[Editor's Note: coachk watched the game and has the story behind the numbers in the box score which explains the key to the Pacers win.]

  JO is a man.  

  Today's write-ups will undoubtedly focus on Dunleavy's first-half, 14 points, and McLeod's three-point plays (of the old-fashioned variety nonetheless) that finally put the C's to bed.  Let's not lose JO's work -- and I mean WORK-- in the proverbial shuffle.

   I sat down to watch the game with a strange mix of emotions.  (more on that later).  The Pacers bolted to a 26-15 lead after the first. In the process, JO had 10 rebounds.  Check it out for yourself.  There were 22 rebounds in the first quarter.  The tally:  

     Jermaine:    10
     Boston:       7
     Other Pacers: 5

That's professional.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter. The Celts' started pressing. The inbounder's man doubled the ball, with Rajon Rondo playing free saftey behind them. Nothing fancy, but it caused the Pacers fits. McLeod -- before his 3-point plays -- made consecutive turnovers.  The first led to a lay-up for Alan Ray, the second gave the Celts the ball with a chance to cut the Pacers' lead to 4.

JO drew an offensive foul.

Ensuing Indiana possession, Keith's first "and-1".

Game over.

Jermaine showed up at the office and put in a HARD night's work. Dirty work. But the work that must be done for a team to remain in the hunt. And, this morning, in the hunt is exactly where the Pacers remain. Nice work JO.

A few random thoughts -- as you might know, I've been a Celtic fan all my life.  As I went about my Saturday, I found myself anticipating a steak on the grill and the Celtics-Pacers game. Then, it struck me: I hadn't looked forward to sitting down to watch the Celtics in years.  My rough guess was 5 years -- the Eastern Conference finals in 2002.   Unfortunately, for a Celts fan, it was the Pacers that rekindled the feeling. How times have changed.......gotta give a nod to the Pacers girls and the short-shorts with bikini tops......does Conseco have the loudest generated-noise in the league?  The bit that "yells" DEFENSE is so loud the Fieldhouse sounds eerily quiet when Indiana gets the ball back....I'm not sure I'll ever believe that Bassy is the all-time leading scorer in the history of NYC high school hoops.