Even though I am a huge Pacers fan, this is the second ever Pacers game I have ever been to. Yep, I know. The first one was against the Hornets in 2006 when the Pacers lost, 100-91. But when I was at the game, it was really fun. We saw Miss America, got autographs from the mascots whose names are Boomer and Bowser, and then there was some other people. It was just me and my Dad there. I got free tickets! How? That question can be answered, easily. There is this thing called the Pacers Kids Club I signed up for a year ago and I get free tickets to games. I was going to the Cavaliers game, the one that happened on Monday in a loss, but I had no time. We started out in the very top section of the game. Then somehow we just cheated our way down and we were now in the seats that were about 30 or 40 feet away from the court-side seats. It was so awesome! Now even though the Pacers have finished the year with a 36-46 record like last year, it was truly a fun year. Now the Pacers will make the playoffs next year. And this recap was surely fun also: It was halftime and Indiana was winning, 57-49. Then the disaster struck when at the end of the third quarter, the score was 88-73 with the Bucks leading. It was truly horrible but the Pacers came back strong with Danny Granger leading the way in a 115-108 win. "We've had a crazy, crazy season,'' Indiana point guard Jarrett Jack said. "Games that we thought we had control over, we ended up losing them in the end, and I thought we were kind of headed down that same road. But the guys showed a lot of fight, we were able to pull ourselves out of that bad situation and end our season right with a big 'W.''' Thanks god they did! Or else out of the two Pacers games I have been to, the Pacers have been 0-2. Now it's 1-1. Danny Granger's 35 points helped him gain more in the rankings of the NBA's Most Improved Player award. 16 of his 35 points came in the fourth quarter. It was a exciting thing to see because Brandon Rush, who had 25 points (15 in fourth quarter) and Danny Granger just kept drilling three-pointers. Jarrett Jack, who had eight points and 10 assists. was just running around and juking people. Then there was T.J. Ford who was just made himself look blazing fast! This also marked Granger's 23rd game of the season with 30 points or more scored. Even though the Bucks lost and finished the season with a 34-48 record, which is last in the Central Conference, the Bucks had their ways with Indy, too. I thought it was over when I was looking at the scoreboard in Conseco Fieldhouse. It showed the Bucks winning, 93-78. They also lead by more than 17 points and the Pacers overcame the deficit. The Bucks also had a 20-0 run but the Pacers still won. I remember a play when Danny Granger stole the ball and while he was running down the court, he made a shot right from downtown. Nothing but net! The Pacers outscored the Bucks big time in the fourth quarter by a score of 43-20. They made seven shots from behind-the-arc and brought huge payback after being outscored by Milwaukee in the third quarter by a score of 39-16. What a bizarre game! Isn't that right Jim? "A bizarro game,'' Jim O'Brien said. The Pacers played most of the fourth quarter with a unit most Indiana fans aren't familiar with: Danny Granger, Brandon Rush, Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts, and Travis Diener. O'Brien credited and was proud of the effort McRoberts and Diener put into the process. Now they don't have to show this picture from Pacers Digest, the profile picture of Infinite MAN Force. "I would say they provided a tremendous spark,'' O'Brien said. "If it wasn't for the guys we had in the whole fourth quarter, we don't win this basketball game.'' Troy Murphy had a hell of a game. He also set a team record. He had 12 rebounds of the day and has had 861 rebounds of the season! A Pacers record! He broke the record of Clark Kellog's for most rebounds in a season by a Pacers player. Congratulations Troy! "It means a lot,'' Murphy said. "I'm very proud to be associated with this franchise, and any kind of success with a franchise that has this kind of history is a great honor.'' Thanks for saying that about the best team in the NBA! But besides setting a team record, he also set a league record. He set the NBA record with finishing the Top Five in these two categories: Three-point percentage and rebounds. Congrats, again, Troy! Buck's Coach wasn't happy but the Bucks put in some great effort: "We built a nice lead and we were playing very well and playing really hard and playing good defense. And, as has happened to us so many times this year, we had a hard time sustaining that effort, concentration. We started jogging back in transition, gave up some threes. They got that working for them. That's their game.'' -Scott Skiles, Bucks Coach It was the Pacers game. It was a very fun year for them and I was happy. They were three games behind the Pistons, who had the eighth seed. If the Pacers won at least three or four more games that they should have won, they would have had a playoff spot. But you can't do anything about it. But it was their game and next year, it will be their year! So they brought there passion, pride, and that is why we call them the Pacers!
