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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- To hear the Charlotte Hornets tell it,
they were just as surprised as anybody else to come up with one of
the most prolific defensive efforts in club history Thursday night.
Eddie Jones had a franchise-record nine steals, helping the
Hornets force a club-record 32 turnovers and convert them into 33
points on the way to a 98-89 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
|  | | Eddie Jones scoops under the hoop for two of his 22 points over the defense of Rik Smits, left, and Mark Jackson.
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"It was nothing new. We've been doing the same things, but
tonight we were just on cue," said Bobby Phills, who added three
steals as the Hornets secured their first 2-0 start in the club's
12 seasons. "To be able to cause a veteran team, a good team such
as Indiana, to turn the ball over the way they did, that's the
perfect scenario. That's utopia right there. You can't ask for
anything better."
Indiana coach Larry Bird offered a different perspective.
"It's disappointing how we played," he said. "Charlotte is
one of the best teams in the East, and we had a chance to make a
statement early in the season."
Instead, it was Jones who made the statement, adding 22 points
and keying a 16-6 run in the first quarter that put the Hornets
ahead to stay. Jones had six points and two steals in the surge,
when Charlotte forced six turnovers and converted them into 10
points for a 22-14 lead.
"Eddie Jones was all over the court," Bird said. "He's got
quickness and makes a lot of things happen for them. He's a great
player."
Jones' theft total, which represented a new career high for one
of the NBA's best defenders, helped the Hornets finish with 20
steals, their second-highest total ever. Rookie Baron Davis added
four.
"Our athleticism showed up. We're a little bit younger than
they are," Jones said. "It just happened to be clicking for me
tonight. I was really getting in the passing lanes. I was just
excited."
Reggie Miller had 20 points for the Pacers, who had more
problems than their failure to take care of the ball. Aging center
Rik Smits, bothered by foot pain for several years, had trouble
getting up and down the court and moving around quickly in the post
on defense. Charlotte exploited Smits' problems by repeatedly
driving at him down low, and the result was a 46-26 edge for
scoring in the paint.
"That was our scheme -- to go right at him inside," Charlotte
coach Paul Silas said. "We really took it to them inside. We
thought they would be vulnerable, and it worked."
Two nights earlier, Indiana opened the season by scoring 41
points in the first quarter and never trailing in a victory over
the New Jersey Nets. Against the Hornets, the Pacers didn't hit the
41-point mark until there was 2:16 left in the first half, and all
that did was cut Indiana's deficit to 13.
Charlotte stretched its lead as high as 20 in the second half,
and the Pacers were unable to get it below double figures until the
final two minutes.
Game notes
Jones' previous single-game best was eight steals when he
was with the Lakers. The Hornets' previous bests were 29 turnovers
forced and seven steals for an individual. Charlotte's single-game
record for steals is 24 at Houston on Nov. 20, 1989. ... Derrick
Coleman has fallen out of favor with many Charlotte fans since his
drunken-driving arrest last month, and he was booed by the crowd
when the public address announcer introduced him in Tuesday night's
opener. When Coleman entered Thursday night's game, the PA
announcer did not introduce him, and there were no boos. ... The
Pacers lost for the third time in four games in Charlotte. ...
Indiana returns home Saturday night to open its new arena, Conseco
Fieldhouse, against Boston.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Indiana Clubhouse
Charlotte Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 97
Miami 86
Milwaukee 119
Atlanta 109
Charlotte 98
Indiana 89
San Antonio 104
Golden State 81
Phoenix 84
Philadelphia 80
Utah 98
Houston 82
Seattle 106
Dallas 96
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