Roy Hibbert says fishing trip with Paul George contributed to Game 2 turnaround

Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert endured a long drought, during which he had plenty of trouble accumulating stats of any kind.

In the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Washington Wizards, Hibbert compiled all of two blocks and one assist, while picking up five fouls, and missing both of his shots from the field.

In Game 2 on Wednesday, Hibbert scored 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting, hitting on all eight of his free throws, and filling out his stat line with nine rebounds, two blocks, and an assist.

Why the turnaround? Hibbert explains, via NBA.com:

I just haven’t been aggressive as I should’ve been in the past and you have to look within yourself to make things happen,” he said to explain the outburst that had occurred on the Bankers Life Fieldhouse court.

I felt that I put a lot of pressure on myself to get going and I don’t want to get into to excuses. I think I was making a lot of excuses throughout the second half of the season and during the playoffs. I’m excited to take it into my own hands and change it around.

One more thing: he went on a fishing trip with Paul George on Tuesday.

Yesterday after practice, he invited me out on his boat and we fished for about two hours, and just relaxed and didn’t talk about basketball. We just talked about life and trying to catch some bass. He reached out and got my mind off things. Hopefully it’s something I can build on, and he’s a great teammate, so I really do appreciate him reaching out because he didn’t have to.

Teammate David West noticed an immediate difference.

“His body language was a little different,” David West said. “He took as much as he could take in terms of peoples' criticism. He made it up in his mind he was going to come out and respond and have a big game.”

West has already been one to offer up words of wisdom to Hibbert during his recent struggles.

“David always talks to me about being the person that rescues yourself when you’re in the middle of the ocean,” Hibbert said. “There’s nobody that can throw a life raft or a rope to help you. I got to do it myself.”

Hibbert will need to continue his strong play to keep his critics silent, and to proof that his Game 2 performance wasn't a fluke. He'll get his first opportunity to do so on Friday night in Washington.