By CLIFF BRUNT
AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS(AP) -- Tyler Hansbrough took a verbal jab from a
fellow ex-North Carolina Tarheel after committing his first NBA
foul.

"This ain't Carolina, T!" Antawn Jamison yelled from
Washington's bench.

Hansbrough spent his remaining minutes making it look just like
Carolina.

He shot more free throws than anyone else, made the hustle plays
that made him famous in college and helped the Indiana Pacers
beat the Wizards 102-86 on Friday night. Hansbrough finished
with 13 points in 14 minutes in his pro debut.

"It was a lot of hard work and things to get to this stage, but
I put that all behind me when I got out there," he said. "It
felt great. Just a relief to get out there and kind of move
forward from this injury thing."

The first-round draft pick missed the preseason and the first
four regular-season games with a right shin injury. When asked
if he was surprised by his strong performance, a perplexed
Hansbrough said "No," then offered perspective.

"Just expecting the best and see what happens," he said. "I
didn't know what to expect."

Pacers coach Jim O'Brien got exactly what he wanted from his
rookie, especially with starting power forward Troy Murphy out
with an injured back.

"A little rusty in a lot of areas, but he's going to be in the
attack mode at the offense and defensive end, he's going to go
after every rebound," O'Brien said. "I'm very pleased with him.
I think he's going to be a heck of an NBA player."

Danny Granger scored 22 points and T.J. Ford added 18 points and
10 rebounds for the Pacers, who raised a banner honoring late
co-owner Mel Simon before the game. He died in September at age
82.

Caron Butler led the Wizards with 24 points and 12 rebounds, and
Brendan Haywood had nine points and 19 rebounds. Gilbert Arenas,
who had averaged 28 points, finished with 13 and took only 10
shots, while Washington shot 39 percent and committed 19
turnovers.

"I'm very disappointed," Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. "Our
effort was poor. We turned the ball over way too much. I told
the guys I'm going to have to take responsibility."

Hansbrough entered the game to loud cheers but got off to a
rough start. He missed a 15-foot jumper on his first shot, got
the rebound, then got his next shot blocked by Andray Blatche.

"I felt like it was kind of a reality check sometimes," he said.

Hansbrough scored his first bucket on a layup with 11:44 left in
the second quarter.

The Pacers led 53-41 at halftime. Washington rallied in the
early minutes of the third quarter, but back-to-back 3s by
Granger and Earl Watson pushed Indiana's lead to 64-51 and
forced the Wizards to call timeout.

Washington trimmed the lead to 66-58 before the Pacers' rookies
entered the game and went to work. Hansbrough hit a layup and
two free throws, and A.J. Price made back-to-back 3-pointers in
a 10-0 run to stretch the lead to 76-58.

Hansbrough went 3 for 7 from the field and 7 for 10 from the
foul line. He also had five rebounds and dove into the crowd
once while chasing a loose ball.

"He brings that intensity, kind of that mad-dog intensity,"
Granger said. "I like to refer to him as a pitbull on the loose.
He's just attacking all over the place, and that's the mentality
you need."

It was a day filled with celebrations. Besides the rookie's
debut and the banner-raising ceremony, it was the 10th
anniversary of the opening of Conseco Fieldhouse. Simon cut the
ribbon to open the building with his brother Herb on Nov. 6,
1999.

Mel Simon joins former players Reggie Miller, Mel Daniels, Roger
Brown and George McGinnis, and ex-coach Bobby "Slick" Leonard as
the only people with their names in the rafters. The Simons
bought the franchise in 1983 and, in one 11-year stretch, the
Pacers reached the Eastern Conference finals six times and the
NBA finals once.

Hansbrough is one of the core pieces the Pacers hope will get
them back.

"He brings tremendous energy," Granger said. "He's going to play
as hard as he can for as long as he can. He's so physical. He's
one of those guys you definitely want on your team."

NOTES: Arenas became the 294th player to score 10,000 points.
... Indiana's Mike Dunleavy (knee), Travis Diener (toe on left
foot) and Jeff Foster (sore lower back) sat out along with
Murphy. ... The Pacers beat Boston 115-108 to open Conseco
Fieldhouse. Miller scored 29 points that night. ... Granger
collected four steals in the first six minutes. ... Rik Smits,
who played on the Pacers' 2000 Finals team, attended the game.
... Indiana G Brandon Rush sprained his right ankle and did not
return.