National Basketball Association
Pacers 108, Bobcats 73
National Basketball Association

Pacers 108, Bobcats 73

Published Feb. 20, 2012 3:00 a.m. ET

Pacers center Roy Hibbert keeps showing why he was recently selected to his first All-Star game. The Charlotte Bobcats keep showing why they have the worst record in the NBA.

Hibbert had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead Indiana to a 108-73 win over the woeful Bobcats on Sunday.

Danny Granger and David West each scored 14 points for the Pacers, who have won two in a row following a season-long five-game losing streak. West also grabbed eight rebounds.

''We came out ready to play and stuck with our game plan the whole game, for 48 minutes,'' West said. ''We knew that they were capable, so when we jumped on them, we wanted to stay on them.''

ADVERTISEMENT

That's exactly what Indiana did.

The Pacers went on a 21-2 run to start the game and extended the lead to 53-33 at halftime. Charlotte's 73 points were the fewest allowed by Indiana since an 86-73 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 25, 2010.

''I wish we could win them all like that,'' Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. ''Our passing was great on the offensive end. David West and Roy Hibbert were really sharp at both ends.''

Derrick Brown had 16 points and Kemba Walker 15 for the Bobcats (4-27), who have lost 17 of their last 18 games and never led in this one.

Turnovers and a lack of rebounding by Charlotte gave the Pacers an opportunity to put the game away in the first half. By halftime, they had a 32-18 rebounding advantage, and the Bobcats had committed 10 turnovers.

The Pacers tied a season best of 30 points scored off 19 total turnovers.

West had 10 points in the second and the Pacers went on a 12-0 run midway through the quarter. Indiana extended the lead to as many as 41 in the third.

The Bobcats have yet to put together consecutive wins this season. They snapped a season-worst 16-game skid with a 98-91 victory over Toronto on Friday.

The Bobcats shot just 18.2 percent and trailed 24-12 after the first quarter. They had five turnovers in the first and at one point had more fouls and turnovers than points.

''We got shots, but we didn't make them early on and they did,'' coach Paul Silas said. ''They were tough. We just have to take this upon ourselves to play tougher.''

Granger scored seven points and West hit a jumper to extend Indiana's lead to 16-2 midway through the first period.

Reggie Williams scored the first Bobcats points at the 10:04 mark in the first but then they didn't score for more than 7 minutes, until Williams had a dunk.

Walker hit a jumper and Byron Mullens and Brown scored at the free throw line to get Charlotte back within nine.

A.J. Price hit a 3-pointer at the end of the quarter for Indiana to make it 24-12.

''I think the beginning of the game set the whole tone for what happened,'' Charlotte's Boris Diaw said. ''Especially missing so many shots, and things just got too out of hand to come out and be more competitive.''

Notes: Indiana G George Hill's status was upgraded to day-to-day for the chip fracture in his left ankle. . Pacers C Jeff Foster is day-to-day with a sore lower back. He played nearly 6 minutes on Sunday. . Hibbert had 20 points in the first meeting between the teams this season, when the Pacers won 99-77 on Jan. 7. ... Bobcats G Gerald Henderson missed his eighth straight game with a right hamstring strain. . The Bobcats are 27th in the NBA in field-goal percentage and score a league-low 86.9 points a game.

share


Get more from National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more