INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel was worried about facing the Milwaukee Bucks in a matchup of the teams with the best and worst records in the NBA.
Toni Kroos Real Madrid Jersey . Turns out, he had reason for concern. "If youre a team without a great record, and youve got a chance to knock off one of the top dogs, thats obviously a win that scores more points with you," Vogel said before the Pacers 101-96 comeback victory Thursday night. Roy Hibbert had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Paul George and Lance Stephenson each scored 18 points for Indiana. The Pacers, 44-13 overall and an NBA-best 28-3 at home, blew a 17-point lead in the first half. "Theyre a real good team and I thought we did a pretty good job of keeping it close into the fourth quarter," Bucks rookie guard Nate Wolters said. "But then just like the other night we let it slip away. It wasnt real hard to get up for these guys tonight." Indianas George Hill took a nasty spill along the baseline late in the game. Vogel said the starting guard was day-to-day with a bruised left shoulder. The Bucks, an NBA-worst 11-46, tied it at 50 at the half and built a six-point lead in the third quarter. Brandon Knight had 23 points for Milwaukee, Khris Middleton added 22, O.J. Mayo had 14, and Ramon Sessions 13. Ersan Ilysova had 11 rebounds and nine points. "Were still a team thats pretty much trying to find something to hang our hat on," Mayo said. "Were a young team that is still learning and we just have to keep getting better every day. This was definitely a winnable game, but we made too many mistakes on the road against the best team in the Eastern Conference." Indiana led 32-15 early in the second quarter after going 13 of 19 from the field in the first 12 minutes. The Pacers were 8 of 19 in the second quarter, while the Bucks shot 13 of 21 after going 7 of 22 in the first. "I dont think our guys let down at all," Vogel said. "They understand a 15-point lead in the first quarter means nothing." Stephensons layup put the Pacers up 50-38 with 2:10 to play in the first half. But Middleton scored seven straight points, and Knight had the last five points of the half as the Bucks used a 12-0 run to tie it. Knight opened the second half with a 3-pointer for Milwaukees first lead, 53-50. The Bucks extended the lead to six at 60-54 before George and Stephenson hit 3-pointers to tie it. "Theyve got a lot of great shot-makers over there, thats why theyve been staying in games here lately," Hill said. The Bucks took a 64-60 lead on consecutive baskets by Nate Wolters and Zaza Pachulia, but the Pacers scored seven of the next nine points to regain the lead at 67-66. The Bucks got no closer than two points the rest of the way. "I think we got a couple stops down the stretch that we really needed, and we capitalized on the offensive end when we did get those stops," Hill said. "Youve got to tip your hat to Milwaukee; no matter what their record says, thats a good team over there." NOTES: Before the game, the Bucks waived forward Caron Butler after agreeing to a contract buyout. The 33-year-old Butler made 13 starts and appeared in 34 games this season, averaging 11.0 points and 4.6 rebounds. ... On Saturday night, Indiana is at Boston, and Milwaukee will be home against Brooklyn.
Fabio Coentrao Jersey . Headlining the 27 players were first-round NHL draftees Rasmus Ristolainen and Teuvo Teravainen. Both players are returnees from the 2013 Finnish World Junior team.
Raphael Varane Jersey . -- As usual, Aksel Lund Svindal was super fast on this hill. PHOENIX -- Bronson Arroyo had been one of baseballs most reliable pitchers during his 15-year career, fighting off a variety of ailments to take the ball every time his turn came up. When his arm started to get sore and his velocity dropped, even he couldnt keep going. The Arizona Diamondbacks placed Arroyo on the 15-day disabled list with elbow tendinitis on Monday, ending the right-handers run of consecutive starts at 369, the second-longest active streak behind the 443 straight starts by Torontos Mark Buehrle. "Hes had other times in his career when hes been able to overcome things like this, but it wasnt in the cards this time," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. Arroyo has had a solid career with stops in Pittsburgh, Boston and Cincinnati. This off-season, he signed with the Diamondbacks, who hoped he could provide some stability to the rotation. The 37-year-old struggled early in the season while trying to regain his strength after injuring his back during spriing training, but rounded into form over the past month or so.
Isco Jersey. Arroyo went 3-0 with a 2.95 ERA over his last three starts, including a win over the Dodgers on Sunday, but had been using deception instead of velocity to get hitters out. Arroyo is most effective when his fastball is in the upper 80s, but his velocity had dipped into the lower 80s, forcing him to work the corners and use more off-speed pitches. Instead of sending him out for another start, the Diamondbacks decided to put him on the shelf so he could get healthy again. "Its really unfortunate when its a guy who has an unblemished record when it comes to posting up each and every time," Arizona GM Kevin Towers said. "But it would have been hard to run him back out there again, going to war as he says, against AK-47s with his little 22. He still found a way to win, which was amazing." Arizona recalled outfielder Roger Kieschnick from Triple-A Reno to fill Arroyos roster spot. ' ' '