By Conrad Brunner
FOXSportsIndiana.com
Jan. 12, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS - Before the Indiana Pacers took the floor for an unusually critical January game in Philadelphia Tuesday night, Chris Denari of Fox Sports Indiana interviewed Coach Jim O'Brien and asked how the team could best shake out of its offensive funk.
O'Brien began with three words: "Flow, tempo, attack."
The Pacers had all three in a 111-103 victory that was significant on a number of levels. It snapped a nine-game road losing streak. It kept the Pacers (15-20) ahead of the eighth-place Sixers (15-23) in the Eastern Conference playoff standings while giving them a 2-1 lead in the season series and leg up on the potentially crucial tie-breaker.
And the flow, tempo and attack mentality produced the highest point total in 10 games and second-highest of the season. The Pacers brought a streak of nine straight games below 100 points into Philadelphia, the longest active streak in the NBA and unusual territory for a team once known primarily for its offense.
"It's a breath of fresh air, particularly for our offense," said Danny Granger, who scored 27 with seven assists. "We shot the ball well. We moved well and had a lot of people on the ball. It's very typical of how we like to play all the time. You know, we just kind of kick-start our offense a little bit and get us into the swing of things.
"We've really been working at it and studying film, and trying to figure out what was going on with offense. We made good plays. We had the pick-and-roll situation, trying to be open on the roll, the things we haven't done in the past. We found the open man. Mike (Dunleavy) got open early. We found him for a bunch of points. We just hadn't done that recently, getting it to him."
Dunleavy and Darren Collison, two players whose offensive productivity has been inconsistent, both had big games. Dunleavy scored 15 of his 20 in the first quarter to get the flow going, while Collison racked up 21 points and season-high 13 assists, consistently pushing the tempo and going on the attack in the lane.
"I thought there was a little bit better rhythm," Dunleavy told FSI's Stacy Paetz after the game. "We had good spacing, moved the ball and hit open teammates. When that happens, we have good skilled players so usually we can make shots. To put up 111 points against a team like this is pretty good. Hopefully we can build on that."
Though the Pacers have been pleased with improved defense this season, the offense remains central to the team's identity and success. Indiana is 9-2 when scoring at least 100 points, 6-18 otherwise.
Flow, tempo and attack added up to an important victory. Now, the job is to maintain it and produce an important season.
