Pacers 99, Bobcats 94
Lance Stephenson tallied 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and Roy Hibbert added 18 points and 11 boards as Indiana held on to improve to 11-0 at home.
David West scored 14 points and George Hill chipped in 13 for the Pacers, who have won five straight against Charlotte overall and eight in a row at home. Leading scorer Paul George was limited to a season-low 10 points on 2-of-12 shooting.
Al Jefferson collected 21 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bobcats, who have dropped two straight and fell to 4-6 on the road. Kemba Walker scored 13 points - but only four in the second half - and Ramon Sessions added 13 off the bench for Charlotte.
A matchup of the league's top two teams in scoring defense turned into a surprising shootout early, as both teams shot 50 percent in the first half and Indiana took a 56-55 lead into the locker room. The Bobcats trailed by as many as 10 in the first quarter but scored the final five points of the period and pulled within 27-25 on Walker's 3-pointer at the buzzer, and it was tight throughout the second quarter.
Charlotte made its first seven field-goal attempts in the third quarter to open a six-point lead, then missed eight straight shots as Indiana reeled off a 16-3 run to go ahead 79-72 and took a three-point advantage into the final stanza. The Bobcats went up 90-89 on Gerald Henderson's jumper with 5:16 left, but Stephenson answered with a three-point play to put Indiana ahead for good and Charlotte failed to convert on four straight possessions with a chance to tie or take the lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The teams rank first and second in the league in fast-break points allowed and combined for only 12. … Charlotte C Bismack Biyombo (ankle) returned after missing two games and had six points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes. … Bobcats C Cody Zeller, playing his first game as a pro in his home state, had seven points and five rebounds in 19 minutes.