Pacers 106, Nets 99
Paul George scored 23 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 106-99 win over the New Jersey Nets at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday.
Indiana (14-6) improved to 6-1 at home and picked up its ninth straight victory over New Jersey (7-15), which is 0-2 versus the Pacers this season. The teams meet again in Indiana on Feb. 16.
George, who led the Pacers with 21 points in the previous meeting with the Nets, scored 13 of his points in the first half. He had a key strip on Nets guard Deron Williams in the final seconds to secure the win for Indiana.
Williams continued his scoring tear, dropping 34 points in the loss. Williams is averaging just under 30 points over his last four games.
Roy Hibbert knocked down a 16-foot jumper to cap an 11-0 Indiana run to take a double-figure lead with just over four minutes left in the third quarter. Hibbert took advantage of a small New Jersey frontcourt, scoring 18 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking four shots.
Nets clawed back with a 13-0 run late in the fourth quarter, riding the hot hand of Anthony Morrow. He buried back-to-back 3-pointers and scored eight straight points to get New Jersey to within three points.
Morrow finished 5 for 8 from downtown and scored a season-high 28 points.
Danny Granger went 9 for 9 from the foul line and finished with 21 points for the Pacers.
Kris Humphries gave the Nets' frontcourt a shot in the arm with 13 points and 10 rebounds.