Memphis, Tenn. ? Indiana coach Rick Carlisle is relieved to be going home with a win.
Jermaine O’Neal capped a 35-point game by making two free throws with 4.6 seconds left to send the Indiana Pacers to an 86-85 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night, their only win of a four-game road trip.
“Anytime you lose one, two, three, whatever it is, your next win always feels like your best,” Carlisle said. “Right now, this feels like one of the best wins of the year.”
Memphis had a chance to win, but Pau Gasol missed on a drive to the basket and the ball was batted around as time ran out, snapping the Grizzlies’ six-game winning streak.
“I thought there was contact,” Gasol said of the final play. “They got into my body and carried me out of bounds. It’s probably tough to make a call like that at the end of the game, but it was crucial.”
Reggie Miller said the Pacers were expecting Gasol to take the last shot.
With center Jeff Foster guarding the Grizzlies’ leading scorer and O’Neal “coming backside to block the shot, you couldn’t ask for a better scenario.”
O’Neal, who was 12-of-23 from the field, grabbed 12 rebounds, as did Foster. Jamaal Tinsley added 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Pacers, while Miller contributed 10 points.
Gasol had with 31 points and four blocks for Memphis, and Bonzi Wells scored 20. Jason Williams had 11 points.
Gasol recorded the 5,000th point and 500th block of his career. He accomplished the feat in just 275 games — only nine other players reached the milestones faster, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
In the fourth quarter, the Pacers, who trailed by as many as 10 in the game, pushed Gasol away from the basket and used tough pressure defense to get Memphis off its game, and get their offense going.
“He was very aggressive in the first half and kind of got us in foul trouble,” O’Neal said. “We wanted to get out of the third quarter with (minimum fouls) so we could be physical with him and force him to take tougher shots.”
Miller’s back-to-back 3-pointers from the top of the key pulled the Pacers even, then O’Neal added a rebound basket to cap an 8-0 run for Indiana’s first lead of the game, 75-73, with 6:11 left.
But a 3-pointer by Jason Williams with 1:26 left, and Gasol’s basket with 53.9 remaining, gave Memphis an 85-84 lead, setting the stage for O’Neal’s free throws when he was fouled by Williams on a 15-footer.
A key factor in the Memphis loss was the Grizzlies hitting 18 of 29 free throws, including Gasol missing half of his 12 attempts.
“When you miss 11 free throw attempts in a game and lose by one point, it plays a huge part in the loss,” Memphis coach Mike Fratello said.
Memphis took a 57-48 lead into the break, but both teams struggled in the third period as the Pacers pushed Gasol, who had 23 first-half points including a four-point play, farther from the basket. Indiana had five baskets and seven turnovers in the third, while Memphis managed only three field goals and 10 points in the quarter — its lowest scoring quarter of the season — but managed to take a 67-61 lead into the fourth.
Notes: Pacers reserve C David Harrison left the game with about two minutes left in the first quarter with a concussion. Harrison caught an elbow to the head and was woozy heading back down court. He had to be helped to the dressing room and did not return. … Carlisle picked up a technical while arguing a foul call on O’Neal in the first quarter. “At least be decisive when you make a bad call,” Carlisle shouted at official Robbie Robinson. … Gasol’s 3-pointer, part of a four-point play in the second quarter, was his first long-range basket of the season. It was the sixth such play in Grizzlies’ history. … Memphis C Lorenzen Wright scored his 5,000th career point on a tip-in in the second quarter.