With Butler about to take on Duke in the NCAA Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Indiana Pacers took care of business against the Houston Rockets in nearby Conseco Fieldhouse in a 133-102 blowout.

About time the reserves played more minutes.  Josh McRoberts was on fire, throwing behind the head and behind the back passes on his way to 18 points, 12 boards in 33 minutes, hitting 8 of 9 shots.  AJ Price played 23 minutes and scored 17 points.  No starter played more than 29 minutes.  Hibbert was dominant, with 20 points, 11 boards, 7 assists and 2 blocks, but Rush went scoreless in 19 minutes (took only ONE shot!).

I like to see McRoberts and Price play 30+ minutes a night for the rest of the season, but I can't complain with tonight's performance.  If the Pacers win games like this, then so be it.

The Indiana Pacers tried their hardest, but thankfully, the Miami Heat were desperate to keep ahead in their playoff race, and Dwayne Wade was at his absolute best.  It took an overtime, but in the end the Wade finished with 43 points and the Heat prevailed, 105-96, giving the Pacers a friendly nudge in the lottery.

It feels a little weird doing this, but right now, the Pacers are still 10th in the East at 28-48.  On the bright side, they are only a couple of games ahead of New York and Philadelphia, so with a little luck and a few more losses, the Pacers could drop a few more places in the standings.  Fingers crossed.

The Indiana Pacers don't learn.  With the season winding down and the lottery being the only thing for fans to get excited about these days, the Pacers keep notching up pointless win after win.  The latest victim is the Sacramento Kings, whom the Pacers defeated 102-95 in a come-from-behind victory.

That makes it eight consecutive home wins and six of seven.

Danny Granger scored 25 points in the second half to lead all scorers with 33, and added 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.  Troy Murphy had his usual double-double with 19 and 13.  Hibbert and Watson both chipped in with 10 points apiece.

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking at the mock drafts based on standings, and the Indiana Pacers were in line to get a top five pick, possibly even the big one (John Wall) or two (Evan Turner).  Now, with other teams tanking and the Pacers rolling off victories, the team has dropped to the tenth pick (based on standings), and in the coming draft, that is a huge difference in terms of talent.

Think about it.  Out of all the teams that are not fighting to make the playoffs or improve their seed position, only the Pacers have a winning percentage over 50% over their last 10 games.  7 out of 10, which makes them by far the hottest non-playoff team in the league.  Just sayin'.

Can't say it was a surprise.  Good to see the Pacers back on track in their hunt for a solid lottery pick.  Granger, Murphy and Watson really shouldn't be playing 35+ minutes a game at this stage of the season!  Come on!

Danny Granger, 44 points, career high.  122-106 over Utah Jazz.  Fifth straight win.  Decent lottery pick flying out the window.