• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Granger, Pacers shut down Blazers

Feb 5, 2011 - 3:43 AM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Danny Granger poured in 25 points and pulled down nine rebounds to power Indiana to a 100-87 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, giving the Pacers their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Roy Hibbert added 15 points and Tyler Hansbrough 13 for the Pacers, who have won four of their last five overall since a six-game slide. All of the victories have come under interim coach Frank Vogel.

"This is a new team, a new beginning," Vogel said. "The fans in Indiana should be excited. This is going to be a special end of the year."

Rudy Fernandez tallied 19 points in a reserve role to lead Portland, which lost for the fourth time in five contests. The Blazers shot just 36.4 percent from the floor and went 5-of-20 from three-point range. LaMarcus Aldridge had 14 points and 10 rebounds, but he fouled out early in the final quarter.

Mike Dunleavy's three-pointer gave Indiana the lead for good at 51-48 with three minutes left in the opening half. Granger's two foul shots with 6.8 seconds left boosted the edge to eight points before Nicolas Batum's reverse layup capped the half with the margin at 60-54.

Josh McRoberts drilled a three-pointer for a 67-56 lead and the Pacers built the cushion to as high as 14 later in the quarter, the last time at period's end on a Paul George layup in the waning moments for an 86-72 difference.

Indiana's lead swelled to as high as 20 in the fourth, this despite the Pacers going 3-of-20 from the field in the last quarter. Portland wasn't much better, going 4-of-18 over the final 12 minutes.

"Teams have been the aggressors," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "We haven't showed that sense of urgency until we get ourselves down by a margin. You can't play that way."

Hibbert and Granger combined for 17 of Indiana's 32 first-quarter points, and a seven-point edge for the hosts after the opening period.

Game Notes

The Pacers snapped a five-game skid in the series...Darren Collison had 11 points and seven assists for the winners...Jeff Foster had eight offensive rebounds, moving him past the 2,000 mark for his career. He is just the third player in Pacers history to reach the plateau, joining Dale Davis (2,278) and Mel Daniels (2,182)...Indiana's total of 58 rebounds, including 44 on the defensive side, are season-bests...The Pacers were 33-of-43 from the foul line.