Jeff Pendergraph spent most of the season jumping up and down along the sideline cheering on his teammates.
Pendergraph took that same energy to the court Monday during his first start of the season, and he didn't disappoint.
The Indiana Pacers power forward scored a season-high 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds in their 103-97 victory over the Detroit Pistons at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
"It was good to see Jeff Pendergraph come in and get his first start for us," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "The kid has worked so hard all year long, even when he knows he's not in the rotation. He's got one of the best attitudes I've ever coached, ever been around in the NBA."
Pendergraph got his most extensive minutes (18) of the season because Vogel decided to sit three starters so they could rest or let injuries heal.
Danny Granger (knee), George Hill (shoulder) and Roy Hibbert (rest) missed Monday's game. The Pacers (42-23) have already wrapped up the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. The playoffs start this weekend.
Hill and Hibbert are expected to play in the season finale against Chicago at the fieldhouse Wednesday. Granger will take that game off, too, to rest his strained knee.
"We're going to play the Chicago game closer to our normal rotations with the exception of Danny being out," Vogel said. "Danny could go if it was the playoffs."
Pendergraph, A.J. Price and Dahntay Jones joined David West and Paul George in the starting lineup.
George led all scorers with 27 points and 10 rebounds. West added 20 points.
Pendergraph and Price started ahead of Darren Collison and Lou Amundson. Vogel wanted to keep the second unit together because Collison was playing just his third game with that group.
"That was the main focus in putting together a rotation, keeping that group together as much as possible, then fill in the pieces from there," Vogel said.
Pendergraph was happy to step in. He's behind West, Hibbert, Amundson and Tyler Hansbrough in the rotation.
Pendergraph, who made his fifth career start, hadn't played more than 9 minutes in a game this season.
"Just like any player that's competitive, it's a hard pill to swallow," he said. "I can't complain. We're a good team, and everybody is playing well. It would be a different story if guys were playing bad. I'm playing backup on a team that's doing so well. Time and chances will come."
Pendergraph had four dunks and two blocks, including one while isolated on the perimeter and defending Pistons guard Ben Gordon.
"It was nice to be out there, especially since it was under the calm circumstances," Pendergraph said. "It wasn't at the end of the game where everybody is all hectic and disorganized and chaotic. Everything was in the flow of the game, and it came easy. It was fun to be out there playing."
Call Star reporter Mike Wells at (317) 444-6053.
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