New-Boy Davis leads Pacers to a win @ The Bobcats.
Ricky Davis may not have been able to get a proper welcome for his first game in an Indiana jersey, but the fans that travelled to the Bobcats Arena in Charlotte were given a show none-the-less.
C Jermaine O'Neal
PF Al Harrington
SF Marquis Daniels
SG Ricky Davis
PG Sarunas Jasikivicius
Emeka Okafor got off to fine start as he lead the 2-6 Bobcats into a 30 second 4-0 lead.
Jermaine O'Neal just managed to get squeeze through for a lay-up but Charlotte were relentless on offense making the lead 8-2 inside a minute. Rick Carlisle found himself already calling a time-out. But even after the hair-dryer treatment, nothing got better for Indiana, only worse as the Bobcats raced off to a 12-5 lead. Finally, the Pacers fought back as
Ricky Davis got his first ever points for his new team Indiana and
Marquis Daniels put up some of his own.
Brevin Knight and
Ricky Davis' 3 put the score at 14-12 to Charlotte, when
Davis dunked over
Okafor to give Indiana the lead.
Jermaine O'Neal looked more comfortable on offense but
Brevin Knight still managed to rip through the Pacer's D.
1st Quarter: Pacers 26-25 Bobcats
Charlotte started the 2cnd quarter much like the 1st with
Okafor and Knight adding points to the soreboard which now read 29-26 to Charlotte, but a ruin from
Davis, Jasikivicius and Harrington put Indiana into the lead. Then came the decisive point in the 2cnd quarter,
Brevin Knight and Wagner went on a run of their own through the unimpressive Pacer's defense 42-36 Bobcats. Late in the 2cnd quarter,
Harrington and O'Neal found their feet and put the Pacers into the lead once more. Indiana's fans feared the worse however when
Ricky Davis was subbed off after a tangle with
Emeka Okafor.
Stephen Jackson stepped in and drained the two free-throws Ricky had earned.
Brevin Knight's last second 3 though put Charlotte ahead by 1.
2cnd Quarter Pacers 53-54 Bobcats
Ricky Davis dunked home soem spectaculars but the Pacers were still behind at the end of the 1st half.
The injury to
Ricky Davis was a minor one and he came straight back on at the start of the 3rd. It was
Harrington however who got Indiana rolling, levelling the game 55-55.
Davis and Jermaien O'Neal restored the lead until
Gerald Wallace hit back with points of his own. Everything went downhill from there on for Indiana as poor defense collided with poor defense giving Charlotte a 66-60 lead but
Ricky Davis managed to claw some back dunking home to bring Indy within 6.
Jasikivicius was subbed off through injury and the only remaining point guard left on the bench was
Eddie Gill, who hadn't seen any game action for the Pacers so far this season. Luckily he put away Sara's free-throws.
3rd Quarter: Pacers 71-81 Bobcats
3rd Quarter was all about Gerald Wallace and the Bobcats
Al Harrington lead the Pacer's to a bright start in the final quarter but yet again
Wallace and Knight fought back for the Bobcats. Then the NBA saw its best defense yet as
O'Neal and Harrington blocked a total of eight shots in 2 minutes and
Ricky Davis got in for a few fast-break dunks. After that there was nothing holding Indiana down as the defense reamined constant and new-comer
Ricky Davis sealed the win.
Final Score: Pacers 105-101 Bobcats
Ricky Davis and the Pacers fly to victory
POG: Ricky Davis who played excellent on the offensive end getting 37 points on his debut performance.
Record 5-2