UPDATE: The Indy Star notes that Hill was not talking about true Pacers fans. He meant bandwagon Indy fans. Read the full transcript of what Hill said here.
Just like the Indiana Pacers had suspected all along, Kobe Bryant gave it a go despite a severely sprained left ankle. He couldn’t move, however, and sat out the final three quarters and didn’t score. No matter. The Los Angeles Lakers still pulled off the 99-93 upset, and with Laker Nation making its collective voice heard all night long, Pacers guard George Hill ripped the lack of fan support for the team in their own building. Per the Indy Star: “All the Pacers needed to do was lower the lights in the stands, put Jack Nicholson and Denzel Washington in the high-priced seats and you would have thought you were across the country at Staples Center. Just like any other time when a marquee team comes to Indianapolis, the fieldhouse was full of fans wearing purple-and-gold shirts. That didn’t sit well with Hill inside the locker room after the game. The Pacers starting point guard sat at Paul George’s locker putting on lotion and talking to center Roy Hibbert loud enough so that the media could hear what he was saying. ‘Somebody has to say something,’ Hill said as Hibbert tried to get him to calm down. Hill wasn’t done talking after making his way across the locker room to his own locker. ‘It sucks,’ the Indianapolis native said. ‘It was 70-30 out there (in favor of Lakers fans). These are the same people that want autographs. … We’re out there in the community doing what we’re supposed to do on and off the court. Something has to change. … It shouldn’t feel like an away game, especially with an important game like this. That’s what it felt like.'”
