By now, you probably saw the amazing, last-second play in which a miraculous pass from Luc Mbah a Moute was tipped in by Andrew Bogut to beat the Pacers. There was only 0.5 seconds left and the score was tied. Indiana likely thought they would play a half-second of defense and then head to overtime, but Bogut had other ideas.
Here it is.
There’s really not a whole lot else to say. Roy Hibbert badly airballed an open shot from the elbow on the previous play that would have put the Pacers ahead by two. Danny Granger hit a huge jumper shortly before that.
Otherwise? It was a sloppy game in which Indiana gave up an insane number of offensive boards, allowing a Bucks team that was shooting horrendously to not only stay in the game but lead by double-digits in the first half.
The Pacers played better after the break, gaining and then relinquishing the lead on several occasions. In the final minute, it really looked like this might be another game in which the team could play ugly and still win — on the road (much like last week’s victory over the Kings).
But, again, Bogut had other ideas.
You can pick apart the Pacers poor play here — and we very well might tomorrow — but for tonight, I’m just going to tip my cap to the Australian, Brandon Jennings (who set the pick on Jeff Foster) and, mostly, Mbah a Moute for executing a play perfectly.
You can also read more on the game from The Indy Star, IndyCornrows, Bucksketball and BrewHoop.
Related Posts:
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- Game #26 Preview: Pacers vs. Pterodactyls
- Bucks’ Game-Clinching Play vs. the Pacers
- 8p9s/Pacers TrueHoop Network Season Preview
Jared Wade founded 8 Points, 9 Seconds in 2009 and has written about the NBA for outlets including ESPN, Sports Illustrated,TrueHoop, Hoopspeak, Both Teams Played Hard, and Hardwood Paroxysm. Follow him on Twitter @Jared_Wade and @8pts9secs.
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The Pacers must learn the value of a possession. Between rebounds and turnovers, the Bucks had 14 more possessions than the Pacers. The Bucks shot about 36% from 2′s. So between the extra possessions and the field goal percentage, that gave the Bucks about 10 points. Why spot the 10 points because of rebounding and turnovers?
Darren Collison’s lack of defense at the point was the primary reason for the turnover problems. DC chased Jennings all over the court instead of moving his feet and turning him to prevent the dribble penetration. In the second half he did a better job of moving underneath screens to prevent this. By Jennings constantly penetrating, the Pacers’ 3, 4, and 5 had to collapse adnn since the Pacers collapse so hard to the drive, no one is in position to rebound or protect the corners from open 3′s.
We need to stop the penetration. DC is so quick there is no reason he can’t. We need to learn how to play help defense. 3 guys cannot all jump to try and block the shot of the penetrator. 1 man helps, the others slide the protection to clean up the miss and start the transition O.