INDIANAPOLIS – Mark Jackson was sitting at home Tuesday night after watching the Blazers beat the Lakers. He was ticked. He was determined to do something that would convert the Pacers from the gang of corpses that showed up in Madison Square Garden for two losses to the Knicks back into a real, live, viable NBA team.
So he came up with a cross.
He insisted it was not a response to Larry Johnson’s “L” thing that the Knick forward flashes after every triple, but Jackson put his arms together in a cross after each of his four baskets last night to ward off vampires, lackadaisical play and most importantly, the Knicks, in the Pacers’ 88-79 Game 5 victory.
“I was watching TV, upset. I just wanted to do something to spark some energy let everybody know we weren’t quitting,” said Jackson, explaining his crossed arms. “It was not an answer to Larry Johnson, I was not mocking Larry Johnson. I was just thanking God for giving us the ability to play the way we did.”
And if it pumps up the crowd and some teammates along the way, so much the better.
But it wasn’t the cross that got the Pacers going after they were nearly overwhelmed by the Knicks’ game-opening blistering barrage. It was an all-out hustle effort by the second unit in the second quarter that turned a 15-point deficit into a two-point half-time lead, holding the Knicks to their all-time playoff low quarter, eight points.
“We need to start every game the way we started the second half,” said Jackson. “At halftime, we talked about [what the bench did]. It was a second chance for us and it would be disrespectful to allow them [Knicks] to do it to us again. So we made a conscious effort.”
And Jackson, who finished with 11 points, seven assists and no turnovers in 21 game minutes, gave three of his cross signs in that third quarter. Johnson may give ’em L, Jackson gave ’em a cross.