Pacers Order Up a Game That Is Heavy on the Heated Stuff

Things finally went culinary.

In the Western Conference finals, such feisty interactions were explained away by Mike Dunleavy as getting restaurant suggestions--even if the slo-mo of TV replays caught the Portland coach discussing something far more personal with Rick Fox near the end of one game.

So in Dunleavy’s view, the Lakers and Indiana Pacers must have been getting to the main course Sunday when the NBA finals shifted cities, and moods.

“It makes it interesting,” said Fox, a combatant then and now. “You’ve got to step up when there’s a lot at stake. They showed us that tonight.”

The Pacers showed the Lakers they are capable of rising to meet the emotional challenge, that even if they go down in the end they’re not going to back down. The Lakers and everyone else got the message.

Mark Jackson grabbed the ball from Ron Harper just after the Lakers called time out in the first quarter, Harper tossed it at him, the Pacer point guard shoved it back. They got matching technicals.

Later Jackson got trapped deep behind enemy lines in the third quarter, caught inside the opponent’s huddle during a timeout, before Reggie Miller helped push his teammate out of the Laker crush.

“He looked like a pinball machine, getting bounced back and forth,” Miller said.

Austin Croshere was given a flagrant foul in the second quarter for grabbing an airborne Derek Fisher around the waist as Fisher elevated for a layup, slightly irritating the Laker guard. The Pacers’ contention was that Croshere could have hit him a lot harder and sent him flying, but instead eased him to the ground.

Fox went inside and was fouled by Jalen Rose. Play stopped and the ball rolled a few feet away. Fox went to pick it up. Rose didn’t even want to concede that, so they tangled. More interaction and, by the way, there’s a great steak joint downtown.

“There was a lot of talking out there,” Fox said. “And unlike what Mike Dunleavy said, they weren’t exactly asking for the names of restaurants.”

Something else then?

“Jalen, I think he’s a fan of my wife’s,” Fox said, smiling.

So they chatted about Vanessa Williams. That’ll work. As good a cover story as any.

“They tried to protect their home floor,” Fox said. “Verbally. Physically. Psychologically. But you’ve got to understand. We come from a different psychological background, something we may not have been known for before.”

See: Jackson, Phil.

“They were at home,” Fox continued. “You could say the same about us. When we were at home, we wanted to take on the world.”

The Pacers settled for taking on the favorites for the championship, a role the Lakers re-emphasized with two wins at Staples Center.

So drawing this line in the sand upon the move to Conseco Fieldhouse wasn’t to be confused as a luxury.

More like there was no other choice.

“They had to,” Fisher said.

This was not convenient timing so much as a necessity. It was this or else.

“I think we came with much higher energy,” said Croshere, the Santa Monica Crossroads product who made another big showing off the bench for the Pacers, this time making four of six attempts and scoring 12 points.

“I think our confidence level is a lot higher at home, to be honest. We shot the ball better and we made the little plays.

“I think we came out from the beginning and really tried to set the pace, instead of follow the pace like we did in Los Angeles.”

Added Rose: “We were just being intense. We’re not a team that’s going to be pushed around. We’re not a team that’s coming into the series like we’re the JV team. We’re coming here to win it.

“In order for us to win it, we have to be on edge. We have to be excited about the opportunity and we have to take it personal when we lose. I think we took the first two games personal and we came out focused to win.

“[In Game 2] we made a lot of mistakes in the fourth quarter and allowed L.A. to be confident. They’re a team just like us. They haven’t won a championship. Therefore, if you put pressure on them, put them down 10 points and get this crowd involved in the game, I feel like we’re in good shape.”

Or at least better shape.

They put the pressure on the Lakers in the game, just like the plan said, in hopes of putting pressure on the Lakers in the series. One night and a 100-91 victory alone won’t do it.

But it does make it interesting.