Danny Granger has been known as a scorer for quite some time. But the next step to NBA stardom starts and finishes with defense. It looks like Granger got that message in the off-season and has come out with a defensive mind set this season. Last night’s victim, Eric Gordon of the LA Clippers…
Granger scored 22 points and helped clamp down on Clippers guard Eric Gordon, leading the short-handed Indiana Pacers to a 107-80 victory over banged-up Los Angeles on Thursday night.
“We kept him to a bad shooting night and that was our goal,” Granger said. “He was a big part of them being successful, so we had to take care of it.”
The Clippers led 25-22 after one but trailed by 10 at halftime as the Pacers dominated the rest of the way. Granger’s defense against Gordon during that critical stretch stood out more than his offensive contribution.
“One of his goals should be first or second all-defensive team,” O’Brien said. “He’s capable of it. That’s a big, big factor for us. He’s becoming a complete player for us because he knows how important he is to us defensively.”
Granger held Joe Johnson, Atlanta’s top scorer, to 11 points on Tuesday.
“He’s playing real good ‘D’ on the other team’s best player, and he’s doing it without fouling,” Hibbert said. “Gordon was hurting us at first. He was getting to the basket, hitting shots, and I think Danny changed that around for us.”
Read more details via AP on Yahoo.com
