PHILADELPHIA -- The Indiana Pacers have little breathing room as they try to cling to the eighth and final playoff spot in the NBA's Eastern Conference.

They can, however, breathe easier after avoiding an embarrassing loss to the league's worst team.

C.J. Miles scored 25 points off the bench, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:39 left, as the Pacers rallied to beat the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers 115-102.

"We're satisfied with winning," said forward Paul George, who contributed 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. "We're not satisfied with how we won."

Rodney Stuckey contributed 17 points for Indiana (40-36), which rallied from six points down in the fourth quarter to snap a two-game losing streak.

"Give them credit," George said of the Sixers. "They play hard, they played us all the way through, made us win this at the last two minutes."

Isaiah Canaan had 24 for Philadelphia (9-68), which needs one victory in its remaining five games to avoid matching the 1972-73 Sixers for the worst full-season record in NBA history.

Jerami Grant had 20 points and nine rebounds for Philadelphia, which has dropped 13 straight games and 25 of 26. Carl Landry scored 19 points.

"Perhaps it gets a little deflating, but our guys are still there," coach Brett Brown said. "We will see everybody soon, and we will play hard like we did tonight, when we see New Orleans (at home on Tuesday night)."

The Sixers were without Nerlens Noel (right knee contusion) for the sixth straight game and Richaun Holmes (right Achilles strain) for the fourth straight.

Jahlil Okafor is out for the season because of a knee injury, and Hollis Thompson was a late scratch for the 76ers with an upper respiratory infection.

They nonetheless rallied from an 18-point deficit to take a six-point lead early in the fourth quarter. The game was tied five times late in the game, the last time at 98-98 on a basket by Indiana's Monta Ellis.

After a Philadelphia turnover, Miles drilled the last of his five 3-pointers from the top of the circle to put his team ahead to stay.

"I knew (the defender) was going to try to take me off the line," Miles said. "I let him fly by, and after that it's just make the read. If somebody comes help, I've got four-on-five now, so it's a pass. Or if nobody comes help, I knock the shot down."

Indiana outscored Philadelphia 19-4 in the final 4:40. George nailed two 3-pointers during that stretch, and George Hill and Ian Mahinmi each contributed a three-point play.

Landry scored 14 points to propel the Sixers to a 28-23 lead late in the first quarter, but the Pacers reeled off the next 14 points, seven by Stuckey and five by Miles, to go up 37-28 early in the second period.

The Pacers, up 61-49 at the half, stretched their lead to 71-53 early in the third quarter, but the Sixers ended the quarter with a 24-3 flurry that included four 3-pointers as well as a three-point play by Ish Smith.

Grant's follow shot with 1:34 left put them ahead, and Nik Stauskas punctuated the run with a driving dunk, leaving the Sixers with a 77-74 cushion heading into the fourth quarter.

A layup by T.J. McConnell with 10:25 left put Philadelphia up 84-78.

NOTES: Indiana G/F C.J. Miles scored his 25 points in 21:59, shooting 9-for-14 from the floor and 5-for-9 from the 3-point line. He became the second Indiana player to score that many points in such a time frame since 1983-84, according to basketball-reference.com. ... Pacers F Paul George hit two 3-pointers to give him 200 this year. He became the second player in franchise history to make that many in one season. The other was Reggie Miller. ... Pacers coach Frank Vogel changed his lineup, giving F Lavoy Allen, a former Sixer, his first start since Jan. 26 (and his 22nd overall), and relegating F Myles Turner to a reserve role. The biggest reason for the switch, Vogel said, is that his team needed a rim protector on the second group. "This is not an indictment of that starting five," Vogel said. "I think that's our future starting five. It's just right now we need a spark, and I think this is the answer." Allen had two points and one rebound in 12:32, while Turner had eight and 10, respectively, in 26:35. ... Sixers coach Brett Brown said C/F Nerlens Noel and F Richaun Holmes remain day-to-day.