Indiana Pacers Get Early Christmas Present with Tip-in at the Buzzer

The Pacers finally got on the other side of a game-winning tip-in at the buzzer. In front of his home crowd, Mike Dunleavy tipped in Danny Granger's miss at the buzzer, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

The Pacers can now relax for five days before their next game against the Memphis Grizzlies at home. That game will come on Sunday, the day after Christmas. The Pacers can now have a very Merry Christmas at home with their families. A loss would have been such a devastating blow for this team heading into Christmas.

David West hit a jumper to put the Hornets up by a point with just 3.9 seconds left. Danny Granger missed the next shot, but Dunleavy was in the right place at the right time and was able to tip in the rebound before the buzzer sounded. The referees went to the replay, which confirmed that the basket counted. The Pacers got the win, 94-93.

Danny Granger put up 27 points to lead the Pacers. Darren Collison added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists for Indiana. James Posey came off the bench and hit five three-pointers in the game, finishing with 15 points. Both Collison and Posey were ready to go on Monday night, facing their former team.

Jeff Foster started his second straight game at the PF position, as Josh McRoberts continued to deal with a lower abdominal injury. He provided Indiana with some much needed rebounding. He had seven points to go with his eleven rebounds.

Roy Hibbert didn't exactly have his best game of the season, as he struggled in his 25 minutes of action. He finished with just two points and three rebounds, after shooting just one-for-10 from the floor. He didn't get to the free throw line at all during the game.

Despite being out-rebounded by 14, they managed to play fairly solid defense and recorded eleven blocks in the game.

The Pacers are now 13-14 on the season and have won two of their last three games. They have two more games at home after Christmas before they hit the road, bound for the Nation's capital. Fortunately, they could face the Celtics without Rajon Rondo and the Wizards without John Wall.