Free throws the difference in W's loss to Pacers

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March 1, 2011BOXSCOREWARRIORSVIDEONBAPAGENBASCOREBOARD

INDIANAPOLIS(AP)The Indiana Pacers needed a win, so Danny Granger couldn't afford to miss a free throw.Granger scored 27 points, going 16 for 16 from the line, and it was his clutch foul shooting early and late helped Indiana hold off the Golden State Warriors, 109-100, on Tuesday night."Granger did what a good player does," Warriors coach Keith Smart said.What that meant Tuesday was making all eight from the line in the fourth quarter as the Pacers snapped a two-game home losing streak."This was a good win, not necessarily a big win," Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough said. "We really needed (the victory) after those two losses."Darren Collison scored 11 points for Indiana, eight in the third quarter, when the Pacers outscored Golden State 37-26 to turn a three-point deficit into a nine-point lead.
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Hansbrough finished with 14 points to lead balanced Pacers scoring off the bench, with Paul George scoring 12 points in a reserve role and Dahntay Jones adding 10.That trio combined for 15 fourth-quarter points, and Hansbrough also had six rebounds."Tyler and Paul were huge in that stretch in the fourth quarter," Pacers interim coach Frank Vogel said.Reggie Williams had 25 points off the bench for Golden State, which rallied from a double-digit, first-half deficit to lead by nine points late in the second quarter before faltering.Vogel called it a "great win for our team."
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"That's a win that falls in line with the identity we want for this team," Vogel said. "Our tempo was great in and carried us in the fourth quarter."George scored 10 points in the first 6:05 of the fourth quarter. He scored six points on three consecutive fast-break situations in the period."Paul does a great job of recognizing change of possession and sprinting out - not cherry-picking," Vogel said.George's flurry turned a six-point lead into an 87-75 advantage."The fourth-quarter flow felt pretty good for me and the team," George said.The Pacers took control by shooting 13 of 25 in a third period that featured nine players scoring, with Hansbrough and Collison each scoring eight points.Stephen Curry had 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Warriors, who lost their fourth consecutive game.Granger scored 11 first-half points and Roy Hibbert added 10 as the Pacers dominated early, never trailing in the first quarter and leading by as many as 13 points late in the first quarter.The Pacers then struggled in the second, shooting 5 of 23 (21.7 percent) as the Warriors pushed into the lead and pulled ahead by three at halftime.David Lee had 19 points for the Warriors."Tonight, we did a great job answering their runs," George said. "We were able to fight them off and ultimately get a win."Williams shot 10 of 14 for the game. The bench scored 22 of the Warriors' 27 points in the second period. Golden State went on a 21-1 run in the period to turn a 36-25 deficit into a 46-37 lead with remaining in the half, but allowed Indiana to shoot 51.2 percent from the field in the second half.
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"I've got two teams right now: a great offensive team and a good defensive team," Smart said. "I have two of them in the middle and I have to figure out how to splice that and turn them into one again."The Pacers also outrebounded Golden State, 24-17, in the second half."I think we're focused on what we're trying to do," Curry said of the Warriors' defense. "We have a lot of effort. We have to look at film and see what teams are doing. I'm trying to find an answer. I don't really have one."NOTES: The Warriors were playing the second game of a season-high, seven-game road trip. ... Granger's perfect night was one shy of the franchise record for free throws in a game without a miss. He made 17 of 17 from the line in 2008 to set a record he shares with Billy Knight.

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