Grizzlies land No. 5 seed, eliminate Pacers

Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Marc Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies will have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Indiana Pacers will miss the postseason for the first time in five years after reaching back-to-back Eastern Conference finals.

Gasol had 33 points and 13 rebounds and the Grizzlies secured the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference with a 95-83 win on Wednesday night that delivered a knockout blow to Indiana's postseason hopes.

The Pacers mostly controlled their own destiny, needing a win or a Brooklyn loss to Orlando to land the Eastern Conference's final spot. But they trailed for the final 31 minutes, ending their six-game winning streak.

Brooklyn, which beat Orlando, earned the No. 8 seed.

The Grizzlies (55-27) will have home-court advantage against the fourth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers (51-31) because of their better record. Their win combined with San Antonio's loss to New Orleans landed them the fifth seed.

"I just took the shots that they gave me and I was in rhythm," said Gasol. "They kept finding me and I was open and I made shots."

Pacers star Paul George, in just his sixth game back in the lineup, had to be carried off the court and then to the locker room with 10:37 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Pacers said George left with a sore left calf. He suffered a broken right leg in a gruesome accident during a Team USA scrimmage in August, so the sight of him being carried off the court dampened the mood considerably.

It was a surprise the Pacers (38-44) were even in the playoff race on the final day of the season after being 15 games under .500 on Jan. 31.

They finished with the same record as the Nets but lost the season series 2-1, with both losses coming last month.

"We gave ourselves a chance to get in, but I certainly am very disappointed," said Pacers head coach Frank Vogel.

Zach Randolph had 18 points and nine rebounds for he Grizzlies, who will make their fifth straight postseason appearance.

C.J. Miles scored 26 points to lead Indiana and George Hill had 20.

The Pacers led throughout the first quarter and five minutes into the second before Jordan Adams' jumper gave the Grizzlies the lead for good and sparked a 12-0 run.

Memphis led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter and 14 in the third.

Game Notes

George was 1-for-5 in 15 minutes ... Memphis outscored Indiana 48-32 in the paint ... Jeff Green scored 14 points for the Grizzlies.