Pacers 101, Pistons 94: Paul George racked up 27 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists and David West added 15 points and eight boards as Indiana survived a scare from visiting Detroit.
George Hill scored 12 points and Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson added 11 apiece for the Pacers, who remained tied with Miami for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Ian Mahinmi chipped in 10 points off the bench as Indiana beat Detroit for the eighth time in nine meetings.
Josh Smith scored 24 points and Greg Monroe tallied 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Pistons, who have lost 12 of their last 15. Rodney Stuckey scored 16 off the bench and Andre Drummond collected 13 points and 14 boards for Detroit, which has dropped 15 of 16 on the road.
It was a one-point game with just over three minutes left when George drilled a 35-footer to make it 94-90. Brandon Jennings answered with a 3, but the Pistons didn't score a field goal the rest of the way as Indiana pulled away.
The Pistons led by nine late in the first quarter before allowing the Pacers to close the period with a 12-2 run and take a 28-27 lead. Indiana took a 50-46 lead into halftime and extended it to eight early in the third for its largest margin of the night, but Detroit quickly closed the gap on a Jennings jumper and back-to-back 3-pointers from Smith and Jennings for a 70-69 lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Indiana improved to 34-5 at home including a 24-1 mark against Eastern Conference teams. … Drummond recorded his 50th double-double, second-most in the NBA behind Kevin Love (59). … Hibbert took the brunt of a flagrant-1 foul from Charlie Villanueva near the end of the first quarter and went to the locker room with a sore neck, but he returned to start the second half.
Detroit | Indiana | |
Josh Smith 24 | Scoring | Paul George 27 |
Brandon Jennings 9 | Assists | Paul George 7 |
Greg Monroe 16 | Rebounds | Paul George 12 |
Greg Monroe 5 | Free Throws Made | Paul George 5 |
Greg Monroe 3 | Steals | Paul George 2 |
Andre Drummond 1 | Blocks | Ian Mahinmi 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Detroit | 94 | 36.6 | 7-16 | 19-28 | 16 | 47 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
Indiana | 101 | 49.4 | 5-18 | 18-24 | 24 | 47 | 7 | 4 | 10 |