Pacers 99, Cavaliers 94: George Hill scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter as host Indiana erased a 20-point lead in the final nine minutes to stun Cleveland.
Paul George overcame a cold-shooting night to score 11 of his 14 points in the fourth and the Pacers ended the game on a 31-6 burst to halt a two-game skid and keep alive their slim hopes of earning the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Indiana is 2 1/2 games behind the New York Knicks with four games left.
Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 29 points for the Cavaliers, but he was whistled for an offensive charge with 13.1 seconds left with his team trailing by two. Rookie Tyler Zeller scored 18 for Cleveland.
Irving and Zeller combined to outscore the Pacers (17-16) in the third as the Cavaliers closed the quarter on a 16-3 tear to push the lead to 20 points at 84-64.
Cleveland was up 88-68 with 9:03 remaining before Indiana ripped off 17 unanswered points to cut the deficit to three with 4:24 to play. A three-point play by Hill put the Pacers in front before Irving reclaimed the lead with two free throws, setting up George for the go-ahead 3-pointer.
GAME NOTEBOOK: David West had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, who saw coach Frank Vogel get ejected late in the third period. ... Irving hit 10-of-20 shots to break out of a slump that saw him go 7-of-35 in the past two games. ... George was 4-of-12 and is only 7-of-31 in his last three games.
Cleveland | Indiana | |
Kyrie Irving 29 | Scoring | George Hill 27 |
Kyrie Irving 7 | Assists | George Hill 4 |
Omri Casspi 7 | Rebounds | David West 9 |
Kyrie Irving 7 | Free Throws Made | George Hill 8 |
Alonzo Gee 2 | Steals | George Hill 4 |
Tyler Zeller 2 | Blocks | Roy Hibbert 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Cleveland | 94 | 45.9 | 3-10 | 13-15 | 18 | 39 | 7 | 5 | 17 |
Indiana | 99 | 40.5 | 4-16 | 31-46 | 13 | 45 | 6 | 14 | 14 |