Roy Hibbert was a game-changer on Sunday, and a courtside fan changed things for him. (USATSI)
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Roy Hibbert said it himself after his 28-point performance in Game 2: consistency hasn't been his best friend recently. The same can clearly be said about the Indiana Pacers. The wildly up-and-down team trailed 55-38 at halftime in Sunday's wacky Game 4, and Hibbert had only two points on 1-for-5 shooting.
In the second half, the Pacers stormed back for a 95-92 win and Hibbert was a big part of it. After the game he told reporters that a courtside heckler inspired him, via CSN Washington:
"He woke me up," Hibbert said in the Pacers locker room. "He said I was tired. He was saying a lot of obscenities. I'm a God fearing man so I'm not going into saying what he was saying…He got me going and I let him hear [me]."
Indiana was plus-24 in Hibbert's 21 second-half minutes, and he recorded 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in that time. Paul George was the best player on the floor, but having an effective Hibbert changed the game on both ends for the Pacers. And about that fan, here's what a couple of reporters saw:
Not sure if the TV cameras caught this, but Lance + Hibbert barking at a Wizards fan in the front row.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) May 12, 2014
Hibbert just went to the usher and (we think) suggested a fan get tossed. Roy's pretty pissed, Lance, too.
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) May 12, 2014This man tweeted at both reporters to identify himself as the fan in question, and showed the warning he received for his behavior:
Roy Hibbert just grabbed his crotch and told us to F*** off, then I got this card.Security says Hibbert will be fined pic.twitter.com/RtkuNl83zj
— Doug Cartwright (@Doug_Cartwright) May 12, 2014There has been no indication that Hibbert will actually be fined, however, and there's a chance that fan wasn't the one Hibbert was referring to. Famous heckler Robin Ficker was in attendance, writing taunts on a whiteboard behind Indiana's bench:
Robin Ficker in front row behind Pacers bench with whiteboard. Appears to be taking fan requests. #wizards #wizpacers pic.twitter.com/QL0Y4ak6E6
— Ledell's Place (@LedellsPlace) May 12, 2014At one point, Ficker wrote, "Hibbert comes up short" on the board. That might have been accurate in the first half. In the second, it definitely wasn't.
Basketball Hot News
What’s in the way of Steve Kerr coaching the Knicks? The Phoenix Suns
Steve Kerr’s ties to the Phoenix Suns run deep – so deep they’ll complicate him becoming the Knicks’ (or Warriors’ or Jazz’s) coach.
Kerr helped Robert Sarver buy the Suns in 2004 and then served as Phoenix’s general manager between 2007 and 2010. Somewhere along the way, he acquired a stake in the team, which he still holds.
Obviously, a Suns owner coaching the Knicks would be a conflict of interest.
Marc Berman of the New York Post:
The Post has learned Kerr still owns a tiny piece of the Suns — believed to be less than 1 percent — which he will have to divest. The NBA will grant him an allotted amount of time to sell his piece.
Phoenix owner Robert Sarver — like Kerr, a University of Arizona alum — confirmed Kerr still has financial interest in the Suns
The question with Kerr is where he’ll coach, not if he’ll coach. Therefore, he’s had plenty of time to find a buyer and could even have one already lined up.
I don’t anticipate this being a problem, though it’s at least possible. I just found that to be an interesting hurdle Kerr must clear.
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