Stephenson arrested for assaulting girlfriend

Indiana Pacers rookie guard Lance Stephenson was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend by pushing her down the stairs.

The pair got into an argument, at which time Stephenson shoved her down the steps, which resulted in stitches and a trip to the hospital for the woman.

There were character concerns about Stephenson during his high school days, which is one of the reasons he had such a hard time finding a college team interested in him.

This is certainly not a good start to his NBA career, as the guard does not have a guaranteed contract. ( Read More…)

Friday, August 20, 2010 at 9:56 pm by steve

Tags: Pacers news, Pacers schedule, Pacers tickets

Hansbrough affected by vertigo

Indiana Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough is still deadling with vertigo that is affecting his play on the court.

The team has officially classified it as an inner ear problem, something he has been dealing with since December.

Hansbrough has returned to the court and is participating in non-contact drills and is also lifting weights again.

The team is hopeful that the symptoms just go away on their own, but both sides are losing patience. ( Read More…)

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 at 6:03 pm by steve

Tags: Pacers news, Pacers schedule, Pacers tickets

Farmar to Pacers? Indiana should make it happen

Rey Jefferson of dimebag.com ranks the teams that free agent Jordan Farmar could start for next season. The best fit? The Indiana Pacers.

Farmar never fully lived up to his potential with the Los Angeles Lakers, which made him a first round draft pick following two seasons at UCLA. His career averages over his four-year career are a paltry 6.9 points and 2.1 assists per game. And he was never able to unseat Derek Fisher from the starting lineup as expected.

Still, Farmar possesses great athleticism and has shown the ability to shoot from distance, although he has struggled with consistency. But for the Pacers, which only have T.J. Ford at the point, Farmar could easily grab the starting spot and run with it. ( Read More…)

Sunday, July 4, 2010 at 4:01 pm by Raj Sethi

Tags: indiana pacers news, indiana pacers schedule, indiana pacers tickets, jordan farmar

Larry Bird Urges Patience With Pacers

When it comes to basketball, few know it better than Larry Bird.

So when Bird asks fans to have patience with a struggling, 18-win Pacers team, it’s probably worth listening to.

“We knew that we had to clean it out and rebuild it, and we knew we were going to go through some tough times,” Bird told The Associated Press this week. “Nobody likes to lose, and everybody wants to be a part of a winner. We think we’re on the right track to get there.”

With Danny Granger’s All-Star talent to build around, the Pacers do have at least one piece to a championship in place.

But beyond that, they have a bunch of guys being rumored in trades, a point guard dilemma, and a number of young players in the front court that need more time to be developed.

“Even if we were healthy all year, I thought we could win 36 to 41 games with this team,” he said. “In a rebuilding phase, which I think we’re on track with, we’ll just have to go forward with it.”

Bird did have one major critique of his Pacers squad:

“The one thing about this team is that we stand too much and we settle way too much for the outside shot,” he said. “If we get to the hole and put the pressure on the defense, we’re a lot better. When we stand and just take outside shots, we have a tendency to struggle.”

Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 9:50 pm by bryan

Pacers Score First Win of Season, Beat Knicks 101-89

With All-Star Danny Granger planted firmly on the bench, fouled out with more than three minutes left in the game, the rest of the Pacers played some lockdown defense and shut the Knicks out to get their first win of the season on Wednesday night, 101-89.

The Knicks didn’t score a basket for the last nine minutes of the game, as the Pacers forced them into a brutal 2-for-17 overall in the fourth quarter.

“That has to be the signature of our team, that regardless of what we’re doing on the offensive end, we can always stop you on the defensive end, and we did that tonight,” Granger said.

With Granger on the bench, fouled out, PG T.J. Ford took over, scoring eight of his 16 points in the final three minutes of the game to give the Pacers a breather. Ford stretched the lead to six with a jumper with 3:12 remaining in the game, and followed with two free throws to place the game out of reach of the Knicks, who’d been only keeping the game close by virtue of free throw shooting.

Dahntay Jones, the defensive stopper from the Denver Nuggets last season, scored 19 points and grabbed 12 boards for the Pacers, while second-year center Roy Hibbert added 15 points and 14 rebounds.

“I’m happy things worked that we’ve been working on for the past couple of weeks and to know that our defense can anchor us,” said Jones. “We were communicating and getting stops and trying to dig out rebounds.”

The Pacers, missing two starters in G Mike Dunleavy and PF Troy Murphy, now look to continue the momentum as they take on the Washington Wizards at home tonight.

Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 1:16 am by bryan

Pacers Whacked by Magic in Preseason Tune-Up

If this is how the regular season is going to be for the Indiana Pacers, Danny Granger better prepare for a long season.

The Pacers were outmatched in every way by the Magic on Wednesday night, as Orlando rolled to a 117-87 victory over Indiana.

“They (Magic) have so many All-Stars on that team that I lose count,” said Granger. “They probably will go far again this season. They are good team, and a veteran team.”

Granger scored 11 points in 25 minutes of action, but the team was missing starting PG T.J. Ford (left hamstring), guard Luther Head (back) and center Jeff Foster (back).

The Pacers’ frontcourt was the only bright spot in the night, as PF Troy Murphy owned the defensive glass en route to 15 total rebounds, and second-year center Roy Hibbert scored 20 points overall, 14 in the first half.

The Pacers kept it close in the first half, only entering halftime down six points. But the Magic came out on fire in the second half, scoring 72 points to turn a close game into a blowout quickly.

Friday, October 23, 2009 at 12:16 am by bryan

Carmelo Guides Nuggets Past Pacers

The Denver Nuggets got revenge against the Indiana Pacers for their preseason win earlier in the week, as the Nuggets stomped the Pacers on Sunday, 128-112, to split the series the teams played in Beijing.

Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony put in most of the heavy lifting for the Nuggets himself, scoring 45 points on 14-19 shooting and 16-17 from the free throw line. Anthony also chipped in nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks in a ridiculous 24 minutes.

For the Pacers, center Roy Hibbert led the team in scoring for the second straight game, this time with 21 points. Hibbert added nine rebounds, three assists, one steal, and four blocks in 27 minutes of play, notching four personal fouls during his time on the court.

With star SF Danny Granger only playing nine minutes, the Pacers were pretty clearly trying to give some of their younger guys some run to figure out some key lineup decisions. For his part, Granger was one of five from the field for a total of eight points.

Pacers guard/forward Brandon Rush added 14 points to the team, while PF Troy Murphy scored 11.

Monday, October 12, 2009 at 10:02 pm by bryan

Pacers Out-Pace Denver Nuggets in Preseason

In the first NBA preseason game to ever be played in Taiwan, the Indiana Pacers trumped the Denver Nuggers, 126-104 on Thursday.

PF Troy Murphy, SG Brandon Rush and second-year center Roy Hibbert each chipped in 20 points for the Pacers, who burst out to a lead with a 60-point first half.

The sellout crowd of 13,599 at Taipei Arena were treated to one of the Western Conference finalists and their stars, as Nuggets’ forward Carmelo Anthony led his team with 17 points, and point guard Chauncey Billups added 14 for Denver.

The 7’2” Hibbert, the second-year center out of Georgetown, posted the most impressive stat line of the night, nearly recording a triple-double. Hibbert scored 20 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, and blocked a ridiculous eight shots. Most impressively for Hibbert – he only turned the ball over once and had two fouls, a huge improvement over his foul plagued rookie season.

“We’re probably about 35 percent ready for the season,” Pacers coach Jim O’Brien said. “We executed tonight what we practiced.”

Pacers point guard T.J. Ford notched double digit assists (10) in 24 minutes of play, along with six points and four steals.

The Pacers led by 24 points going into the fourth quarter.

Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 1:11 am by bryan