late attempts rattled out, but we had our offense clicking. Obviously, it would've been nice to have Granger or Daniels on Kobe at the end of the game instead of Jack, but he did well hanging with Kobe, so props to him. I don't think the Pacers have trouble finishing close games, I think there are things before the end of the game we could've done to ensure victory.

[writerman]

I always watch both team boards during the game. Watching the Laker board just reminds me of what a bunch of classless jerks all too many Lakler fans are. Easily the most lacking in sportsmanship in the league. I hope the Cavs smear their arrogant asses all over the court.

[Kuq_e_Zi91]

Like the Cavs aren't arrogant... That's how it is when you're at the top, except for the Spurs and that comes from their coach and their best player.

[Gremz]

Was out today, missed the game. Just thought i'd give props for the great Game Thread, and a very happy birthday man. Also nice to see us take them to the wire, another close loss, but take it all in stride, we're very close to stringing a few victories together imo.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

I took two positives from this game.

1. We can compete with the best on a nightly basis, the wins verse the Lakers and Celtics were not flukes, and any given night we can beat any team - except Denver(I think they match up too well against us).

2. Maybe this game will open Birds eyes to what an idiot O'Brien is. I will gladly take a loss like that if it means O'Brien will not be with us next season. If he is with us next season, we will see a lot of losses.

[eatyourchildren]

Wow, Granger is such a beast this year. What a pleasure to watch. Hibbert and him are a great core to build around.

I actually met Granger in an airport in Indonesia when I was on vacation and he was doing 3-day camp/exhibition there. We talked the NBA some, mostly asking him about my Lakers. I think he liked the fact that he was finally talkin to someone from the US. I left by saying "Danny, you're gonna have a breakout year man"

There is no point to this point other than to say that Danny Granger is awesome.

[Anklebreaker702]

Great game last night. I cant believe you guys don't have a better record!!! I very impressed. Honestly. I look for you guys to get it together & make a playoff push

[APerna]

Happy belated M4E...sorry they could pull one out on your BDay.