Pacers avoid trap, beat Nets 104-97
By ANDY PROFFET
ISL Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS — This one had all the makings of the classic trap game, the Indiana Pacers looking to go 8-0 at home against Eastern Conference opponents this season with the Brooklyn Nets bringing a 1-11 road record into Friday night’s matchup.
It looked for awhile like the Pacers might fall into that trap, trailing 77-72 entering the fourth quarter while battling their own inconsistent shooting and some close-call fouls that left the Bankers Life Fieldhouse crowd—and Paul George—in a bad mood.
But the Pacers got out of the trap.
Jordan Hill scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and George finished off a 23-point, 10-rebound game as the Pacers beat the Nets 104-97.
George had the highlight of the game with this throwdown, courtesy of the Indiana Pacers:
Paul George #NBAVote #VotePacers https://t.co/U5iyGnlluP
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) December 19, 2015
“Every game you have to compete, you have to play at a high level,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “This team’s got players that have been All-Stars and are capable of putting together solid basketball on both ends of the court. Just because their overall record did not reflect that, we didn’t take them lightly; we just had one of those games where we did not shoot the ball well.”
The Pacers (16-9) shot just 26-of-68 (38.2 percent) in the first three quarters, 5-of-23 (21.7 percent) from 3-point range.
Not that the Nets (7-19) were much better, shooting 28-of-68 (41.2 percent) and 6-of-12 from beyond the arc—enough to take a five-point lead into the fourth.
But Indiana kept nipping away at that lead, finally taking an 83-81 advantage on George Hill’s 3-pointer with 7:44 to play. A hook shot by Brook Lopez tied it at 83-83, but Lavoy Allen responded with a jumper and Indiana slowly pulled away.
The Pacers hit 11-of-21 in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over just twice after nine turnovers in the first three quarters.
“You’ve got to find ways to win even when things aren’t going your way,” Vogel said.
George said the four fouls he incurred weren’t going to change his style.
“It almost makes me more aggressive; when I’m not getting calls, I have to be more aggressive,” George said. “Just got to play the game to the finish.”
Jordan Hill also finished with a double-double, grabbing 11 rebounds. C.J. Miles and Rodney Stuckey each scored 15 and Ian Mahinmi added 10 points in Indiana’s fourth straight home win.
Jarrett Jack had a game-high 26 points to lead the Nets. Brook Lopez scored 18, Thaddeus Young has 14 points and 14 rebounds, Andrea Bargnani scored 12 and Joe Johnson had 11 points for Brooklyn.
