5213 Bob Kravitz Pacers deliver vintage defensive performance finally | Indianapolis Star | indystarcom

wwwindystarcomarticle20130501SPORTS15305010101Bob-Kravitz-Pacers-deliver-vintage-defensive-performance-finally 14

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May 2 2013 |

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Mike Wells and Bob Kravitz Can they seal the deal The Stars Mike Wells and Bob Kravitz recap Game 5 fromBankers Life Fieldhouse

For weeks now coach Frank Vogel has been waiting for a vintage

Indiana Pacers defensive performance For weeks hersquos been looking

for the active hands the help-side defense the dig-in mentality that

made the Pacers a dangerous and intriguing team all season long

Finally after 12 straight games of giving up 90 or more points the real

Pacers mdash or at least we think theyrsquore the real Pacers mdash showed up

when they had a ldquomustrdquo win playoff game

Finally after 12 games of watching their defensive numbers become

bloated the Pacers did a number on the Atlanta Hawks beating them

Bob Kravitz Pacers deliver vintage defensive performance finally

2 Comments Recommend 15 people recommend this

Recommend 15 TweetTweet 4 0

Mike Wells and Bob

Kravitz Can they seal

the deal

George Hill on the

Pacers big w in

Written byBob Kravitz

FILED UNDER

Indianapolis Sports

Bob Kravitz

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Bob Kravitz Pacers deliver vintage

defensive performance finally

2013 NBA Playoffs Pacers coach

Frank Vogel makes adjustments

necessary for team to take 3-2 lead

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106-83 in Game 5 taking a 3-2 series lead in a foul-besotted game

that seemed to last four hours

The 90-point number is not an insignificant

statistic for the Pacers

They were 31-6 during the regular season

when holding opponents below 90 18-26

when they did not

That friends was vintage

That was the Pacers who finished third in the

Eastern Conference with 49 victories

That was who they are but havenrsquot been in

way too long

ldquoWersquore understanding how to guard this teamrdquo

Vogel said after the game ldquoBut wersquove got to

be realistic Josh Smith being in foul trouble

contributed to that and really limited them But

we have a pretty good idea now how to guard

these guysrdquo

Said David West ldquoThis is the first time when I

felt like we played legitimate defense in this

series Itrsquos more about us (than the Hawks)

We came out more focused We had a couple

of fiery film sessions where we challenged

guys to own up We chart deflections and I

thought our hands were more active We were

initiators and not reacting to what they were

doingrdquo

Now theyrsquore back in control of this series mdash

sort of

The statistics tell an inspiring story The winner

of Game 5 in a 2-2 series goes on to win 83

percent of the time

The Pacers did all the things they did in

Games 1 and 2 all the things they failed to do

in Games 3 and 4 in Atlanta

They held the Hawks to 33 percent shooting

They outrebounded the Hawks 51-28

They limited the Hawks to just 3-of-14 in 3-point shooting

Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star Call him at

(317) 444-6643 or email bobkravitzindystarcom You can

also follow Bob on Twitter at bkravitz

Pacers coach Frank Vogel argues a call with officialBennett Salvatore in the first minute of the game as theIndiana Pacers hosted the Atlanta Hawks in game fiveof round one of the NBA Playoffs 2013 at Bankers LifeFieldhouse May 1 2013 Joe Vitti The Star

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