Pacers 103, Nets 86: Brooklyn native Lance Stephenson poured in a career-high 26 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists as visiting Indiana cruised to its third straight lopsided victory.
Paul George tallied 26 points, six boards and five assists for the Pacers, who have won their last three games by a total of 77 points. David West added 13 points and George Hill scored 10 for Indiana, which was 18-of-19 from the foul line.
Joe Johnson scored 17 points to lead the Nets, who have lost three straight. Kevin Garnett added 12 points and Andray Blatche collected 11 points and seven rebounds in a reserve role.
George drained a 3-pointer to set off a 9-0 spurt early in the third as the Pacers pushed the lead to 60-43 and the margin didn't slip below 13 the rest of the way. George put the exclamation point on the victory with a reverse jam that stretched it to 89-68 less than five minutes into the fourth and Indiana cruised from there.
Brooklyn led by as many as six early before Indiana used a 9-0 run to move in front. The Pacers held the Nets to 35 percent from the field in the first half to take a 45-39 lead into the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Pacers improved to 15-0 when holding opponents under 90 points and 21-1 when allowing fewer than 100. … Nets SG Jason Terry played for the first time since Nov. 20 and scored 11 points in 15 minutes off the bench. … Indiana SF Danny Granger struggled in his third game since returning from a strained calf, going scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in 15 minutes.
Indiana | Brooklyn | |
Paul George 26 | Scoring | Joe Johnson 17 |
Paul George 5 | Assists | Deron Williams 8 |
Roy Hibbert 9 | Rebounds | Andray Blatche 7 |
George Hill 6 | Free Throws Made | Kevin Garnett 6 |
Ian Mahinmi 4 | Steals | Kevin Garnett 2 |
Danny Granger 1 | Blocks | Mason Plumlee 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Indiana | 103 | 45.8 | 9-28 | 18-19 | 16 | 46 | 3 | 12 | 18 |
Brooklyn | 86 | 38.2 | 6-26 | 22-25 | 21 | 36 | 4 | 6 | 18 |