It was a special night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse Friday evening as the place was dressed appropriately for the Indiana Pacers’ first (of six) Hickory games.
The Pacers will wear these uniforms in ten games this season, six times at home.
Many of the players were excited for the special occasion, recognizing the history of Indiana basketball and how it also got them out of their boring usual uniforms.
LISTEN: Pacers Podcast Ep. 5 — Pacers Senior VP Todd Taylor on Hickory nights
Paul George played the role of Jimmy Chitwood, finishing with a game-high 36 points and 12 rebounds, and giving the Pacers the lead for good with a pair of foul shots in a 90-87 win over the Miami Heat (3-3).
It was the Pacers’ eighth consecutive regular-season win over the Heat at Home.
Despite so much changeover in the rosters, this felt like one the games from three years ago. It was close most of the way as the lead exchanged hands eight times. The Pacers went in front 86-84 with 64 seconds remaining and held on, though Dwyane Wade got a final three-point attempt up from the left corner … but he was trying more for the foul than to take a quality shot.
George was outstanding, and he looked like his old self. (Courtesy reminder that he’s a little more than 15 months removed from compound fracture surgery.)
While the rest of the team struggled in the first frame, he made nearly half of his 12 shots and scored 11 of the team’s 16 points. Indiana missed its final 13 shots in the first and didn’t score over the final 6:21. Yeah, it wasn’t pretty.
George, who posted his third double-double of the young season, scored over 30 points for the first time since March 15, 2015 at Detroit. He said he still doesn’t feel 100 percent back to being his old self.
“I’m still inching towards inch,” said the two-time All-Star. “Still some explosive things [lacking], as far as being able to jump quick and having that power. Still a little ways away but I think I’m close. Not too far off.”
Three Heat players reached double figures, led by Chris Bosh’s 21 points and 11 rebounds. Dwyane Wade, who scored at least 20 points in each of the first five games, was limited to nine points on 4-of-15 shooting.
One area of concern was with their sixth man, Rodney Stuckey. He went down with what appeared to be a bad ankle sprain in the second quarter. He required assistance from the medical staff to get back to the locker room and he was ruled out for the game at intermission.
Usual starter C.J. Miles sat out for the second game in a row with a sore right ankle.
Offseason pickup Jordan Hill made an impact in this Eastern Conference matchup, playing almost 24 minutes, one less than starter Ian Mahinmi who got in early foul trouble.
Hill was under control at the hoop and he recorded his second consecutive double-double with 10 points and 10 points. He secured it by grabbing a rebound at one end, then putting back a Paul George miss from 23-feet. That put Indiana ahead by four points.
“He’s one of the best offensive rebounders in the game,” said head coach Frank Vogel. “… Jordan has stepped up and we’ve tried in the last two or three days to just organize ourselves offensively.”
An unlikely contributor was in at crunch time, second-year wing Glenn Robinson III. The 21-year-old didn’t get off the bench in the first four games but with Miles out, he has stepped onto the floor and made an argument for more time. It was GRIII who rebounded a Jordan Hill missed jumper with 6.8 seconds left, and then he went to the line and made one of two attempts to stretch their lead to three.
“He came in and gave us a big lift,” said Vogel.
The Pacers will see how Miles and Stuckey are each doing on Saturday and then they’ll fly to Cleveland for their Sunday afternoon battle against the Cavaliers (5-1). Next week is a busy one for the Pacers with four games, alternating away and at home.
We knew it was going to be a rocky start for this bunch. Two starters left in the offseason, seven new players joined the mix, and a new offensive mentality was instilled in these guys.
They beat a good Heat team on Friday and did so in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN. They looked good, played better, and got the win.
Now 3-3.
GRIII Disappoints, Had Not Seen “Hoosiers” Until Recently
GRIII was born in Gary, Indiana so the question is: How many times has he watched “Hoosiers?”
Wrong.
He he hadn’t watched it in its entirety until Vogel took the team to a private showing of the movie before their preseason opener.
“I had only seen parts of it up until then,” he said, with an embarrassed smile. “I had just seen clips. There were a couple other guys [who hadn’t seen it before]. I think that it opened up everybody’s eyes to how much basketball means in this state and how much people care.
“Indiana is basketball means a lot to these folks out here. I think everybody who grows up in Indiana has seen the movie “Hoosiers.” They love basketball here.”
The Pacers signed him in the offseason, so interested in his talent and what he could turn into. Larry Bird liked him and so because he was a free agent, the team came to an agreement with him to get the 6-foot-6 wing in a Pacers uniform.
They even guaranteed his contract for this season despite the fact that he has yet to prove he can play well consistently at this level yet. It was a risk they believe will pay off. That’s why they were able to buy low.
From the offseason: GRIII aspires to learn from Paul George, be a two-way player
Because he hadn’t seen the court until the fifth game of the season, he had been getting into the gym on their off days to break a sweat and get some shots up. Over 200. He’s also been talking with Solomon Hill and some of the vets trying to soak up all of the knowledge he can.
On the eve of the preseason opener, Vogel gathered the team tonight to watch "Hoosiers" together. #HickoryPacers pic.twitter.com/cQhPOix03e
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) October 3, 2015