George leads as Pacers hold off Pelicans
INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George scored 19 points, and the Indiana Pacers held on for a 98-95 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Tyreke Evans missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer from the right corner as time expired, sealing the victory for the Pacers (21-19), who got 18 points and 12 rebounds from Myles Turner, 17 points from Thaddeus Young and 16 points and 10 assists from Jeff Teague.
New Orleans (16-26) got 16 points from Anthony Davis, who suffered a right hip and left thumb injury on a drive to the basket with 7:08 left in the third quarter. X-rays were negative, but he did not return.
E'Twaun Moore and Terrance Jones each added 15 points for the Pelicans, Evans had 12, Jrue Holiday scored 11 and Buddy Hield had 10.
Indiana shot 50.6 percent (41 of 81), and New Orleans shot 42.9 percent (36 of 84).
Back to back 3-pointers from Glenn Robinson III and George gave Indiana a 70-60 third-quarter lead, but New Orleans pulled within 76-70 with 12 minutes remaining despite Davis going to the locker room with the hip and thumb injury.
The Pacers were shooting 52.4 percent (33 of 63) through three quarters while the Pelicans were shooting 46.6 percent (27 of 58) after 36 minutes.
New Orleans dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Pacers 34-22 to close to within 54-52 at halftime. Led by three from Langston Galloway, the Pelicans made six 3-pointers during the second period, when Moore contributed seven points off the bench and Davis scored eight to finish the first 24 minutes with 14.
The Pelicans shot 63.2 percent in the second quarter, and the Pacers shot 50.
Indiana raced to a 32-18 lead after one quarter, making 14 of 21 field goal attempts, including 13 of 19 (68.4 percent) from its starting five. George led with nine points while Teague and Young delivered six each. Teague handed out six assists in the opening 12 minutes.
The Pacers outrebounded the Pelicans 12-7 in the first period and forced five turnovers, which Indiana converted into six points. Davis and Hield each scored six first-quarter points for New Orleans, which shot 38.1 percent in the opening period.
NOTES: The Pacers were without G Rodney Stuckey (sore left hamstring). ... Indiana is coming off a 140-112 loss to Denver this past Thursday in London, a defeat that snapped a season-long five-game winning streak ... The Pelicans entered Monday's game ranked second in blocks per game (5.9) and fourth in opponents' field goal percentage (43.9) ... The Pacers led the NBA in free throw percentage (82.1) and were fourth in opponents' 3-point shooting percentage (34.3) before Monday's games. ... Until the Pelicans registered a 102-95 victory on Dec. 15 in New Orleans, the Pacers had won the 10 most recent games in the series ... Pelicans' G E'Twaun Moore (9.8 points a game) played college ball at Purdue, 65 miles from Bankers Life Fieldhouse and is an East Chicago, Ind., native ... Indiana heads West for games against the Lakers, Kings and Jazz.