After public derision from veteran locker-room presence David West after a double-bagel in Game 1, Roy Hibbert scored more points in the first half of Game 2 than he had during any game of these playoffs. He would finish with 28 to go with nine rebounds and two blocks as the Pacers hit their free throws down the stretch to get the win and even the series.
Big Roy was 5-of-7 in the first half and 5-of-6 in the second including the go-ahead score for the Pacers with a little under five minutes remaining.
On one bucket — plus the foul — in the third, it even appeared Roy left West hanging on some DAP:
But for a guy that has been getting a lot of heat from teammates, people online and the general basketball-watching populace, Game 2 was Roy’s reckoning.
RT @JasonSpells: "I want to string some games together. Consistency hasn't been my biggest friend this season" pic.twitter.com/Q5qshvEpgD
— Jared Wade (@8pts9secs) May 8, 2014
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HIbbert got trashed repeatedly when he struggled. Give it up to him tonight. Showed up in a big way for the Pacers. #goodroy #NBAPlayoffs
— Sekou Smith (@SekouSmithNBA) May 8, 2014
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*Roy Hibbert's fist bursting from the freshly dug grave as lightning arcs across the sky*
— netw3rk (@netw3rk) May 8, 2014
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Roy said after his bounce-back game how beneficial West has been for him, despite the prominent tongue lashing after Game 1:
“I just haven’t been as aggressive as I should’ve been in the past, and you have to look within yourself to make things happen. David [West] always talks to me about being the person that rescues yourself when you’re in the middle of the ocean, so there’s nobody that can throw a life raft or a rope out to help you. So I’ve gotta do it myself.”
After teammate Paul George publicly expressed their brotherhood when they went fishing yesterday, his praise for George after the game had a dual meaning:
“I seriously believe that the biggest person that helped me out here tonight was Paul. We fished for about two hours and just relaxed and didn’t talk about basketball. We just talked about life and tried to catch some bass. He reached out and got my mind off things and this is hopefully something I can build on. He’s a great teammate, so I really do appreciate him reaching out ‘cause he didn’t have to.”
That’s an amazing anecdote about Paul, who’s youth belies a canny ability to help his teammate during a tough time.
Hibbert added, “This is just a start,” and Pacers fans certainly hope so. If Indiana is going to have any chance of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive year, let alone make the jump past a dominant Miami team, they’re gonna need their lumbering big man down low to find his game again. Game 2 was a big step in that direction.
Does this mean Roy Hibbert is back, or is it just a blip on a continuing regression?
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