TORONTO – The Indiana Pacers learned plenty about what it takes to win close games during last season’s playoff loss to Chicago. Now, with David West on their side, they’ve got another option for those late-game situations.

Danny Granger scored nine of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and the Pacers held on to beat the Raptors 90-85 on Wednesday, spoiling Toronto’s home opener.

Granger hit a key three-pointer with 1:14 left and West followed with a fadeaway jumper to help stave off a Toronto rally. West finished with 14 points.

“We have so many weapons down the stretch,” Granger said. “We have so many options. I think it’s going to be the mark of us being a good team.”

Paul George scored 18 points, and Roy Hibbert had 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Pacers improved to 2-0.

Darren Collison became the fifth Pacers starter to reach double figures by making a pair of free throws with 2.5 seconds left. He finished with 10 points and 12 assists.

Pacers coach Frank Vogel has told his team to take inspiration from last season’s Chicago series every time they go away from home this year.

“We treat it like a playoff game, quite frankly,” Vogel said.

DeMar DeRozan scored 16 of his 22 points in the fourth and Andrea Bargnani finished with 21 for Toronto.

HEAT 96, BOBCATS 95: In Charlotte, N.C., Dwyane Wade hit a bank shot over Gerald Henderson with 2.9 seconds left to lift Miami. LeBron James scored 35 points and Chris Bosh chipped in with 25.

Henderson led the Bobcats with 21 points, while D.J. Augustin had 20.

HAWKS 101, WIZARDS 83: In Atlanta, Joe Johnson led another balanced attack with 18 points to lead the Hawks. Tracy McGrady had 11 points off the bench to join Atlanta’s five starters in double figures.

Nick Young had 21 points and John Wall added 20 for Washington, which has lost its first two games.

CAVALIERS 105, PISTONS 89: In Auburn Hills, Mich., rookie Kyrie Irving had 14 points and seven assists to help Cleveland spoil Detroit’s first home opener with new owner Tom Gores.

Reserve Samardo Samuels scored 17 and Ramon Sessions had 16 points off the bench for the Cavaliers.

Detroit’s Ben Gordon had 25 points and rookie reserve Brandon Knight scored 23.

HORNETS 97, CELTICS 78: Jarrett Jack had 21 points and nine assists in his regular-season debut as New Orleans dominated in its home opener. Former Purdue standout Carl Landry added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets.

The Celtics are 0-3 for the first time since 2006-07.

THUNDER 98, GRIZZLIES 95: In Memphis, Tenn., Kevin Durant scored 32 points and James Harden added 20 as Oklahoma City remained undefeated. Zach Randolph finished with 24 points for Memphis.

SPURS 115, CLIPPERS 90: In San Antonio, Manu Ginobili scored 24 points and DeJuan Blair added 20 to lead the Spurs. Blake Griffin scored 28 points for the Clippers, while Chris Paul was held to 3-of-10 shooting and finished with 10 points.

TORONTO (AP) – Danny Granger scored nine of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and the Indiana Pacers beat the Raptors 90-85 on Wednesday night, spoiling Toronto’s home opener.

Paul George had 18 points, David West scored 14 and Roy Hibbert had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Darren Collison became the fifth Pacers starter to reach double figures by making a pair of free throws with 2.5 seconds left. He finished with 10 points and 12 assists.

Indiana, which beat Detroit at home on Monday, won for the seventh time in 11 games against Toronto, and snapped a streak of 11 straight victories by the home team in the series.

DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points and Andrea Bargnani had 21 for Toronto.

Jerryd Bayless scored 13 points and Amir Johnson had 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who won Monday’s season-opening game at Cleveland.

Indiana led by as many as 14 points in the fourth before Toronto rallied. A 3-pointer by DeRozan and three-point play by Jose Calderon cut it to 80-74 with 3:26 left, forcing the Pacers to call timeout.

Granger’s 3-pointer made it 83-75 with 2:19 to play, but Toronto wasn’t done. DeRozan hit a 3 and Bargnani followed with a three-point play, cutting it to 83-81 with 1:35 remaining.

Once again, a long-range shot from Granger gave Indiana some breathing room, with his 3-pointer from the wing pushing it to 86-81 with 1:14 left.

Calderon answered with a layup for Toronto but West’s fadeaway jumper with nine to play restored Indiana’s five-point cushion.

The Pacers led 38-34 at the half.

NOTES: Indiana outrebounded Toronto 41-39. … The Raptors made 19 turnovers while the Pacers had 16. … For the second straight game, Raptors backup C Aaron Gray was kept out as a precaution because of a rapid heart rate. … Pacers C Jeff Foster (back) did not travel with the team to Toronto. … It’s the first time since 2000 that the Raptors have lost consecutive home openers. They were beaten by the New York Knicks last season. … Canadian pop star Justin Bieber watched from a courtside seat.

Roy Hibbert had 16 points and 14 rebounds to help the Indiana Pacers defeat the Detroit Pistons 91-79 on Monday night in the season opener for both teams at the renamed Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

David West, Indiana’s big free agent addition, had 11 points and 12 rebounds, even though he made just 3 of 12 field goals. Tyler Hansbrough had 15 points and 13 rebounds and Paul George added 12 points.

Danny Granger, Indiana’s leading scorer last season, finished with 16 points on 6-for-18 shooting. The Pacers shot just 37 percent from the field, but got away with it because they outrebounded the Pistons 53-40. Indiana had 18 offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points.

Jonas Jerebko and Rodney Stuckey each scored 17 points for the Pistons, who never led.

2010-11 record: 37-45

Head Coach: Frank Vogel

Key Departures: Josh McRoberts, T.J. Ford, Mike Dunleavy Jr.

Key Additions: David West, George Hill

Best case scenario: The Pacers build on their spirited 1st round performance against the Bulls, seamlessly integrate David West and George Hill into their frontcourt and backcourt, they run a lot of pick-and-pop with those two and ride the momentum Indy began to accumulate at the end of last season into at least one playoff series win.

Danny Granger reminds everyone why he was once thought of as one of the NBA’s best pure scorers and most underrated players.

More likely scenario: The Pacers do their best and win more games than they lose in the regular season, but end up not quite having enough talent or enough defensive chemistry to get past teams like the Celtics, the Heat, the Bulls, or even the Knicks or Magic in the first round, and lose a heartbreaking 1st-round series in 6 or 7 games. Then Larry Bird retires.

Prediction: 35-38 wins

Bird said he can afford to be extra careful because Indiana will be in a strong negotiating position again next year.

“It might be a slower process than our fans want it to be,” he said.

Bird says he wants to add pieces to a solid young core that features Danny Granger, Darren Collison, Roy Hibbert, Tyler Hansbrough, Paul George and newcomer George Hill. Of that group, only the 28-year-old Granger is older than 26. The Pacers for years have targeted a top scoring option to go with Granger and an elite power forward.

As players began to arrive back at their teams’ facilities across the league Thursday, Bird wouldn’t address the team’s rumored interest in Boston point guard Rajon Rondo and Utah forward Paul Millsap.

“Over the course of the next two or three weeks, you’re going to hear a lot of rumors, and there’s going to be a lot of things out there that’s going to have us right in the middle of a lot of it,” Bird said. “I wouldn’t believe any of it. We’ve talked to teams about players. We don’t like to talk about any other team’s players.”

General manager David Morway said the Pacers will be good, even if they don’t make a move.

“We don’t feel like we are in a position where we have to add a player,” he said. “We’ve got very good players right now at every position on this basketball team. We want to continue to add to this team, but we want to do it with diligence and with prudence.”

The Pacers made the playoffs last season and lost to the Chicago Bulls 4-1. Bird wouldn’t make a prediction about this season.

“You don’t know what to expect because of injuries and different things,” he said. “I know we’re a better basketball team than we were last year when we started, and I think we’re going to be even better after we get through this process.”

The process will be unique because there’s no preseason and the players have been working out on their own.

“It makes it a little bit more difficult, but we spent the summer preparing,” Morway said. “I think we have a good game plan, and we’re going to stay disciplined.”

Once the team is assembled, it will need to adjust to a new coaching staff. Frank Vogel had his interim tag removed in the offseason, and he hired Brian Shaw and Jim Boylen as assistants to go with holdover Dan Burke.

“I think they’re excellent,” Bird said. “I think Frank did a great job of going out and getting some guys that’s been on championship teams. They’re all on the same page. They’re excited about the team. They want to go to work.”

Bird said he’s happy there will be a season, not only for the Pacers organization, but for the local businesses that depend on the team.

“I can tell you there’s a lot of people out of work here,” he said. “I think it’s huge for downtown, and it’s big in a lot of other ways. I like to watch our players compete. I like what I do. But I also know that outside of this building, there’s a lot of people hurting because we’re not playing.”

__

Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cliffbruntap

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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The Indiana Pacers aren’t letting the grim news that the NBA season likely won’t start on time stop them from trying to improve.

Many of the players plan to get together for a four-day minicamp in Indianapolis next week so they can be as prepared as possible once the lockout ends.

“It wasn’t good to hear the news (that Tuesday’s labor negotiations between the NBA and the players’ association produced no progress), but it’s important for us to get together and have as much continuity as we can when the season does start,” center Roy Hibbert said. “It’s upon us to stay ready and focused on what we need to get done.”

Training camp is scheduled to start Oct. 3 and the regular season Nov. 1.

“I’m 90 percent sure the season won’t start on time,” forward Danny Granger said. “I didn’t think it would when the lockout started because the demands the owners are asking are beyond normal common sense.”

The salary cap is one of the key sticking points. The owners prefer a “hard” cap to help even the playing field over the current cap, which allows teams to use exceptions to go over the cap as long as they are willing to pay a luxury tax.

The stalled labor talks mean team president Larry Bird has to wait to use the salary cap space expected to be available for roster improvement as the Pacers hope to build on last season’s playoff appearance.

“It’s not good because we’ve got a strong and growing fan base,” Hibbert said. “We want to give them a full training camp, all eight preseason games and a full season of games. We’d all love to get back to work.”

The owners are expected to meet today in Dallas, and union executive director Billy Hunter will meet with players today in Las Vegas.

“You just have to hope for the best,” said swingman Dahntay Jones, who will attend the meeting in Nevada. “I think we’re all hoping that the season starts on time.”

Most of the Pacers have maintained their normal offseason workout schedule despite the uncertainty of when the season will start.

Jones, Brandon Rush and Paul George are playing in a league in Las Vegas. Granger and Darren Collison are working out in Los Angeles. Roy Hibbert has split his time between New York and Washington. George Hill is in Texas working out.

Those players along with veteran Jeff Foster, Lance Stephenson, Hill and possibly Josh McRoberts are expected to take part in next week’s minicamp.

“We’re going to do a lot of drills and get up and down the court and get acclimated with playing with each other again,” Hibbert said. “Everybody has been working hard on their own this summer. Now it’ll be good to see a lot of the guys and do it together.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Frank Vogel played the waiting game to become head coach with the same confidence that made him a favourite of both fans and players during his half a season carrying the interim tag.

“They never told me I wasn’t going to be the coach, so I just tried to carry myself like I was,” the 38-year-old said Wednesday after the Pacers officially made him the head coach.

Vogel took over for Jim O’Brien at the middle of last season, went 20-18 to close the regular season and led the team to its first playoff berth since 2006. He didn’t worry about the interim tag until after the season ended.

“Once I took over, I really didn’t have time to think about big-picture stuff,” he said. “I was just trying to win the next day and make sure I was prepared the next day. Once it all ended, and I realized how close I was, it was just exciting, and I was just hopeful and trying to carry myself the right way.”

Vogel takes over a team that has plenty of young talent, playoff experience and significant salary cap space, should the labour situation get sorted out. Danny Granger, at 28, is the oldest starter. Roy Hibbert just finished his third year, point guard Darren Collison and forward Tyler Hansbrough were second-year players, and Paul George was a rookie. The team added local star George Hill in a draft-night trade.

Pacers president Larry Bird made Vogel the favourite to get the job from the beginning of the search, then took his time making the decision official.

“As I stated after the season, I was in no hurry regarding the coach, mainly because I knew I had a good candidate in Frank,” Bird said. “But we wanted to get through the draft, and I wanted to have numerous conversations with Frank about a staff that will cover all areas. I feel strongly he is doing that and this coaching staff, as a whole, will help this franchise continue to move forward.”

Early in his tenure as interim coach, Vogel said Eastern Conference powers Boston, Miami and Orlando wouldn’t want to play the Pacers when — not if — they made the playoffs. He introduced “smashmouth” ball, an approach that focused on attacking the basket instead of O’Brien’s perimeter-oriented game. He moved Hansbrough and George into the starting lineup and helped restore centre Hibbert’s confidence.

His team quickly bought into his approach and the changes.

“I really felt it build up right from the beginning,” Vogel said. “I started implementing changes right away. I think there was a belief in what we were doing.”

As the Pacers started winning, calls to remove Vogel’s interim tag grew.

“I’m overwhelmed,” he said. “Every person in this building has been supportive of me, and I’m very grateful for that. I’m grateful for the fan support, and I’m grateful for the relationships that I’ve built this year and continuing to grow them.”

The Pacers played the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, losing the series 4-1.

“You find out about people in tough times like that, high-stakes environments like that,” Vogel said. “You never know what you’re going to see. I was very excited about how this team performed in the playoffs.”

Vogel said the playoff berth was an important part of setting up the team’s future goals.

“Any team that’s trying to reach an elite level just needs to feel it,” he said. “You can hear all the stories in the world, but until you feel it, you can’t really reap the rewards of taking that step. I think we did that this year.”

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers are sticking with the coach who got them to the playoffs.

A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Indiana will make interim coach Frank Vogel the team’s permanent head coach.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the move had not been made official yet by the team.

The Indiana Pacers did announce they had a news conference with Vogel scheduled for Wednesday. He will be joined by Larry Bird, the Pacers’ president of basketball operations.

Bird called Vogel the favorite to get the job from the beginning of the search after the Pacers finished strong last season and made the playoffs.

Indiana was interested in Mike Brown, but the former Pacers assistant and Cleveland head coach took the top job with the Lakers.

Vogel took over for Jim O’Brien in the middle of last season and the team finished the year 20-18. The Pacers made the playoffs for the first time since 2006, losing in five games to top-seeded Chicago.

Early in his tenure, Vogel said Eastern Conference powers Boston, Miami and Orlando wouldn’t want to play the Pacers when — not if — they made the playoffs. He introduced “smashmouth” ball, an approach that focused on attacking the basket instead of O’Brien’s perimeter-oriented game.

He moved Tyler Hansbrough and Paul George into the starting lineup and helped restore center Roy Hibbert’s confidence.

The team has plenty of young talent, playoff experience and significant salary cap space, should the labor situation get sorted out.

Danny Granger, at 28, is the oldest starter. Hibbert just finished his third year, point guard Darren Collison and Hansbrough were second-year players and George was a rookie. All five are under contract for next season.

“I’ll be happy if Frank gets picked,” Hibbert said recently. “I’ve been with him since I was a rookie, so I hope he gets it.”

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers are sticking with the coach who got them to the playoffs.

A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Indiana will make interim coach Frank Vogel the team’s permanent head coach.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the move had not been made official yet by the team.

The Indiana Pacers did announce they had a news conference with Vogel scheduled for Wednesday. He will be joined by Larry Bird, the Pacers’ president of basketball operations.

Bird called Vogel the favorite to get the job from the beginning of the search after the Pacers finished strong last season and made the playoffs.

Indiana was interested in Mike Brown, but the former Pacers assistant and Cleveland head coach took the top job with the Lakers.

Vogel took over for Jim O’Brien in the middle of last season and the team finished the year 20-18. The Pacers made the playoffs for the first time since 2006, losing in five games to top-seeded Chicago.

Early in his tenure, Vogel said Eastern Conference powers Boston, Miami and Orlando wouldn’t want to play the Pacers when — not if — they made the playoffs. He introduced “smashmouth” ball, an approach that focused on attacking the basket instead of O’Brien’s perimeter-oriented game.

He moved Tyler Hansbrough and Paul George into the starting lineup and helped restore center Roy Hibbert’s confidence.

The team has plenty of young talent, playoff experience and significant salary cap space, should the labor situation get sorted out.

Danny Granger, at 28, is the oldest starter. Hibbert just finished his third year, point guard Darren Collison and Hansbrough were second-year players and George was a rookie. All five are under contract for next season.

“I’ll be happy if Frank gets picked,” Hibbert said recently. “I’ve been with him since I was a rookie, so I hope he gets it.”

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Rumor has it that the Minnesota Timberwolves are willing to trade the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft. Another rumor has it that the Indiana Pacers would like to snag that pick along with a few other pieces from the Wolves, according to FOXSports.

Some names being tossed around as possibly being part of the deal are Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger(notes), who averaged 20.5 points last season, as well as Ricky Rubio(notes), the Spanish guard who was drafted fifth overall in 2008 by the Timberwolves but hasn’t made it to the States just yet.

Also being mentioned, the site reports, is Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley(notes), the second pick in the 2008 draft, who averaged 19.2 points per game last season.

Don’t forget to follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

Source: FOXSports.com

Related: Ricky Rubio, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves

Read More: 2011 nba draft, nba draft 2011, nba trade rumors, danny granger trade rumors, ricky rubio rumors, timberwolves trade rumors, pacers trade rumors, Danny Granger (F – IND), Michael Beasley (F – MIN), Ricky Rubio (G – MIN), Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves

For now this is probably best filed under ‘NBA trade rumors,’ but Fox Sports Ohio’s Sam Amico is reporting that the Indiana Pacers are dangling Danny Granger in an effort to trade up and acquire the Minnesota Timberwolves second overall pick in next month’s NBA Draft.

Amico also says that Ricky Rubio, who may or may not come over from Spain this season, and Michael Beasley are also being mentioned in the almost-assuredly preliminary trade talks. The Pacers have the 15th and 42nd picks in the June 23 draft, but by dangling Granger, there’s no assurance that either pick would be included in this discussion.

Wolves president of basketball operations has been saying that he would prefer veteran experience rather than continuing to acquire youth, but the addition of Granger would mean even less playing time for Wesley Johnson, last year’s lottery pick.

There’s no doubt the Wolves could use a 6-foot-8 wing who shoots near 40 percent from beyond the arc, but Granger’s due $12, $13 and $14 million dollars over the next three seasons, which would make him the highest paid player on the Wolves roster.