Indiana’s Danny Granger scores 41, Pacers down Golden State
127-120
INDIANAPOLIS
Danny Granger scored 17 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Golden State Warriors 127-120 on Wednesday night for their second straight victory.
Granger also had 11 rebounds and six assists, and made all 17 of his free throws.
Jarrett Jack scored 24 points, Marquis Daniels added 23, and rookie Brandon Rush had 10 points and 11 rebounds in his second career start for Indiana.
Jamal Crawford scored 29 points, Marco Belinelli had a career-high 21 points, and Andris Biedrins had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Golden State.
Stephen Jackson, the forward the Pacers sent to Golden State two seasons ago after he wore out his welcome with off-the-court issues, finished with 20 points in Golden State’s fourth straight loss.
Indiana had a season-high point total for the second straight game, despite missing injured starters T.J. Ford and Troy Murphy. Ford hurt his left groin late Monday night in a win over the Washington Wizards. Murphy, who was part of the Golden State-Indiana trade, sat out because of a stomach virus.
Golden State led 103-101 before Granger made a turnaround jumper in the lane and a 3-pointer to put the Pacers ahead 106-103 with 6 minutes to play.
The Pacers kept the lead, but the game remained tight until the final minutes. Indiana’s Stephen Graham made an acrobatic layup over Biedrins, who was playing with five fouls, to put the Pacers up 118-113.
After Biedrins made two free throws, Jack hit a 3-pointer to put Indiana up by six with 1:04 to play.
Belinelli answered with a 3-pointer, but Jack made two free throws with 22.6 seconds left to make it 123-118, Indiana.
Jackson made a layup to make it 123-120, but Granger made four free throws in the final 14 seconds to close the deal.
Indiana led 68-62 at halftime, but Golden State started off hot in the second half. A turnaround jumper by Belinelli tied the game at 81 halfway through the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Crawford gave Golden State an 84-83 lead, the first advantage for the Warriors since the first quarter. The Pacers countered, and Jack’s putback with 5.5 seconds left in the third quarter gave Indiana a 95-93 lead at the end of the period.
Notes:
Golden State F Corey Maggette sat out because of a strained right hamstring. Golden State’s leading scorer has played in just 16 of the team’s 25 games. … Biedrins and Foster were issued technical fouls for a skirmish under the basket in the second quarter. … Indiana led 40-29 at the end of the first quarter. It was the most points the Warriors have allowed in a first quarter this season.
–
Story by Cliff Brunt, AP Sports Writer
