"Hickory Pacers" honor 1954 Milan H.S. team, top Celtics 103-98

At halftime, the 1954 Milan High School state championship team that inspired Hoosiers was honored at center court and received a rousing ovation from the crowd.

The Indiana Pacers play eight of nine games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse to finish the month of March. The Fieldhouse celebrates March Madness with 54 high school, college and NBA basketball games in 43 days. Tuesday night made for a perfect time for the Pacers to wear their old school Hickory Pacers uniforms, which celebrate Indiana High School basketball and the 30th anniversary of the movie Hoosiers.

In their gold shorts and maroon jerseys, the Pacers (36-31) beat Brad Stevens' Boston Celtics 103-98 in a defensive grinder of a game. The Celtics stand in third place in the NBA's Eastern Conference.

"They're a tenacious team," said Pacers head coach Frank Vogel. "There's a reason they're 11 games over .500 and third in the east. They play a tenacious style of defense. Brad's done an incredible job with them on the offensive end and how they move the basketball. They're a great team. I've got a lot of respect for them. This is a big win. It doesn't have to be pretty. It wasn't pretty. But it's a big win to start this home stand."

The Pacers bounced back from their worst loss of the season Sunday night in Atlanta, when they fell by 29 points to the Hawks. The win over the Celtics improved the Pacers to 26-5 this season when they hold an opponent under 100 points.

The Pacers and Celtics traded the lead 15 times in game that remained close into the midway through the fourth quarter. Paul George scored 10 of his team-high 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Pacers opened an 11 point lead late in the game. The Pacers missed four consecutive free throws to give the Celtics just a glimmer of hope in the final minute and tightened the final score. 

Monta Ellis added 16 points for the Pacers, who have won five of their last seven games.

"We've just been more focused," said Ellis. "We've been in this situation before and we feel more comfortable. The biggest thing is getting stops. We got stops, got out and ran and made plays on the offensive end."

Jordan Hill scored 15 points of the Pacers bench. Frank Vogel kept Hill in the game in the closing minutes rather than bringing back one of his starting big men, Myles Turner or Ian Mahinmi. 

"The second unit definitely came in and gave the starters a boost," said Hill. "It definitely helped out. We just started playing together and taking care of the ball more and making big shots."

The Celtics (39-28) were led by Isaiah Thomas with 21 points.

At halftime, the 1954 Milan High School state championship team that inspired Hoosiers was honored at center court and received a rousing ovation from the crowd of 17,118. Team members were presented with their own Hickory jerseys with their names on the back. The Pacers are wearing the Hickory uniforms 10 times this season and honoring legendary teams and figures in Indiana basketball history.

"I think it's a wonderful memento to the movie Hoosiers, how important the movie Hoosiers was," said Plump, who hit the famous game-winning shot for Milan in 1954. "We're just happy to be a part of it and have some type of inspiration for the movie Hoosiers. This is wonderful. I don't know who thought of this, but whoever thought of it did a great job."

"It wasn't a Milan story, but it was basketball in the early 50's" said Ray Craft, another member of the 1954 Milan champions. "It's great that the Pacers would recognize what basketball has meant to the state of Indiana. It really helps high school basketball in the state of Indiana."

The Pacers stand in seventh place in the very tight Eastern Conference standings as they play five straight home games. George admits he is watching the standings closely.

"We got a chance to move up," said George. "Nothing's really set in stone. We're still right there. We've got about 15 games left. There's still a chance to move up."
 
The Pacers host the Eastern Conference second place Toronto Raptors at the Fieldhouse Thursday (7:00 p.m. Fox Sports Indiana).