• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Daniels picks up slack as Pacers cruise by Timberwolves

Feb 21, 2009 - 4:45 AM MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- With Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy sidelined, Marquis Daniels amply filled the void.

Daniels scored 24 points and Troy Murphy added 16 and 14 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers survived a late charge to post a 112-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

Jarrett Jack scored 18 points and T.J. Ford chipped in 13 for Indiana, which snapped a 10-game road losing streak.

"It's always nice to get a win on the road," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "We played really well for 3 1/2 quarters. We had a lot of good movement, terrific unselfishness and shot 48 percent as a result."

A first-time All-Star, Granger left Wednesday's loss at Charlotte with a strained right foot, which will cause him to miss up to three weeks. Dunleavy is out indefinitely with a right knee injury.

"(Without Granger and Dunleavey), we have to spread the ball around," Jack said. "Marquis played really well for us tonight. Brandon (Rush) also gave us some key minutes. It was a total team effort."

Daniels, who missed time earlier this season with a back ailment, stepped in nicely for the Pacers as he registered his first 20-point game since December 26. He shot 11-of-18 from the floor in 42 minutes.

The Pacers led by as many as 20 in the fourth quarter before the Timberwolves rallied late and cut the deficit to 102-97 on Randy Foye's 3-pointer with 1:24 to play.

After Sebastian Telfair made one free throw to cut the deficit to four, Daniels knocked down a baseline jumper to extend the Pacers lead to 104-98 with 35.5 ticks on the clock. Minnesota never got any closer the rest of the way.

"It's hard (not having Granger)," Daniels said. "Everybody has to step up their game."

Indiana led by seven at the break and outscored Minnesota, 13-5, in the early stages of the second quarter to take a 46-31 advantage with 7:41 left in the second quarter.

Foye made consecutive 3-pointers later in the session to try and get his team back in it, but the Pacers closed the quarter strong and held a 61-48 advantage on Josh McRoberts' tip-in at the halftime buzzer.

"We didn't control the paint," Foye said. "They got too many points inside. And we didn't either start or finish the way we wanted to. We wanted to run, but they controlled the tempo the whole time."

The Timberwolves closed within 67-62 early in the third quarter, but the Pacers again pulled away.

Daniels scored six points and Murphy hit a 3-pointer as Indiana took a 76-64 advantage with 5:20 left in the quarter. The Pacers led by at least nine for the rest of the quarter and Travis Diener's 3-pointer gave Indiana an 86-71 bulge entering the fourth.

Foye finished with a career-high 36 points and Ryan Gomes scored 26 to lead Minnesota, which was 23-of-41 from the foul line.

"Too many turnovers and too many missed free throws," Minnesota coach Kevin McHale said. "That's the game right there. It was funky. We couldn't get in a groove all night."