Indiana Pacers F Danny Granger
The Indiana Pacers are officially hot. Roy Hibbert is, too.
Hibbert, the Pacers' second-year center, turned in yet another impressive performance – and yet another double double – with 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 91-83 victory over the winless New Jersey Nets (0-11) in front of 11,332 at IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J.
“We went out there and played hard,” Hibbert, who recorded his fourth double double in eight games this season, told Pacers Television.
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“We didn't want to underestimate these guys. We didn't want to be their first win.”
The victory was the Pacers' fifth in succession after three losses to start the season. They hadn't won five consecutive games since the 2004-2005 season.
“After starting out 0-3, to be able to come back and get five wins, two of them on the road, it's really a tribute to the work ethic of the guys in the locker room,” Pacers coach Jim O'Brien told the Indianapolis Star.
The Pacers play host to the New York Knicks at Conseco Fieldhouse Wednesday night, their first back-to-back of the season.
The Pacers, who were led by F Danny Granger with 22 points, are two games over .500 for the first time since December 22, 2007. They then play host to Cleveland Friday.
“We're going to try to build off these wins and keep the momentum going,” Hibbert said.
The Pacers, who started the first and third quarters with 9-0 runs, took a 17-point lead early in the second half, then holding off several Nets rallies thereafter. New Jersey cut the lead to 83-77 before point guard Earl Watson – who continues to develop a key role early in the season – hit a 3-point field goal with 1:58 to give Indiana a nine-point lead.
“They fought the whole game,” Granger told Pacers.com. “They kept fighting back and fighting back. Fortunately, we got the win.”
Hibbert told the team Web site, “Coming down to the end of the game we wanted to make sure we closed it out. Last year, I think that we kind of folded and we lost those close games. They made their run, we stayed strong, we dug deep and we played together and we had each other's backs out there and that's why we got this win tonight."
The Pacers' bench outscored the Nets' bench, 18-5.
“They made their run and we stayed strong,” Hibbert told Pacers Television. “We dug deep and stayed together.”
The victory came three nights after the Pacers beat the Boston Celtics, their lone victory this season over a team with a winning record.
"It was really an ugly game by both teams,” Granger told the Indianapolis Star. “There will be games like that we win in the future. We came from a game where we played very well against Boston, but we didn't play so well tonight. We got the win, though."
Forward Dahntay Jones continued a strong offensive start with 17 points, five rebounds and four assistants.
“We're doing a good job committing on defense,” Jones told NBA.com. “If we stick to our scripts, we'll be all right.”
The Pacers were without F Troy Murphy (back) for a fifth consecutive game, and are still playing without F Jeff Foster and F Mike Dunleavy.
"We showed a lot of maturity out there," Pacers PG T.J. Ford told the Star. "It wasn't pretty and we definitely didn't play perfect, but we got the job done and you take it. That was part of the task. We've got to do the same thing against the Knicks."
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