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Dunleavy shines as Pacers end six-game slide

Nov 18, 2007 - 4:07 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Mike Dunleavy and the Indiana Pacers finally have something to smile about.

Dunleavy scored 25 points and Danny Granger added 19 as the Pacers snapped a six-game losing streak with Saturday's convincing, 117-97, victory over the Utah Jazz.

Marquis Daniels poured in 17 and Shawne Williams added 16 and eight rebounds for Indiana, which needed just the first two quarters to put this one away.

"It feels a whole lot better to get that monkey off our back," Williams said. "A lot of people were getting disgruntled because everybody is competitors in here. Nobody likes to lose."

The Pacers shot a blistering 58 percent (44-of-76) from the field, despite struggling to make shots in the second half. Indiana also shot well from 3-point range, hitting 11-of-23 attempts.

"We'll take it," Dunleavy said. "We've had the ball not bounce our way many of nights, especially in the last week or so."

"You have to keep shooting," Granger said. "If you're open, you've got to shoot them. We're all really good shooters, we know that. Our shots are going to fall, eventually."

Dunleavy scored six consecutive points during an impressive 14-2 surge that Williams capped with a 21-foot jumper at the 2:53 mark in the first quarter to forge a 27-14 advantage.

The Pacers continued to extend their advantage in the second behind a 10-4 run to close out the half and grab a 65-46 bulge heading into the locker room.

"They came out and got after us right away," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "It's mind-boggling to me that we didn't have more energy than we had."

Carlos Boozer netted 19 points and Andrei Kirilenko added 12 and five blocks for Utah, which has dropped two straight following a five-game undefeated streak.

"Take your hats off to them," Boozer said. "They just kicked our butts. We missed some shots, and they hit some, and the next thing you know we're down double digits again."

Jazz star guard Deron Williams endured his second consecutive off night, scoring just eight points on 3-of-8 shooting. He netted only 11 points in Friday's 99-94 setback at Cleveland.

Dunleavy was impressed with how the Pacers played defensively against the Jazz.

"They are a tough team to stop, they score a lot of points in the paint and they move the ball well," he said. "We had an excellent game plan, and it paid off."