Final
Granger, Dunleavy help Pacers hold off Blazers
Nov 29, 2007 - 7:10 AM PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- Danny Granger scored 23 points and Mike Dunleavy added 20 and 11 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers survived a wild fourth quarter to earn a 95-89 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.Jeff Foster added 11 points and a season-high 17 rebounds for the Pacers, who won their second straight in a four-game West Coast road trip.
"It's nice to get out of here with a win," Foster said. "It's the tough games like this that makes or breaks a team, and after winning (Tuesday), we didn't want to have a letdown. For me, I just went out and tried to help. If I have a chance to crash the glass and help create another shot, I will."
Indiana made the final run in a furious fourth quarter to hold off the young Blazers, who received a season-high 26 points from Travis Outlaw off the bench.
"It doesn't feel as good if we don't get that win," Outlaw said.
The Pacers scored the first bucket of the final quarter before the Blazers ripped off a 13-0 run, capped off by Sergio Rodriguez's 3-pointer, to take a 72-69 lead with 8:08 to play.
"We got a lead in the third but they were able to bring it back," Granger said. "The crowd got into it after that three and it made for a real good game."
"You know this is the NBA and, when you're on the road, this will happen," Dunleavy said. "Teams are going to make a run. We knew it was coming. We stood in there and hung our ground a little. They are long and athletic but we were able to persevere and make some plays."
Indiana responded with a 7-0 run, capped by Granger's 3-pointer with 6:30 to play, to reclaim the lead, 76-72.
"I shot it OK tonight," said Granger, whose big game came after a season-low nine points on Tuesday.
Granger also had three blocks in the final quarter.
"I thought more about trying to contain Brandon Roy and didn't want him to get off," he added. "That may have helped me relax a little and helped me just play my game."
A pair of turnovers allowed the Blazers to climb back on top, when Jamaal Tinsley's bad pass led to Jarrett Jack's 3-pointer and Dunleavy's turnover led to LaMarcus Aldridge's dunk and a 77-76 lead for Portland.
But the Pacers finished the game with a 13-6 run to seal the win. Tinsley scored six points, Granger added five and Dunleavy finished the run off with a pair of free throws.
Indiana, which earned a hard-fought victory in Denver on Tuesday, looked sluggish in the early going. The Pacers committed five turnovers and connected on only five of their first 18 shots.
"We were in a back-to-back after a big win in Denver (Tuesday night) and our guys were able to hang in there," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "Things were sloppy for us at first, but we played good defense in the third, and it came down to some big shots in the fourth."
Portland took advantage and gained a quick 22-13 lead, but Indiana scored the final four points of the period to pull within 22-17 after the first. Roy and Aldridge scored eight points apiece in the quarter.
Roy connected on 2-of-5 shots in the first but managed just two points on 1-of-9 shooting the rest of the way.
"I don't think we are underacheiving but I think I'm underacheiving," said Roy, who made just 4-of-18 shots in his last game.
"It's tough right now. My teammates are playing well for us and I'm not helping us out. Travis was huge for huge but I wasn't able to do what I'm capable of and that's maybe what hurt us down the stretch."
The Blazers' five turnovers in the first six minutes of the second quarter allowed the visitors their first lead of the game when Tinsley's free throws at the 6:34 mark capped a 9-2 run and gave Indiana a 33-31 lead.
Portland battled back against the equally sloppy Pacers to take a 46-42 lead at halftime. Both teams committed 11 turnovers in the first half.
Down, 49-42, early in the third after Martell Webster's 3-pointer, Indiana found a groove and rattled off 17 straight points to take a 59-49 lead with 5:05 remaining in the third. Tinsley again capped the run, this time with an uncontested layin.
The lead grew to 67-55 before Outlaw scored four in a row at the end of the period to make it 67-59 going into the fourth.
Portland converted just 5-of-23 field goal attempts in the third.
- NBA
INDIANA 95
PORTLAND 89 FINAL
Nov 29 12:24 AM - NBA
INDIANA 67
PORTLAND 59 END, 3RD QTR
Nov 28 11:46 PM - NBA
INDIANA 42
PORTLAND 46 HALFTIME
Nov 28 11:08 PM - NBA
INDIANA 17
PORTLAND 22 END, 1ST QTR
Nov 28 10:36 PM
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