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The Indiana Pacers put away the Boston Celtics early which left plenty of idle time for the team to have fun before the final buzzer.
Part of that fun was watching Lance Stephenson chase and eventually lock up a triple-double. Stephenson doesn't do subtle and his highlight plays emphasize all of his numbers throughout a game. When he has it going as he did against Boston, he straddles that line between dazzling play and far too much showmanship.
With the game out of hand, Stephenson threw in a hula hoop/pelvic thrust-type dance move after knocking down his last two shots. Too much in a blowout game? Without a doubt, but that's how Lance plays and we're all in with the good so sit back and enjoy those cringe moments because they can be entertaining.
Of course, Jeff Green didn't find it too entertaining. After the game, Green voiced his displeasure with Stephenson's act to A. Sherrod Blakely. "That's not basketball," Green said. It is what it is. "We'll see them again."
Yes, they will. Although that might not be a good thing for the C's. Green probably wasn't too happy with how the starters filled their time on the bench in the fourth quarter either. Instead of playing their regular minutes to close the game, they did the wave. The wave.
One thing that was easily overlooked in all of the noise from Stephenson's triple-double and Paul George's third quarter was the game Danny Granger had off the bench. His first FOUR three-pointers were soaking wet and again, we saw him extend extra effort on the defensive end. As Vogel said after the game, Granger has waited his whole career to be on a Pacers team like this, so seeing him find ways to fit in is not surprising. But it is fantastic to see, so far.
Now the Pacers move on to the next one on Monday night when they visit the Brooklyn Nets.
out the links:
Game Rewind: Pacers 106, Celtics 79 | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE INDIANA PACERS
Stephenson's triple-double leads Pacers to 106-79 victory over Celtics, Stevens - Indy Star
Pacers run away from Celtics with 106-79 rout - AP
Game Preview: Pacers at Nets | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE INDIANA PACERS
Ford Keys to the Game: Pacers 106, Celtics 79 | The Official Site of the BOSTON CELTICS
Indiana Pacers dominate Boston Celtics, 106-79 - CelticsBlog
Good, bad, & ugly: C's overwhelmed by Pacers | Comcast SportsNet - CSNNE.com
Brad Stevens returns to Indiana and discusses the influence of Bobby Knight - CelticsBlog
Twitter / SherrodbCSN: #Celtics Jeff Green on #Pacers Lance Stephenson showboating
Brooklyn Nets lose Brook Lopez for season with broken foot - ESPN New York
With loss of Brook Lopez, let's talk trades - Brooklyn Nets Blog - ESPN New York
Brooklyn Nets not mulling trade options after losing Brook Lopez - ESPN New York