New York, NY. With the elimination of Georgia on their mind, the Pacers were able to finally put the Hawks away, and move on to familiar territory, where a Pacers great was born. Reggie used to be Spike Lee’s biggest enemy. The crowd used to chant, “Reggie Sucks, Reggie Sucks.” But now, with those days clearly a memory, the younger and more talented Pacers had a chance to silence Spike Lee. According to Pacers veteran announcer Mark Boyle, “Carmelo is a whiner! I hate whiners!” If the Pacers have one weak area in their armor, I have been harping on them all during the Atlanta series about their defensive ability. Today, their defensive ability was stellar. As a result, the boys from I-Town have a 1-0 lead, and will try to make it two wins on Tuesday. Even if they don’t, they did something that was remarkable. They took the crowd out of it, and took the venom that the New York fans love to spew against them and turned the tables on the Knicks. They made the Knicks do something stupid by chirping at the refs and not playing their brand of basketball, only hurting themselves. Paul George continues to be a younger version of Pacer legend Reggie Miller. What game one did is clearly a momentum crusher for the Knicks, and a momentum gainer for the Pacers, because the best the Knicks can do is get a split going back to the heartland, where the Pacer crowd will be venomous against the Knicks.
