Pacers 104, Rockets 101
INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George scored 25 points, Monta Ellis added 22 and Ian Mahinmi had 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers held on for a 104-101 victory against the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.
Houston's Jason Terry had a chance to force overtime, but his 3-point attempt from the right wing was short as time expired.
Mahinmi and Ellis each made one of two free throws in the final 11.7 seconds to help the Pacers (39-34) hold onto the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Indiana is a half-game ahead of the eighth-place Detroit Pistons, who were idle Sunday.
James Harden poured in 34 points to lead the Rockets (36-38). Trevor Ariza had 14 points, and Dwight Howard added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Houston remains a half-game ahead of Dallas for eighth place in the Western Conference playoff race after the Mavericks also lost Sunday.
A George 3-pointer gave the Pacers a 93-92 lead with 5:43 to play, but Harden answered immediately, pushing the Rockets back in front at 94-93.
Indiana clung to an 81-79 lead through three quarters, but baskets from Harden and Ariza gave the Rockets an 83-81 advantage with 10:44 to go.
Trailing by 16, Houston used a 16-3 run to close to within 70-67 on a Harden 3-pointer with 4:08 remaining in the third quarter. Another Harden 3-pointer tied it at 70 with 3:32 left in the quarter.
A 3-pointer from George Hill and a steal and layup from Ellis extended the Indiana lead to 67-51 with 7:57 remaining in the third quarter, prompting a Houston timeout. At that point, the Rockets were 2-for-20 from 3-point range, and they finished 7-for-33 from beyond the arc.
George scored 16 first-half points, and Miles came off the bench to add 10, helping Indiana seize a 57-47 lead through 24 minutes.
The Rockets, who got 10 first-half points from Harden, missed 14 of their first 15 attempts from 3-point range and finished the opening two quarters 2-for-18 from long distance.
Indiana led 30-24 after the first quarter and increased its advantage to 55-42 on a Mahinmi layup with 1:41 remaining in the half before the Rockets closed within 10 at intermission.
The Pacers outshot the Rockets 47.1 percent to 44.7 percent overall, and Indiana posted a 50-44 rebounding edge.
NOTES: The Rockets were without F Sam Dekker (lower back soreness). ... Houston fell to 5-6 in its past 11 games. ... Indiana improved to 7-4 in its past 11, including a 120-110 loss Saturday night at Brooklyn, a game in which the Nets outscored the Pacers 35-17 in the fourth quarter. ... The Rockets lead the NBA in steals per game at 10.1, and the Pacers are fourth at 9.1. ... Houston also leads the league in opponent turnovers per game (16.5). ... The Rockets rank fourth in NBA scoring at 106.0. ... Houston beat Indiana each of the teams' past four meetings before Sunday, including 107-103 in overtime on Jan. 10 in Houston. ... The Pacers had not defeated the Rockets since Dec. 20, 2013.