Roy Hibbert is on a quest to be the first Indiana Pacers player to be awarded Defensive Player of the Year.

He finished 10th in last years’ Defensive Player of the Year voting, receiving three first place votes. Teammate Paul George received eight first place votes for the award and was eighth in the voting. The award went to Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzles.

Hibbert helped his case last night against the Milwaukee Bucks with 10 rebounds and a season-high eight blocks.

“Roy Hibbert was sensational,” said Pacers head coach Frank Vogel following their 104-77 win over the Bucks. “Proving night in and night out that he’s the best rim protector in the league. [He’s a] clear front runner for Best Defensive Player in the Game.”

Hibbert’s defensive prowess translates into his NBA leading 4.60 blocks per game and a total of 46. At this time last year – nine games into the season – he only had 22 blocks.

Not only is Hibbert finding success on the defensive side of the game, but on offense as well. Against the Bucks, he scored a season-high 24 points. It earned him his second double-double of the season.

“He gave it to us on the offensive end as well, scoring almost every time he got it in the low post or finding someone and then rebounding as well,” said Vogel. “I wish I would have played him two or three more minutes maybe he’d a got a triple-double.”

Hibbert’s first career triple-double came last year against New Orleans on November 21, 2012. He had 10 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 11 blocks.

His performance also included a season high for made free throws and attempts by going a perfect 8-8 from the line.

In tonight’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls, Hibbert will have to deal with Joakim Noah. Before the Bulls victory on Friday night against the Toronto Raptors, Noah was ranked seventeenth in the NBA for rebounds per game, averaging 9.5.

When the two teams faced off at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 6, Noah had four points, eight rebounds and one block.

Noah has averaged about 28 minutes in his six appearances compared to the Bucks’ Miroslav Raduljica who only played 17 minutes total in his two appearances this season.

Raduljica played for 18 minutes against the Pacers with four points and six rebounds. The Bucks were limiting the minutes of Zaza Pachulia, who was listed on the injury report prior to Friday night’s game and therefore Raduljica got more playing time than he had in both of other appearances this season combined.

Bucks’ head coach Larry Drew said, “He [Hibbert] had a good game. He played extremely well.”

Drew wasn’t the only Bucks staff member to recognize Hibbert’s performance. Luke Ridnour, who has been inactive for the last four games due to back spasms, said, “Hibbert’s a load down there in the way he is playing. He’s gotten better and better. He’s tough.”

With the help of teammates, George, George Hill, Lance Stephenson and David West, all of whom are weapons on offense, Hibbert can focus on the defensive side of the floor. However, if he can continue to have dominant performances on offense as well as defense, the Pacers’ are well on their way to winning a NBA championship.

Now Hibbert’s attention is on tonight’s game against the Bulls. In his last game against Chicago, he scored eight points with five blocks and 10 rebounds. The Pacers have won four of the last five meetings, but Chicago leads the overall series.

Tip-off is 8 p.m. The game will be aired on Fox Sports Indiana locally and nationally on WGN.

Other notables from Friday night’s game:

• The Pacers are one of 18 teams in NBA history to start 9-0. The last team was the 2002-2003 Dallas Mavericks who started the season 14-0.
• George Hill received the October Kia Community Assist Award. The award comes following Hill’s work with the Pacers and Kids Against Hunger to organize a day-long food packing event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. There were more than 400 Pacers employees and partners who packed a total of 59,686 meals. The meals were then distributed throughout Indianapolis through Gleaners Food Bank and to countries all over the world.
• Chris Copeland had a season high eight points in his fourth game as a Pacer.
• Lance Stephenson followed his first career triple-double with 11 points and four rebounds.
• Danny Granger, who has not played this season due to a strained left calf, is into the final week of an estimated three-week rehabilitation.