01-10-2020, 05:34 AM
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianas Roy Hibbert had the perfect knockout combination Friday night. On offence, he made all but two shots. On defence, he protected the rim. At the free-throw line, he couldnt miss and no matter what the Bucks tried to stop the former All-Star centre, nothing worked. Hibbert finished with season-highs of 24 points and eight blocks and added 10 rebounds to lead unbeaten Indiana past Milwaukee 104-77 -- the Pacers most lopsided rout in a 9-0 start. "We have expectations and we want to win," Hibbert said. "We want to play deep, deep into the playoffs. You gain confidence with your teammates when were all on the same page and we all have one goal. Some guys on this team before were just trying to get a paycheque and go home and then chilling on the beach and sip mojitos or something like that. Thats not us. " Hibbert was referring to the teams he played on when he first arrived in Indy. Theres no doubt that philosophy has changed. On Friday, the Pacers followed the same blue-collar script theyve used to win their first nine. Milwaukee had a season-low point total, finished well below its season average of 93.7 points, and shot just 34.1 per cent against the leagues No. 1 defence. Its the fourth time Indiana has held an opponent to 80 or fewer points this season and its the second time this week. Now, after becoming the first team in the league to start 9-0 since Dallas in 2002-03, Indiana has a chance to reach even more milestones. The defending Central Division champs head to Chicago on Saturday with a chance to become the 14th team in league history to go 10-0 and they can break the longest winning streak in the franchises NBA history. Indiana also won nine straight from Nov. 2-22 in 2002. Another win also would put them on the precipice of the longest winning streak in Pacers history (11), which stretches all the way back to 1972-73, when they were still in the ABA. About the only bad move coach Frank Vogel made Friday was pulling Hibbert early rather than allowing him to try and become the second Pacers player this week to post a triple-double. Hibbert, true to form, didnt care. Hed rather beat Chicago anyway for the second time in 10 days and at least lock up a tie in the season series against their fiercest division rival. "You know what? I look at the bigger picture. We have Chicago tomorrow, might as well just get a little bit a rest," Hibbert said. "A triple-double would have been great, but one of these times, everythings going to line-up, the stars, moon, sun, everythings going to line up and Ill have one of those." So Hibbert focused on his job. While Indianas top scorer Paul George struggled to get open in the first half, Hibbert scorched the Bucks for 14 points, seven rebounds and five blocks in just 15 minutes. After making halftime adjustments, the Bucks still couldnt stop the 7-foot-2 centre, whom Vogel called the early front-runner for defensive player of the year. And this time, Hibbert was just as proficient on the offensive end. He knocked down 8 of 10 shots from the field, made all eight of his free throws and dominated the matchup with feisty Zaza Pachulia, who played with a sore right foot. "We threw what we had at him, but it didnt seem to affect him at all," Bucks coach Larry Drew said. "You try to take something away and you give something else up. They played well. That teams playing really well." George finished with 22 points, 17 in the second half. Lance Stephenson, who had his first triple double Monday night, had 11 points and four rebounds during a game in which the Pacers fell behind twice in the first quarter, for just 64 seconds. Injury-riddled Milwaukee (2-6) has now dropped four straight. O.J. Mayo led the Bucks with 20 points, and his only teammates to reach double figures were Khris Middleton and Gary Neal, who each had 11. They just didnt have a chance against the leagues hottest team. Coming off of a three-day break, Indiana started sluggishly, then used an 11-2 run to put Milwaukee in a 21-14 hole. The Pacers never looked back. Indiana closed the first quarter on an 8-3 spurt to make it 31-21, extended the lead to 53-37 at the half and then pulled away in the third quarter when George accounted for six points in a 7-2 spurt and George and Hibbert accounted for all seven points in a 7-0 spurt to make it 68-53. Milwaukee never got closer than 11 again. "Every game could be the difference between home-court advantage and not having home-court advantage," Vogel said. "It doesnt matter. Were on a mission and were trying to put ourselves in best possible position come playoff time. " NOTES: Indiana has already beaten all four of its Central Division foes. ... 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The stakes were higher, the competition more fierce and the atmosphere was that of a playoff game - something the young, upstart Raptors have five weeks to better prepare themselves for or the result will be eerily similar. If they looked out of place in that environment, its probably because they were. Torontos starting five features a fifth-year star that has yet to make a playoff appearance. Theyre the only team currently in a playoff position that starts two sophomores and its been five years since either their point guard or power forward has experienced postseason basketball. Combined that lineup accounts for 24 games of postseason experience. Staring them down in the final minute of a one-possession, high stakes game was a Nets unit that has collectively participated in 268 playoff contests. Paul Pierce alone is responsible for 136 of them while Kevin Garnett and Andrei Kirilenko - both out with injuries - would have added another 176. The Nets took a five-point advantage into the fourth quarter and, for all their hardships this season, they had only lost one of 30 games in which they held the lead after 36 minutes. Thats the difference experience makes. The Raptors, despite a valiant effort, showed up to a knife fight armed with plastic forks. "This team here in Brooklyn is a championship-caliber team," Dwane Casey said following his teams 101-97 loss. "They know the plays to make to win games. Weve still got to learn that. Were on our way but we still have some learning to do." Although the Raptors remain the NBAs best fourth-quarter team, outscoring opponents by 158 points in the final frame this season, their late-game execution continues to be a work in progress. When ahead or behind by five points or less in the final three minutes, Toronto shoots 37 per cent, the ninth-lowest mark in the league. Theyre 15-18 in games that come down to that scenario. On Monday, Pierce hit what may have been the biggest shot of the night - a cold-blooded three to break a tie with just over a minute left and the shot clock ticking down - while the Raptors wilted in the moment. Down one, 30 seconds later, Toronto got the stop it needed, leading to a five-on-four break the other way. In the midst of a brilliant second half, Kyle Lowry found DeMar DeRozan in transition, believing he would continue to go hard to the bucket.dddddddddddd Met by Pierce in the lane, DeRozan lateraled back to Lowry, who wasnt expecting the pass and turned down the shot. John Salmons, receiving the ball from Lowry, also hesitated on an open look from the elbow, which ultimately led to Terrence Ross fumbling the ball as he looked to salvage the broken play. It was a possession mired in indecision and it sealed Torontos fate. The Nets - 10-for-14 from three-point range after the first quarter - hit big shots and made winning plays. They looked like the desperate team, and rightfully so. Had they won, the Raptors would be sitting pretty in the Atlantic Division, five games up on Brooklyn with the season-series tiebreaker in hand. Instead, Brooklyn has pulled within three games of the division lead. "[The atmosphere] was definitely a notch higher because of what was at stake," DeRozan admitted after the game. "Theyre chasing us and were leading in the division. It was just a big game overall. Theyve been playing well, trying to make a playoff push and were trying to sustain our position so it definitely was a big game." While the loss stings, the Raptors are still in the drivers seat, controlling their own destiny with 20 games to go. "It was a disappointing loss in the fact that theyre a team thats battling us for the division," Casey said. "Theres still a lot of basketball left to play. Weve got to stay positive. Its not the end of the world. We werent going to go undefeated the rest of the way. We knew that." Should Toronto and Brooklyn share the same record atop the Atlantic when its all said and done, with the season series now even, the tiebreaker would go to the team with the most wins within the division. The Raptors are currently 8-3 with five games left to be played against Atlantic opponents while the Nets are 7-5 with four remaining. Each of those games could be crucial - including two meetings with New York in the final week of the season - for the Raptors who are hoping to win their second division title in franchise history. Sink or swim, that will be determined by what theyre able to take out of Mondays squandered opportunity. "Its a learning experience," DeRozan said. "It was a heck of a game that we can learn from and possibly could be a team we could see in the playoffs." ' ' '