Indiana
Seven-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo remembers his ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment against the Indiana Pacers
The Giannis Antetokounmpo that everybody is aware of now is among the premier abilities within the NBA. The 2-time MVP is a candidate for the award each season for the Milwaukee Bucks, and after being introduced as an All-Star captain earlier this week, the 2021 NBA Champion is now a seven-time All-Star.
“You may by no means take it with no consideration,” Antetokounmpo stated of receiving that honor for the seventh time.
The Bucks performed their first recreation for the reason that announcement on Friday in Indianapolis towards the Indiana Pacers. The Greek Freak completed with 41 factors in a win, and he was as dominant as ever. However he remembers not being so dominant, and in a full circle second, he recalled that his “welcome to the NBA” second coincidentally additionally occurred in Indianapolis throughout his rookie season
“I bear in mind I used to be right here 10 years in the past and I had my first ‘welcome to the NBA’ second. [I was] 18 years outdated. I feel it was perhaps just like the fifth or the seventh recreation of the season,” Antetokounmpo defined. It was really his sixth-ever recreation, and the Bucks eighth recreation of the 2013-14 marketing campaign.
“I didn’t know who we have been enjoying. I did not know folks I used to be guarding as a result of I by no means watched the NBA earlier than I got here right here. And there was this possession. Lance Stephenson is coming down the ground, form of in-and-out. And like, takes me with him after which [he] even dunked on me,” the Bucks star shared. The play came about within the first quarter and occurred on the basket on the North finish of the court docket at then-Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The dunk gave Indiana a nine-point lead.
“I used to be like ‘Man, he is so quick, he is so robust. How am I going to have the ability to sustain with them?’ They have been actually good, Indiana, again then, 2013,” Antetokounmpo remembered. “10 years later, I am like, ‘Man, seven out of 10 years [I’m an] All-Star. Three out of them captain.’ You may by no means take it with no consideration.”
The Pacers went on to win that November 15, 2013 recreation towards the Bucks 104-77. Indiana would go to the Japanese Convention Finals that season whereas Antetokounmpo and the Bucks completed 15-67. Video of the Stephenson dunk, taken and cropped from this linked video (across the 5:20 mark), might be seen beneath.
These days, issues are completely different. Antetokounmpo is way greater, stronger, and considerably higher at enjoying towards the Indiana Pacers. After shedding his first 4 conferences towards the blue and gold, The Greek Freak’s Bucks have received 10 straight vs the Pacers. The final time Indiana defeated Milwaukee in a recreation that Antetokounmpo really performed in was throughout December of 2018.
“I do know with [the Pacers], typically they appear like they’re a little bit on the smaller facet. We’ve got Brook [Lopez], Giannis in there simply going loopy within the paint. That is a bonus for us. Truthfully, I really feel like we simply form of lean on Giannis, and he does what he does,” Bucks guard Jrue Vacation stated of Milwaukee’s robust run towards Indiana.
Antetokounmpo has posted averages of 21.0 factors, 9.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per recreation towards Indiana throughout his 10-year profession. As captain within the All-Star recreation, he’ll get to pick out his roster. There’s a likelihood he might choose Pacers level guard and Wisconsin native Tyrese Haliburton if NBA coaches title Haliburton a reserve. The remaining All-Stars will likely be introduced on February 2.
It may very well be the primary of many All-Star appearances for Haliburton. Antetokounmpo, in the meantime, already has many All-Star alternatives, and sure has extra to return. He hasn’t forgotten his journey, although, together with dunks towards him in Indianapolis throughout his rookie season. That is a part of what makes him particular, and a part of why he will not take something with no consideration.
- Tyrese Haliburton says he hopes to return from damage ‘to start out February’ for the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
- Report: Indiana Pacers have been ‘finalist’ for Rui Hachimura earlier than Los Angeles Lakers commerce. CLICK HERE.
- Myles Turner has improved considerably this season. Simply ask his former teammates and coaches. CLICK HERE.
- Bennedict Mathurin closes out the Chicago Bulls with a superb fourth quarter: ‘I like adversity so much.’ CLICK HERE.
- Comply with AllPacers on Fb: All Pacers SI
- Comply with AllPacers on Twitter: @SIPacers
Indiana
Wizards Drop 11th Straight in Loss vs. Pacers
The Washington Wizards are still in the loss column after falling to the Indiana Pacers 115-103 inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday evening.
The Wizards remained competitive throughout the game, especially after the first half when they led by two points going into halftime.
However, the Pacers pulled ahead in the second half and were able to cruise to a double-digit victory.
The Pacers had seven players scoring in double figures, including a team-high 22 points from Pascal Siakam. Myles Turner had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Wizards were sorely missing their leading scorer in Jordan Poole, who was ruled out prior to the game with a hip injury. That put Kyshawn George into the starting lineup, where he scored 15 points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists.
All five starters scored in double figures with Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr scoring 17 points apiece for the team-high.
With 11 consecutive losses, the Wizards remain at the bottom of the NBA standings, but there are some positives that the team will walk away with.
The Wizards will look to snap their losing streak back at home on Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls.
Make sure you bookmark Washington Wizards on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
Indiana
Weirdo Sports Columnist Gregg Doyel Gets Worked Up Over Ohio State Dominating Indiana, Gets Eviscerated On X
It’s a day that ends in the letter ‘y,’ so Indy Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel is acting strange online. Thankfully, this scenario has nothing to do with him acting creepy towards WNBA star Caitlin Clark, but instead, centers around the Ohio State Buckeyes blowing out the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday.
For anyone who may have forgotten, Doyel stole the show during Clark’s introductory press conference with the Indiana Fever by making the scene all about himself in one of the strangest moves ever seen in a media setting.
Doyel introduced himself to Clark by saying “Real quick, let me do this,” before reportedly forming a heart with his hands, a gesture Clark does towards her family after games.
Clark replied by very awkwardly asking “You like that?” before things got even weirder.
“I like that you’re here. I like that you’re here,” Doyel responded. “Yeah, I do that at my family after every game, so it’s very cool,” Clark replied.
“Okay, start doing it to me, and we’ll get along just fine,” Doyel replied back.
Long story short, Doyel later apologized for his creepy actions but was ultimately suspended by the Indy Star for two weeks.
Naturally, each time he shares his opinion on social media nowadays, he gets chirped into oblivion and Saturday was no exception.
Doyel took serious offense to Ohio State scoring a touchdown with 35 seconds left in regulation to ultimately cap off its win over Indiana 38-15. He specifically didn’t appreciate Ohio State quarterback Will Howard celebrating the nail-in-the-coffin touchdown by putting out a fake cigarette to mock Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti.
Doyel taking offense to a 23-year-old college quarterback celebrating a monumental win over an undefeated Indiana team is odd behavior, and folks in his mentions were sure to point out that fact.
Ohio State virtually guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff with the win over Indiana, and the Hoosiers should be safe as well, barring a colossal loss to Purdue to close out the regular season.
Indiana
10 Takeaways from Week 13: Seven ranked teams fall, as SEC upsets create more chaos
College football is unpredictable and delightful, which is why we live for what happens on Saturdays. And Week 13 delivered, with a Buckeye statement at the ‘Shoe, a massive upset in Norman and chaos from coast to coast.
Each Sunday, I’ll publish my biggest takeaways from the college football weekend. I’ll highlight the most interesting storylines, track College Football Playoff contenders and specifically shout out individual and team performances that deserve the spotlight.
Here are my top takeaways from Week 13:
1. The biggest winners from another wild Saturday are the ACC, Georgia, and Notre Dame.
Evaluating projected CFP after Week 13
Nicole Auerbach, Joshua Perry and Jordan Cornette discuss a chaotic Week 13 in college football, analyzing the projected College Football Playoff bracket after major upsets from Oklahoma and Auburn.
– The ACC now has a really good chance to get two teams into the 12-team bracket, now that Ole Miss and Alabama both picked up their third losses. SMU has been on the outside looking in in each of the projected brackets based on the real CFP rankings revealed thus far. The Mustangs should slide up and be in the field as an at-large team when the new rankings come out on Tuesday. My guess is that both Miami and SMU could be positioned high enough to stay in the mix as an at-large team if they lose in the ACC title game. In theory, the losers of the conference championship games aren’t supposed to be penalized for playing an extra game. We’ll see what the committee actually does, but this is the best-positioned the ACC has been to get two teams into the field in weeks.
– Georgia should be able to move up in the rankings now that the two teams it has lost to have three losses apiece. The selection committee had been honoring head-to-head results when evaluating comparable teams, which is why Georgia has been behind both Alabama and Ole Miss for the past two weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bulldogs move up to be in position to host a first-round game (or to be within striking distance of a seed high enough to do that).
– Notre Dame has been arguably the most dominant team in the nation over the past two months. The committee already forgives the Irish for their September loss to Northern Illinois and has the Irish ranked high enough to host a first-round game. With Indiana falling on Saturday and Penn State struggling to beat unranked Minnesota, you have to think that Notre Dame could move up. I’d put the Irish ahead of both myself.
HLs: Notre Dame blows out Army at Yankee Stadium
No. 6 Notre Dame scored early and often against No. 19 Army, rushing for 273 yards (on just 29 carries) and five touchdowns at Yankee Stadium as the Fighting Irish earned their ninth straight win.
2. Indiana could be squarely on the CFP bubble now.
I’ve seen a wide range of reactions to Ohio State’s 38-15 win over Indiana on Saturday afternoon in Columbus. I’ve seen folks suggest that the Hoosiers acquitted themselves well enough to keep a spot in the 12-team field by not getting blown off the field by the No. 2 team in the country — and that’s certainly possible, considering how highly the CFP selection committee thinks of the Buckeyes. I also think that a potential 11-1 team whose only loss is to the No. 2 team in the country should have a pretty good chance to earn one of seven at-large spots (just like Penn State was!). Especially considering that Ole Miss and Alabama should fall out of the field after picking up their third losses.
But the Hoosiers also struggled mightily on the offensive side of the ball on Saturday outside of their opening drive. In their past three halves (dating back to the second half of the Michigan game), Indiana has tallied 169 total yards of offense combined. That’s not great! But it seems like every team in the country is flawed, and bubble teams will always have some blemishes on their resumes. And that’s where I think Indiana will be dinged a bit by the loss and the weak overall strength of schedule. Which is fine! I think the Hoosiers will be in the projected bracket when the rankings come out on Tuesday. But I’m not entirely sure where. Either way, Indiana’s definitely still in the mix, but the Hoosiers might have some restless nights between now and Dec. 8 because they no longer control their own path to the Playoff.
HLs: OSU rides strong second half to win vs. IU
In this highly-anticipated Big Ten matchup, Ohio State’s Will Howard passed for two touchdowns and ran for one more to lead the No. 2 Buckeyes to a 38-15 win over previously unbeaten Indiana in Week 13 at Ohio Stadium.
3. Ole Miss will not make the Playoff.
Lane Kiffin‘s team was supposed to be exactly the kind of program that would benefit from an expanded College Football Playoff. In the four-team CFP era, it would have basically required perfection for Ole Miss to get to the SEC title game and secure a Playoff berth. But now, 11-1 and 10-2 with a challenging SEC schedule would keep a team very squarely in the mix. And Ole Miss was comfortably in the projected bracket based on last week’s official CFP rankings, checking in at No. 9 in the rankings and the No. 10 seed in the field on the strength of the Rebels’ win over Georgia. But that signature win won’t be enough to make up for three losses to teams that are likely to all be unranked — to LSU and Florida (who are both barely above .500 on the season) and to Kentucky in the Wildcats’ only SEC win of the season. Despite all the chatter about the rigors of an SEC schedule, at some point you’ve also actually got to win the games. And Ole Miss has lost the games it couldn’t afford to do.
4. DJ Lagway should be one of the best quarterbacks in the country next year.
Lagway is the real deal. Every time I watch him play, I come away impressed with his arm strength, his poise and his athleticism. He’s even accurate when he’s getting hit or under pressure. I’m blown away by his toughness, and I can’t say I’m surprised that he led the Gators to a second win over a ranked opponent, this time over No. 9 Ole Miss. He’s 4-0 as a starter at the Swamp, which is actually a wild stat considering how hot Billy Napier‘s seat was after a 1-2 start. Now, the Gators have already committed to Napier running this program next fall and might finish a brutally challenging schedule with a 7-5 record. Part of the reason Florida kept Napier is because of Lagway, of course. He’s said he’s committed to his coach and happy about that decision. Never say never until the transfer portal closes, but there’s a lot to be excited about if you’re building a team around a quarterback as special as this one.
5. Cheers to Kansas and Florida, the ultimate season spoilers.
The Gators have knocked both LSU and Ole Miss out of the College Football Playoff picture in the past two weeks. And the Jayhawks became the first sub-.500 team to beat three consecutive ranked opponents with wins over Iowa State, BYU and now Colorado. At the time of each game, Kansas’ opponent controlled its own path to the Big 12 title game — and it most certainly did not when the clock hit zeroes. I always appreciate a good chaos agent, so I like these two teams coming out of nowhere to play their best football in time to ruin the season of everyone left on their schedules. That’s unlocking a new level of petty in a sport that thrives off of it. Bravo!
6. SMU looks like it is the best team in the ACC.
The Mustangs are certainly the league’s most complete team. And I’d argue they’re the team I trust most, as we sit here in late November. Miami’s got an electric quarterback and quick-strike offense, but it’s also got a leaky defense (that struggled for three quarters against a Wake Forest team that had only had two ACC wins coming into Saturday’s game at Miami). Meanwhile, SMU has speed and talent on both sides of the ball, and the Mustangs have now reeled off eight straight wins since their early-season, three-point loss to BYU. Quarterback Kevin Jennings has started all eight of those games, and though he’s had a couple of tough days — that five-turnover game at Duke was certainly memorable — he’s largely been quite good. Jennings throws a beautiful ball, and he’s got good chemistry with a bunch of different receivers. Couple that with Miami transfer Brashard Smith’s 1,000-plus yards as a rusher, and this is both a reliable and dangerous offense. It just feels right that this team has clinched a spot in the ACC championship game in its first year in the league.
7. More chaos in the Big 12 race sets up a potential title game between Arizona State … and Iowa State?
Another week and another round of upsets in Big 12 country! Every time we think we know something about the top of the standings, they get flipped on their head. Arizona State knocked off No. 14 BYU (and stormed the field … twice) while Kansas beat No. 16 Colorado behind Devin Neal‘s four touchdowns and nearly 300 all-purpose yards. Now, the Sun Devils have a very good chance to make it to the Big 12 title game — beat Arizona and they’re in — while Iowa State would win the tiebreaker over its fellow two-loss Big 12 brethren to meet Arizona State in said title game if the Cyclones win out, too. Colorado is still alive in the Big 12 race, but the Buffs would need significant help to get there. I can’t imagine that not playing in the Big 12 championship game will hurt Travis Hunter‘s Heisman chances too much, but it is worth noting that he wouldn’t be playing the final weekend before voting closes while other contenders will be.
8. Notre Dame is a team I really trust.
HLs: Love, Price total five touchdowns vs. Army
It was the running back tandem of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price that stole the show in No. 6 Notre Dame’s walloping of No. 19 Army in the Bronx, combining for 189 all-purpose yards and five (!) touchdowns.
The Fighting Irish have been among the nation’s most dominant teams over the past two-plus months, dating back to that brutal loss to Northern Illinois. I’ve spilled a lot of ink here arguing that Notre Dame now is a very different team from the one we saw on that fateful September day — but I no longer need to make that case, because the selection committee agrees with me already. Based on last week’s rankings, the Irish would be hosting a first-round game. But they could and should slide up after yet another dominant win, this time coming at Army’s expense. Over Notre Dame’s nine-game winning streak, the Irish have outscored opponents, 399-92. Over the course of the entire season, the Irish now have the best point differential in FBS (+301). Notre Dame has an elite defense and a great rushing attack. So many teams across college football have fluctuated week to week, leading to some of the crazy upsets we’ve seen this fall. But Notre Dame has been a consistent and reliable team that, since the NIU loss, hasn’t overlooked a single opponent. I trust the Irish.
9. Penn State should drop in the next set of CFP rankings.
Penn State has yet to earn a ‘marquee win’ in 2024
The Big Ten College Countdown crew breaks down Penn State’s narrow victory against Minnesota, questioning how good the Nittany Lions with the final College Football Playoff bracket fast approaching.
They probably won’t because of the teams ranked below them that lost, but the Nittany Lions aren’t exactly passing the eye test these days. They eked out a win over Minnesota to improve to 10-1, but that’s not exactly the kind of performance one would expect to see from the No. 4 team in the country against an unranked opponent, even on the road late in November. For the record, I don’t think Penn State is actually going to drop. But the selection committee says it starts from scratch each week, and if it truly starts from scratch it would perhaps make a bit more about the lack of a signature win on this resume and the fact that this team would be struggling mightily to move the ball without do-everything tight end Tyler Warren. It sure seems like the strongest part of Penn State’s resume is its loss to the No. 2 team in the country, and I’m just surprised that the committee continues to allow that — for both Penn State and Texas, who also has no marquee wins and is ranked third by the committee. I’d drop the Nittany Lions behind Notre Dame, personally.
10. Our long national nightmare is over: Nebraska is going bowling!
The last time the Huskers played in the postseason? Dec. 30, 2016. For proud Husker fans, it’s been a long and very painful eight years. Just last week, I said I believed Nebraska was cursed, having lost nine straight games with a chance to become bowl-eligible with eight of those losses coming in one-score games. So, to snap that skid, Nebraska decided it wouldn’t allow the game to be close — so no curses could come into play late. The Huskers took a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 44-25 win over Wisconsin. It’s the most points Nebraska has scored in a game since Matt Rhule took over the program. That in-season offensive coordinator change sure looks smart now, and I’m genuinely so happy for everyone associated with this team and its community.
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