Pacers overcome brawl and defeat the Warriors 108-97

What is it with the Indiana Pacers and brawls? Probably a coincidence in this case. Metta World Peace must be itching to add a dash of peace to this brawl. It actually looked worse than it was. Nobody really got into the crowd. The sideline photographers were a little harried but it didn’t spill over to the stands much.

The Pacers were leading 95-85 with 6 minutes left in the game. Then all hell broke loose.

Roy Hibbert is 7’2” tall. Not someone you want to go shoving around, as Steph Curry found out. He went up and got knocked aside like a rag doll. Twice. The chippiness started with David Lee and Hibbert. Lee tried to box out Hibbert by shoving him with both hands.

“I thought he kind of led with his elbow a little bit on the initial duck in,” Lee said. “I shoved him back a little bit, and I think it kind of escalated quick from there.”

Hibbert pushed right back and the other players got involved. When the dust settled, Roy Hibbert was ejected and Steph Curry, David West, Klay Thompson and David Lee got technicals. “Teams are gearing up for playoff basketball, ramping up the intensity a little bit,” point guard Stephen Curry said. “It’s going to happen. It’s healthy just to not back down, be physical. You’d like to not see that tussle happen. But for the most part, it was just a good, clean physical game that we have to expect for the rest of the year.” I wouldn’t call going after a seven foot giant healthy on any day, but that’s the kind of competitor Steph Curry is.

The ejection of Hibbert fired up the Pacers and they played with a chip on their shoulder to close the game out. “We knew we had to (close it out) with Roy going out,” George said. “We knew we had to close that game. We’re happy about this, but it’s one game.”

It is just one game. So is this a rivalry we can look forward to? Not if you ask David Lee. “Two teams competing hard, two teams wanting to win,” Lee said. “We leave that kind of stuff on the floor, and I don’t think there is too much conversation that needs to come of it.”

One of the reasons the brawl did not escalate was David West’s presence. Either as a peacemaker or as someone nobody wants to mess with. “We preach and talk about togetherness, so that’s a part of what we’re going to do. We’re not going to let teams, especially in that instance, just gang up on Roy. They came at him too many times. After the first initial (when) he and Lee go at it, there’s no need for those two other guys to come and put their hands on Roy. There’s just no need for that,” said David West.

For the Pacers, David West led the way with 28 points and 7 rebounds. George Hill added 23 points with 7 assists. Paul George added 21 points with 11 rebounds. Roy Hibbert had 13 points with 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. Danny Granger is still easing back and is a little rusted as he only had 5 points on 1 of 7 shooting. “Every minute that he’s out there, he’s going to get more comfortable,” said Indiana coach Frank Voge. “It’s going to take time.”

Steph Curry had an incredible game. He shot 14 of 20 from the field for 38 points with 4 assists. He shot 7 of 10 from downtown too. He was hot from the field and a hothead in the brawl. Why would a tiny man like Curry want to take on Roy Hibbert?

“Seriously, I didn’t feel [Curry]. It’s between David Lee and me and Curry just wanted to get involved. You know, I’m the type of person — I don’t want to start anything with someone that’s smaller than me. If I have somebody my size, you know, we’ll talk it out like men. I don’t take pride in tossing a little guy to the side. To tell you the truth, I’m probably sure I’ll probably have to sit out the next game. But, you know, it is what it is. This team’s very capable. We have each other’s back. And we’re going to get prepared for the Clippers. So I’ll find out in the morning,” said Roy Hibbert.

Carelessness on the part of Golden State pushed them towards this loss. The Warriors turned the ball over 20 times. “We just turned the ball over too much and you can’t do that on the road if you’re trying to win,” said Curry. “We try to make that a point of emphasis on this road trip.”

The Pacers moved the ball around well. They had 22 assists to 16 of the Warriors. The Warriors outrebounded the Pacers 46 to 42. For the Warriors, Steph Curry led the way with 38 points and 4 assists. Jarret Jack and Carl Landry added 11 points a piece. Klay Thompson had 13 points. David Lee added 12 with 12 boards and Harrison Barnes chipped in with 9 points.

The Pacers are now on a five game win streak. During this, they have outscored their opponents by an average margin of 23.8 points. Expect that streak to end against the Clippers who they face next. As they will be without Roy Hibbert who is suspended for one game. The Pacers now improved to 36-21 as the Warriors fell to 33-24.