IC Cold Links: Pacers Give Home Fans A Reason To Cheer

Drsuessrunner07 had a perfect comment to lead off last night's game thread prior to the opening tip.

This game reminds me of the movie The Hangover, when the guys are picking up their Mercedes Benz from the inpound lot. "Six to one odds this car is beat to s#*%." There’s no reason to have much hope for this game but here I am, hoping, praying that my Pacers come around that corner tonight looking pretty and put on a good showing. Go Pacers!

That struck a chord with me and if you've seen the movie, you're nodding your head. Coming off the 43-point loss in New York and facing all of Orlando's firepower certainly gave a pre-game feel of, "You think it can't get any worse? Well, watch this."

Even as the Pacers were trading blows early with the Magic and then maintaining a little lead, the ominous feel remained. Just a matter of time before the Magic turn it on and take over. At one point, the biggest cheers of the night came when Reb Porter announced Reggie Wayne's presence courtside and then later, Robert Mathis. I was thinking maybe the team should have a couple of Colts players show up at every game but announce it in advance to draw more fans.

But that all changed as the belief grew throughout the second half that, yes, the Pacers might just win this one. After a shot-clock beating jumper from Roy Hibbert and again, when Hibbert drew Dwight Howard's sixth foul, the crowd on hand was going crazy...for the Pacers.

After the jump, more links of interest from last night's WIN.

• Box score (including Hibbert's post-game interview with NBA TV)
• AP report: Hibbert’s career night helps Pacers past Magic

• PACERS: Inside the Game: Pacers 97, Magic 90
  Bruno has all of the numbers, quotes and video from the win.

• Hibbert leads Pacers past Magic
  Mike Wells reports on the Pacers finding success by playing through Roy Hibbert. Big Roy is even gaining the confidence of his teammates even if his coach would prefer the team continue to run.

• Pacers need Bird to take bold action
  Bob Kravitz wants Larry Bird to save his job by taking over the coaching duties from Jim O'Brien and trying to get a consistent effort out of his guys comparable to the effort we saw last night. At least Kravitz admits it would be more of a cosmetic change since roster changes are needed as well.

• Indiana Pacers 97, Orlando Magic 90 - Orlando Pinstriped Post
  Ben Q. Rock tries to make sense of the Magic loss and give credit to Roy Hibbert for staying out of foul trouble and making things tough on Dwight Howard.

• Pacers Notebook: Granger's return isn't imminent
  Notebook items from Wells include JOB dampening the outlook for Granger's return, Luther Head enjoying his time on the court and Earl Watson on his team continuing to believe in each other after the brutal game in New York.

• Feed the big fella
  Mike Wells begs for more touches for Roy Hibbert in the post.

• The Basketball Jones: NBA party planners
  The kings of NBA comedy are at it again. Enjoy.