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Pacers beat Hornets on Dunleavy's dramatic tip

Dec 21, 2010 - 4:48 AM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Mike Dunleavy's left hand was in the right place.

Dunleavy beat the buzzer, tipping in a Danny Granger jump shot that was dancing on the rim to give the Indiana Pacers a dramatic 94-93 win over New Orleans in a game that saw three lead changes in the last 16.1 seconds.

After a timeout, Dunleavy inbounded the ball and made a beeline to the basket, leaving his feet as Granger let go of his jumper near the three-point arc.

Granger's shot spun all the way around the rim and was on its way out when Dunleavy glided to meet it, tapping it with the finger tips on his left hand.

The ball paused on the rim and dropped in as the red light around the backboard came on, setting off a celebration where Dunleavy's teammates tackled him on the other side of the court.

"This was the best Christmas gift I could have gotten," Pacers forward Jeff Foster said. "Mike saved the day."

The Pacers won for the second time in three games, led by Granger's 27 points and 18 from Darren Collison. Dunleavy scored eight.

Emeka Okafor had 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Hornets, who have lost two straight and five of their last seven. David West scored 18 in the loss and Chris Paul had 15.

"Nothing is automatic in this league," said New Orleans' Jarrett Jack. "You just have to keep fighting through it."

James Posey scored 15 off the bench for Indiana, the last of them coming on a three-pointer from the left corner that gave the Pacers a 92-91 lead with 16.1 seconds left.

West gave New Orleans back the lead, hitting a jumper from the top of the key at the other end.

The Pacers called a timeout, then went to Granger near the top of the three- point arc, setting up the final play. Officials looked at Dunleavy's shot and determined it was good.

"I just took off for the basket hoping for a tip if he missed," Dunleavy said.

The Pacers carried a 24-16 lead into the second quarter and were ahead by as many as 13 on the way to a 52-43 advantage at intermission.

New Orleans used a 15-5 run in the third quarter to get back into the game and held a 69-68 lead heading into the fourth.

Game Notes

The Hornets have lost six straight games on the road...Indiana ended a five- game losing streak against New Orleans...Marco Belinelli scored 14 points for the Hornets, who shot just 40 percent from the field...The Pacers shot 43 percent.