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Tonight at 7 pm at the Canseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Ind., the PACERS will host the CHICAGO BULLS, in a game that should provide a great deal of excitement.
The BULLS are out of the playoff race, and have resigned themselves to playing the role of the spoiler. Unfortunately, for them, they will spoil very little tonight, against an INDIANA team that is 50-19 coasting into the playoff picture.
INDIANA'S last game was against a frisky MEMPHIS team in Memphis, where they lost 99-95. They had a 95-90 lead with less than 5 minutes to play, only to see MEMPHIS go on a 12-0 tear. INDIANA'S Jermaine O'Neal said of the game,"It's on us, there is no way we are supposed to lose this game." MEMPHIS lead 93-90 with 2:03 left, and INDIANA closed to 97-95 on a Tinsely 3 pointer, but Reggie Miller missed the possible tying bucket on an open runner. Poor luck? Well maybe.
The game before that they hosted the SACRAMENTO KINGS, in a game that saw 7 ties and 5 lead changes in the fourth quarter alone. The game was tied at 92 with 24 sec remaining, but SACRAMENTO got the last shot, a 19 footer from the left wing, by who else but the unbelieveable Mike Bibby, with 1.2 seconds left, to give the KINGS a 94-92 victory. INIANA'S Ron Artest sat out that game with a 1 game suspension, and was "ejected" in a previous meeting between the clubs. INDIANA led by as many as 17 in the first half of the see-saw affair, only to suffer a disappointing loss at home.
CHICAGO, on the other hand, has won their last two games: 87-81 over NEW YORK at home, and 96-91 at TORONTO. They went into their last game, NEW YORK, on no rest, just as INDIANA went into their last game, MEMPHIS, on no rest. Each team comes into this game on 1 days rest, and both will have played 3 games in the past 4 days. Could this make a difference? The odds makers feel that it might, having the game listed IND -12 and a feeble total of 175'.
The last two meetings between these two saw CHICAGO win by 11(86-75) at the United Center in Chicago on Dec 13th and INDIANA win by 19 (103-84) on Feb 10th in that same arena. In the Dec game both teams came in on no rest.
Last year,in the two games played at INDIANA, the pacers won them both, 101-86 and 140-89. In the two games played at CHICAGO, the BULLS won them both 110-103 and 115-103. I know, the faces have changed somewhat, but trends are trends.
INDIANA has DALLAS waiting in the wings after this one, but I think they need this game and a trip to the winners circle "right now", against a team they know they can beat.
12 points is a hard nut to crack, but INDIANA comes away with an easy win here.
Tonight at 7 pm at the Canseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Ind., the PACERS will host the CHICAGO BULLS, in a game that should provide a great deal of excitement.
The BULLS are out of the playoff race, and have resigned themselves to playing the role of the spoiler. Unfortunately, for them, they will spoil very little tonight, against an INDIANA team that is 50-19 coasting into the playoff picture.
INDIANA'S last game was against a frisky MEMPHIS team in Memphis, where they lost 99-95. They had a 95-90 lead with less than 5 minutes to play, only to see MEMPHIS go on a 12-0 tear. INDIANA'S Jermaine O'Neal said of the game,"It's on us, there is no way we are supposed to lose this game." MEMPHIS lead 93-90 with 2:03 left, and INDIANA closed to 97-95 on a Tinsely 3 pointer, but Reggie Miller missed the possible tying bucket on an open runner. Poor luck? Well maybe.
The game before that they hosted the SACRAMENTO KINGS, in a game that saw 7 ties and 5 lead changes in the fourth quarter alone. The game was tied at 92 with 24 sec remaining, but SACRAMENTO got the last shot, a 19 footer from the left wing, by who else but the unbelieveable Mike Bibby, with 1.2 seconds left, to give the KINGS a 94-92 victory. INIANA'S Ron Artest sat out that game with a 1 game suspension, and was "ejected" in a previous meeting between the clubs. INDIANA led by as many as 17 in the first half of the see-saw affair, only to suffer a disappointing loss at home.
CHICAGO, on the other hand, has won their last two games: 87-81 over NEW YORK at home, and 96-91 at TORONTO. They went into their last game, NEW YORK, on no rest, just as INDIANA went into their last game, MEMPHIS, on no rest. Each team comes into this game on 1 days rest, and both will have played 3 games in the past 4 days. Could this make a difference? The odds makers feel that it might, having the game listed IND -12 and a feeble total of 175'.
The last two meetings between these two saw CHICAGO win by 11(86-75) at the United Center in Chicago on Dec 13th and INDIANA win by 19 (103-84) on Feb 10th in that same arena. In the Dec game both teams came in on no rest.
Last year,in the two games played at INDIANA, the pacers won them both, 101-86 and 140-89. In the two games played at CHICAGO, the BULLS won them both 110-103 and 115-103. I know, the faces have changed somewhat, but trends are trends.
INDIANA has DALLAS waiting in the wings after this one, but I think they need this game and a trip to the winners circle "right now", against a team they know they can beat.
12 points is a hard nut to crack, but INDIANA comes away with an easy win here.
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