Pacers pull a "Raptor" by blowing lead but Pacers hold on to win...

Pacers 111, Raptors 104

Man, the Pacers pulled off a Raptor-esque performance by blowing their 24 point lead after the third quarter. It all started with a 10-1 run by the Raps in the first. Jermaine O'Neal made his first appearance in Indiana and got a mixed review with both boos and claps. After the first quarter, the game was tied 20-20.
In the second is where the wheels started to fall off for the Raps. The Raps fell behind 41-30 and then the Pacers started to hit the threes. Danny Granger hit a big three, Troy Murphy had an open three and then Dunleavy hit a three. The Raps defense was too slow, and their shots were just ugly as nothing was falling for the Raps. The Pacers were up 56-42 at half.

Jamario Moon started the third quarter with an airball. Toronto continued to turn the ball over and Troy Murphy hit a three to get up 81-59 on the Raps. Former Raptor, TJ Ford hit a late jumper to end off the third up 24 points.

In the fourth, Bosh started off with back to back baskets as the Raps went on a 11-0 run to start the fourth. Bargs continued to struggle shooting 4-13. Raps contined to rally as AP passed to an open Bosh for the dunk. Toronto continued to go on a 17-5 run. Then Bargs hit a three to make the game close to get within nine. Jason Kapono hit an open three and then Danny Granger who was 7-22 missed an open three. Bosh continued to go on a tear and hit two free thrown to get within three. Then Anthony Parker hit a jumper to get within 1. Even though the Raps made the 4th quarter run, the Pacers hit key free throws to put the Raps away.

Key Notes:
Toronto had 20 turnovers leading to 29 Pacer points
Danny Granger had 23 pts on 8-24 shooting
Bosh had 25 pts, 16 rebounds
Jermaine O'Neal had 2 points and 7 boards in his return

Raps are home to Phoenix on Sunday.

Photo Credit: (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)

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SUCKA FREE 3: Who didn't suck in the NBA last week

Who DIDN'T suck in the NBA last week?


Marcus Camby of the LA Clippers didn't suck
Last Week: 16.5 pts, 19 boards, 2.8 blocks
He had a couple of 20 board games against the Detroit Pistons and the Phoenix Suns. The Clippers still suck but Camby has been a beast on the boards.

Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers didn't suck
Last Week: 35.5 pts, 5reb, 4assts, 3 stls
Kobe had 40 against the Jazz as the Lakers have been rolling over opponents.

Shaquille O'Neal of the Phoenix Suns didn't suck
Last Week: 23 pts, 11 reb, 2.3 blocks
The 52-year old is still chugging along and still putting up all-starish numbers as the Suns have won three in row.

Troy Murphy/Danny Granger of the Indian Pacers didn't suck
Last Week: Granger 26 pts, 5 assts, 4 reb and 1.8 steals, Murphy 13pts & 15 rebounds
The Pacers combo combined for an average of 39pts and 19 rebounds for the young Pacers squad.

Detroit Pistons didn't suck
The Pistons have won 7 in a row knocking off some bad teams last week in the Sacramento Kings and LA Clippers. Rodney Stuckey was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week including a 39 point performance against the Kings.


LA Lakers didn't suck
The Lakers have won 5 in a row and were 8-2 in their last 10. With the Celtics slumping, the Lakers moved up to be the best team in the NBA. That Phil Jackson is one smart cookie. Check out this silky smooth pass by Pau Gasol last week against the Jazz:

Photo credit: (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

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SUCKA FREE: Who didn't suck in the NBA last week

With the Raptors just being the Raptors, we all need some straight up positivity, just some straight up "not sucking" news. So here are the guys who DIDN'T suck last week:

Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets
Devin averaged 26 pts 9 assists and 2.5 steals last week. He took it to his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, on Friday, going off for 41 pts and 13 assists.

With Devin Harris as the new big baller in New Jersey, the crowd gave their thanks to Mark Cuban.



Brandon Roy, Portland Trailblazers
Averaged 40.5 ppg last week, including a careeer high Fitty Two against the Suns. Fitty Two!

Zach Randolph & Marcus Camby, LA Clippers
These two are the new Elton Brands of LA. Z-Bo averaged 29pts and 12reb and Marcus Camby averaged 16pts, 16boards and almost 3 blocks last week. The Clippers seem to have gotten their act together and have won 5 of their last 7.

Paul Millsap, Utah Jazz
Averaged 22pts and 12rebounds last week filling in for Carlos Boozer who had recently told ESPN.com that he plans on opting out of his contract. Paul Millsap has had 14 straight double doubles.

Danny Granger
Last week, he averaged 27 pts, 7 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. At his game against the "No D" Golden State Warriors, Danny went for a career high 41 pts, 11reb and 6 assists. His game isn't throwing down big dunks or shooting threes, he's known for knocking down that mid range J.

Rajon Rondo
Big Three? More like the Big Four. Rajon Rondo has had an amazing season averaging 16 pts, 6 reb and 10 assists along with almost 4 steals a game last week. This triple double threat has made big time contributions with the Celtics 17 game winning streak.

Boston Celtics
They've won 17 in a row. Do I really need to explain more?

New Orleans Hornets
Led by CP3, the Hornets are on a 3 game winning streak knocking off Toronto, Memphis and most recently, the San Antonio Spurs.

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Raptors Win, Raptors Win, Raptors Win! A win? Raps win?

Raptors Win, Raptors Win, Raptors Win! A win? Raps win? Yep, they did. "The Curse of No-Swirsk" may have been lifted. It may have only been against the 7-13 Indiana Pacers but these Pacers have beaten the Boston Celtics & the LA Lakers!

Anthony Parker was out with an ankle injury so Jason Kapono got the start. Jamario Moon also got the start over Bargnani and it seemed to pay off. Raps came out strong int he first half, shooting 50% from the field. And the suprise of the game? Jason Kapono got some extra run and had 15 points at the half. Raps were up 11 at the half.

And suprisingly, the Raps were strong the rest of the way. No "lead-blowing" which the Raptors have been famous for. It was a great performance with 6 Raps in double figures.

J. Kapono - 25pts, 8 boards
Jose - 11pts, 14 assists
Bosh - 21pts, 10 assists
J.O. - 10pts, 9 boards
Jamario - 17 pts, 9 boards
Joey Graham - 12pts

This was the offensive production we expected from the Raptors this season (but haven't seen lately), and the defense was great holding Indy to 88 points. For Indy, Troy Murphy went off for a 20pt-20reb game and Danny Granger had 22. It was a nice win for the Raps, Triano finally gets his first win as an NBA head coach. For a Pacers perspective, check out indycornrows.com Hopefully this leads to the start of a streak, as they face VC on Friday in New Jersey.

Photo credit: (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)

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J.O. to T.O.?

The Indianapolis Star reports that Jermaine O’neal is the latest name that may be heading up North. The deal has been “agreed in principle” that would send TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and the 17th draft pick to Indiana for Jermaine O’neal. This could be a significant upgrade for Toronto and would give Indiana the 11th and 17th pick in tomorrow’s draft.

If the deal happens (depending on physicals), this would most likely put Bosh and O’Neal in the front court along with Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker and Jose Calderon. After this season’s disappointing playoff result for the Raps, a roster change is needed to make the Raps a more competitive ball club. In bringing the former all-star O’Neal to Toronto, this could make Toronto a stronger competitor in the East.

Both Ford and O’Neal have both been plagued with injuries but the risk for both clubs would be equivalent. And if Jermaine O’Neal can be the 20-10 healthy player he once was, the Raps can show the fans that can go deeper in this season’s playoffs.

On another note, if you haven’t checked out Shaq’s rap yet, check it here.

He’s no Biggie Smalls whatsoever but it’s amusing to say the least.....

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