Yes it’s true. Danny Granger just rescued the Pacers from a 0-2 road trip in Texas. They barely scraped home with a 104-102 overtime victory against Houston, having fought their way back from a 10-point deficit entering the fourth quarter.
They probably should have gotten the job done without the extra session, but Darren Collison, supposedly the team’s best free throw shooter, went 2-4 in two trips to the line, allowing the Rockets to tie the game. Collison again gave the Rockets a chance when he went 1-2 in the dying seconds of OT, but thankfully Granger blocked a three-pointer from rookie Chandler Parsons at the buzzer.
Granger finished with 32 points on 11-20 shooting, including a great 6-8 from downtown. He also added 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in what was probably his best performance of the season. He needed it, too, after talking of a strong finish to the season.
Hibbert had 15 and 9 with 5 blocks, West had 12, 6 and 4 assists, while Collison finished with 11, 5 and 7 assists but almost lost this one for the team.
With the victory, the 31-21 Pacers remain in 5th in the Eastern Conference playoff race (and currently with homecourt advantage over the 4th place Celtcs). Seriously, with the way the Celts are playing now, I’m not sure homecourt would be enough. Even though I’m not sure they could overcome them either, I’d rather the Pacers play the 76ers or the Hawks in the first round.
Now the Pacers head home to face the Knicks, a team that killed them the last two times they played. The Knicks are playing well right now even without Jeremy Lin and Amare Stoudemire, but I think the Pacers will step up for this one. I hope.
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