2014 Game Rewind

Wheat Hotchkiss

For a while on Monday night, it looked liked the good times would keep on rolling for the Pacers. Indiana led by 14 points heading into the fourth quarter, only to watch the San Antonio Spurs (33-19) claw back and come away with a 95-93 win on Marco Belinelli's jumper from the left baseline with 2.1 seconds remaining.

With the loss, the Pacers (20-33) have now dropped 14 of their last 15 games against San Antonio. More pertinently, San Antonio's victory snapped the Blue & Gold's season-high three-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich became the ninth coach in NBA history to accumulate 1,000 career wins.

The Pacers had seized control of the game with a 34-point third quarter. Indiana shot 62 percent in the frame and closed the period on a 20-6 run that gave the hosts a 14-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

But that didn't dissuade the defending champs. The visitors rallied, eventually tying the game on a pair of Tony Parker free throws with 3:13 to play that capped a 9-0 run.

"Credit their bench for making a run in the fourth quarter," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "We just had some unfortunate plays the last few minutes that went their way."

Rodney Stuckey's jumper with 2:33 remaining put the Indiana back on top, but the Spurs evened the score once again when Aron Baynes put back Kawhi Leonard's miss with 56.7 seconds left.

The Spurs got the ball back and called timeout with 21 seconds remaining. Popovich went small, subbing out Baynes for Belinelli, a move that Pacers head coach Frank Vogel didn't counter. That left power forward David West guarding the smaller Leonard, whom the Spurs isolated at the top of the key.

Leonard drove past West, forcing a series of defensive rotations. Roy Hibbert slid over to help on Leonard at the baseline, which led to Stuckey pinching down from the wing to help out on Hibbert's man, Tim Duncan.

That left Belinelli open in the corner. Once Leonard found him, Stuckey rushed back over to contest Belinelli's shot, but the sharpshooter made a nifty pump fake that sent Stuckey airborn and allowed him to step into the game-winner.

"Kawhi did a great job of executing the play," Popovich said of the sequence. "Belinelli got it, they took away the three, he made a pump fake and got the two instead."

West's perspective: "Stuck (Stuckey) was doing his job. He came down to pinch down on Duncan, and Marco just made a big play over Stuck’s closeout."

Indiana had a chance to win at the buzzer, but George Hill's 3-pointer missed right, leading to a chorus of sighs from the home crowd.

Stuckey led six Pacers players in double figures with 18 points. West finished with 10 points, a season-high 18 rebounds, and seven assists.

Parker led all scorers with 19 points and also dished out six assists. Duncan finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for San Antonio, while Belinelli added 12 points off the bench.

Indiana has one more game before the All-Star break. They will head to New Orleans for a Wednesday night matchup with the Pelicans.

"We're going to do what we can to try to go down to New Orleans and get a win," West said. "And come back from the break hopefully refreshed and looking to make a legitimate push down the stretch of the season."

The second half was a tale of two quarters. Indiana made 13-of-21 shots in the third (61.9 percent), but connected on just 6-of-22 attempts (27.3 percent) in the fourth. The Pacers made just 1-of-12 shots over the final 5:35 as San Antonio closed the game with a 13-2 run.

Not only were West's 18 rebounds a season best, but they matched the most he's recorded in a single game in his Pacers career. West also set a season high with seven assists.

Stuckey surpassed 7,000 career points on a layup with 10:54 remaining in the third quarter. Stuckey is the 93rd active player to reach that milestone and the third current Pacers player to reach that mark, joining David West and Luis Scola.

In addition to West and Stuckey, four other Pacers players finished in double figures. C.J. Miles had 13 points despite going 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Scola had 11 points off the bench on 5-of-10 shooting. Hibbert added 10 points and eight rebounds, while Solomon Hill also tallied 10 points.

George Hill scored seven quick points, hitting his first three shots, but went scoreless the rest of the night. It is just the second time Hill has failed to reach double figures in 13 games this season.

"They’re the defending champions. They’re going to change up their scheme. They’re going to go do some of the things they like and that work. And they’re going to stay with it. I think they got more aggressive as they got down. They started looking for the first option and really going and trying to get three’s and try to get themselves back in the game and provide some energy." -Solomon Hill on the Spurs' comeback

"We just weren’t sound enough down the stretch and gave them too many extra possessions. We’re disappointed we let this game get away.  We had an opportunity to beat another good team and we let it get away from us." -David West

"We did not expect to have David up there on Kawhi. Have to give a lot of credit to Kawhi. He recognized the mismatch of having a big on him, so he was able to penetrate, draw the defense and make a great pass." -Tim Duncan on the winning play

"It’s definitely the definition of a pounding the rock win. It was a great win for us. When we were down 14 at the start of the fourth quarter it didn’t look good. We stayed together, we put some stops together, even though we couldn’t hit a shot." -Tony Parker

"It was a great game. It was a playoff sort of game between the two (teams) and anyone could have won. We were fortunate we made a shot." -Gregg Popovich

The storyline of the night was Popovich, who became the third-fastest coach to reach 1,000 wins, doing so in his 1,462nd game. Popovich joins Jerry Sloan as the only coaches to accomplish the feat with a single franchise.

RELATED: Vogel on Popovich's Achievement »

"I don’t do too much celebrating," Popovich said when asked about the accomplishment. "I’ve been here a long time and I’ve had good players. Getting the players is difficult but I’ve been fortunate to have good ones and the time is the most important element.  You’ve got to be around for a while.  It’s more a tribute to them than any coaches."

The Pacers visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night, Feb. 11 at 8:00 PM.

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Game Rewind: Pacers 93, Spurs 95

With the game on the line, the Pacers put the ball in the hands of their playmaking point guard, George Hill. The Hometown Hero came through in the clutch, knocking down a turnaround jumper from the right baseline with 5.1 seconds remaining to lift the Pacers (20-32) to a 103-102 road victory over the Charlotte Hornets (22-29).

With the win, Indiana has now won three consecutive games for the first time all season. With the win, they are now just two games back of Miami and two-and-a-half games back of Charlotte for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

"We're just trying to put some good basketball together," Pacers forward David West told FOX Sports Indiana's Jeremiah Johnson after the game. "We still have a belief that we can make this happen. We're a couple spots out, just going to keep fighting every game."

The Pacers won on Sunday in memorable fashion, rallying from a significant second-half deficit.

The Hornets led by as many as 21 points after Brian Roberts' layup capped an 11-0 spurt with 5:03 remaining in the third quarter.

But the Pacers immediately responded, scoring the next 10 points. The Blue & Gold cut the home team's lead to single digits by the end of the period and tied the game at 86 on Luis Scola's layup with 8:34 left in the fourth quarter.

"I think our guys just recognized the moment, the urgency of this game," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "This is a big game against a team that we're chasing and a game that we felt like we had to get."

From there, Gary Neal knocked down a couple of big 3-pointers to put the Hornets back in front. Charlotte led by as many as five points in the final minutes, but the Pacers put together one last run.

C.J. Watson knocked down his fifth triple of the night from the right corner with 57.6 seconds remaining to make it a 99-98 game. Marvin Williams threw away a pass on the ensuing possession, and David West drew a foul and knocked down both free throws to give the Pacers the lead with 32.6 seconds left on the clock.

Gerald Henderson then threw up a wild shot that careened hard off the glass and into the arms of Luis Scola, but the Argentinian only managed to make one of two foul shots.

On the next possession, Williams atoned for his earlier mistake, knocking down a contested 3-pointer with 14.4 seconds left that put the Hornets back in front.

With the game on the line, Pacers head coach Frank Vogel opted to run a pick-and-roll with Hill and West. When Hill's defender left him, he kept the ball and made a savvy move to turn back toward the basket when no one followed him along the baseline.

"There was nobody, so when I peeked over my shoulder to see where D. West was I saw both their guys running back to D. West," Hill said of the play. "I knew when I saw that I could turn around and get to my go-to shot and that’s the floater."

Hill may have played the part of the hero, but the Blue & Gold got huge contributions from a couple of bench players down the stretch on Sunday.

Watson scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high 22, knocking down 5-of-8 shots from 3-point range. Scola scored all of his 15 points after halftime and also pulled down 14 rebounds to collect his fifth double-double of the season.

West and Rodney Stuckey each also added 15 points for Indiana.

Hornets center Al Jefferson led all scorers with 30 points on 13-of-22 shooting and also collected 13 rebounds. Roberts added 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting.

Though they're pleased with the result, the Pacers won't have much time to rest on their laurels. They return to Indiana on Sunday night and host the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs on Monday night at 7:00 PM.

Charlotte shot 54 percent in the first half, while the Pacers knocked down just 34 percent of their shots in the first two quarters, allowing the home team to take a 17-point lead at the break. But both team's fortunes changed in the second half, as Indiana shot 53.5 percent and held the Hornets to just 39.5 percent after halftime.

The Pacers finished with 53 bench points and outscored Charlotte's reserves by 21 points. The bulk of the bench scoring came from Watson and Scola, but Solomon Hill added nine points, while Damjan Rudez and Shayne Whittington combined for seven.

Watson's five 3-pointers were a new season high and one shy of his career-best mark, set in Charlotte on Nov. 27, 2013. It is the second time the former Tennessee Volunteer has led the Pacers in scoring this season.

Pacers fans have to be pleased with Stuckey's offensive performance. The combo guard scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and went 3-for-3 from the free throw line. In his three games prior to Sunday, Stuckey had managed a total of just 12 points on 6-of-17 shooting and had failed to get to the charity stripe.

"We are trying to turn our season around. We had a lot of struggles early on in the year, and we talked all along that is going to turn for us, and we have to stay with it and keep grinding, and a couple good wins this week will hopefully put us in that direction." -Frank Vogel

"It’s a big confidence booster for us.  It’s been a struggle for us all year long to put three together.  It’s great, but it doesn’t mean anything if we don’t come out and take care of business on our home floor tomorrow.  We got to enjoy tonight, get our rest and prepare for a great San Antonio team." -George Hill

"That one play didn’t lose the game. We had a bad third quarter and we gave up a lot of points and we got away from what we were doing to get the lead and they made runs. It was the simple things like not getting back on defense and that was the reason they even had a chance at the end of the game." -Al Jefferson

The Pacers finally have a true winning streak. Indiana has now won three straight games in the regular season for the first time all season and the first time since they won four consecutive games from March 11-17, 2014.

The Pacers host Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 9 at 7:00 PM. Find Tickets »

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Game Rewind: Pacers 103, Hornets 102

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With just over a minute remaining in the game and trailing by two, George Hill stepped around a screen and was fouled by Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving. Realizing he had been fouled, Hill jumped backwards and launched a one-handed 3-point attempt with Irving draped on his left arm.

As the ball passed through the net with an accompanying whistle for Irving's foul, Pacers fans roared out of their seats, as the bucket gave Indiana a four-point play, the lead, and the final bit of magic they needed to pull out the 103-99 win over the red-hot Cavs.

"I've been having him work on that before practice," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel joked after the game.

The Cavaliers (31-21) came into Friday night winners of their last 12 contests. And in the first half, it looked as if the Pacers (19-32) would be victim number 13 as the Cavs led Indiana 69-63 at the half.

But the same Pacers defense that allowed the Cavs to shoot 51 percent from the field in the first half came out looking like a completely different unit in the second; holding Cleveland to just 15 points in the third and holding LeBron James to just nine points and one rebound in the second half.

"I just thought we corralled him some," said David West, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds. "He picked us apart a couple of times, but Solo (Solomon Hill) competed against him possession after possession. Didn't give him anything."

When the fourth quarter began, the Pacers were trailing by three, thanks to an 11-2 run late in the third.

Just as the fourth got underway, Solomon Hill, who had been silent on the offensive end while trying to guard James (25 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast), sent the sold-out crowd into a frenzy with a huge slam. He followed up the dunk with an acrobatic and-1 layup that went in from high off the glass. Initially it was ruled an offensive foul but was then overturned by another official. The crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse roared in approval.

"Coach put the ball in my hand for a play, and I just tried to be as aggressive as possible," Hill explained of his explosive fourth quarter. "You gotta make them account for you. If you don't make them account for you, it's kind of like five-on-four out there."

Solomon Hill, who poured in nine points in the fourth quarter alone, continued to pace Indiana along with the sharpshooting C.J. Miles, who dropped in a team-high 26 points.

But in the wake of Solomon Hill's acrobatic shot, James took the Cavs on a one-man 6-0 run, making three consecutive shots and putting Cleveland up nine. At that point, things were looking grim for Indiana, but the Pacers responded with a 12-2 run of their own to seize the lead from the Cavs.

Following a Timofey Mozgov layup, Cleveland wrested the advantage back once again. It was then that Miles found himself open in the corner with two minutes remaining. The Pacers were trailing 89-88, but Miles connected on a 3-point jumper that sent the crowd at the Fieldhouse into bedlam.

After a cool-handed 3-pointer from Iman Shumpert in response, George Hill, who finished the night with 20 points and seven assists, executed his 10-on-the-difficulty-scale, four-point play. The game-deciding basket that gave the Pacers their final lead of the night; leading to what was, without question, their biggest win of the 2014-15 season.

"I think we have a chance now where we are playing a lot of home games," Solomon Hill told reporters after the win. "We have to stay with it. keep getting guys back (from injury): Lavoy Allen, Ian Mahinmi; when we get those guys back. If we just keep playing together, I think we can get back to the playoffs."

The Pacers snapped the Cavaliers' 12 game winning streak. Had Cleveland won, it would have matched their franchise record for consecutive wins at 13.

C.J. Miles' 16 fourth-quarter points tied the Pacers' season-high for points in a quarter with Damjan Rudez's 16-point fourth quarter against Orlando.

David West had his third double-double of the season, and pulled down his season-high 13 rebounds.

Indiana has now won nine consecutive home games against the Cavs. Cleveland's last victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse was on January 29, 2010

“We need some quality wins if we’re going to get back in the playoff race. This was an opportunity to do that. We haven’t had one of these in a while, at home or on the road." -Pacers head coach Frank Vogel

"It shows what we’ve been talking about all year, that we have enough to compete and that we can win games. Now that we’re getting more healthy and George (Hill) is getting his legs under him even more, we have a good rotation going, I think. Everybody feels comfortable." -Pacers guard C.J. Miles

"George Hill played a very good game tonight. Late in the game we didn’t execute like I believe we’re capable of doing. We gave up too many points, 36 of them in the fourth quarter, and a lot of them came on free throws." -Cavaliers forward LeBron James

"Sold out crowd, anytime LeBron comes in this gym it’s definitely a crazy atmosphere. And the energy he brings with his team, I think we were able to match it and make the right plays at the end of the game to win it tonight. It feels great to have a two (game) winning streak of our own. We just have to stay with it." -Pacers forward Solomon Hill

Although the Cavs are known for their big three, the Pacers' troika of scorers lit up the final frame. C.J. Miles had 15, and George Hill and Solomon Hill each added nine, for a combined 34 points. Cleveland's big three had just 15 in the final quarter.

The Pacers take the road to face the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday evening at 6 PM.

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Game Rewind: Pacers 103, Cavaliers 99

The Pacers turned back the clock on Wednesday night, rocking the "Flo-Jo" jerseys that Reggie Miller and Co. famously sported from 1990-97.

So it was fitting that the Blue & Gold (18-32) buried a barrage of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that would have made Miller proud en route to a 114-109 victory over the Detroit Pistons (19-31). The Pacers set season highs for both points scored (114) and field goal percentage (.597) in the victory.

"Before the game, Coach really challenged us to play for each other," Pacers point guard George Hill, who scored a team-high 20 points, said after the win. "Have the mentality when you get the ball to create for your teammate and our teammates need to reward us for looking for them and have confidence in shot-making. I think every guy did that tonight."

With the score knotted at 96, Pacers swingman C.J. Miles knocked down a pair of triples on consecutive possessions that gave Indiana the lead for good. Miles buried his first off a pass from David West with 4:51 remaining, then answered a Greg Monroe jumper by knocking down another trey with 4:11 to play.

As a team, Indiana went 5-for-6 from long range in the final quarter and finished the night with 12 triples, one shy of their season high.

"I thought we were decisive, guys were engaged and we took away some of the things they wanted to do early," forward David West said of the offensive outburst. "We made open shots, we made extra passes when they were there and obviously we were able to score inside. I thought all the guys shot the ball with confidence."

Detroit managed to climb back within three points twice in the final minutes, but both times George Hill scored on the ensuing possession, first hitting a jumper with 50.7 seconds remaining and then knocking down one of two free throws with 19.8 seconds left.

Miles then stole the ball from Jodie Meeks six seconds later to seal the victory.

The Pacers led for virtually the entire first half on Wednesday night, but a late charge allowed the Pistons to head to the locker room with a 49-48 lead.

Indiana retook control midway through the third quarter, reeling off a 12-0 run in 2:50 that gave them a 70-58 lead. David West scored six points in that stretch, scoring on a tip-in and then later knocking down 17-foot jumpers on back-to-back possessions.

Detroit again responded, immediately countering with a 14-4 run of their own, cutting the lead to two points on Anthony Tolliver's 3-pointer with 1:32 left in the third quarter.

The Pistons actually took a one-point lead on two separate occasions early in the fourth quarter before the Pacers caught fire from deep. Solomon Hill, C.J. Watson, and Damjan Rudez hit 3-pointers on consecutive possesions to give the home team an eight-point lead.

Detroit clawed back, eventually tying the game at 96 on a pair of free throws by D.J. Augustin with 5:37 to play before Miles came up big.

George Hill, back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench for the past few weeks, led Indiana with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and also dished out six assists in 25:30.

"I think George makes a difference for us. He creates for others and keeps us organized," Vogel said.

Roy Hibbert recorded his 13th double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Miles, inserted into the starting lineup by Vogel in place of Solomon Hill, had 15 points. West added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Watson knocked down 4-of-6 3-pointers en route to 14 points.

Andre Drummond led Detroit with 18 points and 16 rebounds, while Greg Monroe added 16 points and nine boards.

The Pacers were dealt a blow 15 seconds into the second quarter when reserve center Ian Mahinmi injured his right ankle. X-rays on the Frenchman's ankle were negative, but he was diagnosed with a sprain and ruled out for the night.

Indiana returns to the hardwood on Friday, when they conclude a five-game homestand against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tipoff is schedule for 7:00 PM.

The Pacers scored a season-best 33 points in the fourth quarter and 66 points after halftime.

Indiana unveiled its 11th different starting lineup of the season on Wednesday. The five-man unit of George Hill, Rodney Stuckey, C.J. Miles, David West, and Roy Hibbert combined for 73 points on 31-of-46 shooting (67.4 percent).

Hibbert has now scored in double figures in five consecutive games, his longest streak with 10 or more points since he accomplished the feat in nine straight games from Nov. 27-Dec. 13, 2013.

Watson tied a season high with four 3-pointers. He went 4-for-5 from long range on Dec. 13 against Portland.

Drummond recorded his 28th double-double of the season to lead Detroit.

Former Pacers guard D.J. Augustin added 12 points and six rebounds, but was just 4-for-14 from the field. Augustin had topped both 25 points and 10 assists in each of his previous two games entering Wednesday.

"George has been in the battles with us the last few years, so we have a certain level of confidence in him. We know what type of pressure he can deliver defensively and he’s got the length to stay in front of his guy and guard, which I think is key for our defense." -West on having George Hill back in the starting lineup

"This is our first time really being together all year. It’s still going to take us time to gel and learn each other but I think what you saw tonight is something that can possibly work, but you have to build off it." -Hill on the Pacers' new starting five

"We had a little better energy to start the game, and we were able to maintain it throughout the game. We made a run, they made their run, but we were able to hold the lead and close the game." -Pacers forward Luis Scola

"We were terrible defensively. We defended for four minutes in a 48 minute game. We defended the last four minutes of the first half and that was it. They shot 72 percent in the second half with virtually no resistance what so ever." -Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy

"We did a good job with our tempo on offense, moving the ball side to side, but our Achilles heel tonight was our defense. We had a bad disposition from the beginning of the game to the end." -Pistons forward Caron Butler

The Pacers were unconscious from the field in the second half, making 26-of-36 shots, a blistering 72.2-percent clip.

The Pacers host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at 7:00 PM.

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Game Rewind: Pacers 114, Pistons 109

The Sacramento Kings entered Bankers Life Fieldhouse on the second half of a back-to-back and mired in an eight-game losing streak.

They didn't look the part, however, on Saturday night. The Kings (17-29) led by double digits for most of the night and withstood a late rally to hold off the Pacers (17-32), 99-94.

Sacramento seized control midway through the first quarter, reeling off a 19-2 run to take a 30-12 lead. Former Pacers guard Darren Collison scored seven points in that sequence, while dynamic forward Rudy Gay added six. The Pacers, meanwhile, missed seven of eight shots and coughed the ball up six times over a 6:04 stretch.

"We turned the ball over and didn’t play well offensively, didn’t really settle into the game," Pacers guard C.J. Miles said. "Even the good looks we got, we didn’t shoot the ball well."

The Kings stretched their lead to as many as 23 points in the second quarter, though Indiana did mount a bit of a rally. George Hill scored seven straight points in a 1:02 stretch in the latter half of the quarter to cut the deficit to 13, but that would be the closest the home team would get before the break.

The visitors scored 64 points in the first half, matching the most the Pacers have allowed in the first half this season, shooting 50 percent from the field. Sacramento was a perfect 18-of-18 from the free throw line in the half, while Indiana only attempted five free throws.

"The plan was not to put them to the free throw line," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "They're number one in the league in drawing fouls. We weren’t very disciplined with our hands and our body position and we marched them to the line 18 times."

Indiana mounted another rally in the second half, reeling off a 16-3 run over the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters to climb within seven points of the lead. But Sacramento righted the ship, holding the Pacers at bay for the next several minutes.

The Blue & Gold eventually made it a two-possession game when Kings All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins fouled out with 1:46 to play. Roy Hibbert hit two free throws to trim the deficit to six, then C.J. Miles knocked down a pair on the next possession to make the score 93-89 with 1:21 remaining.

To the home crowd's dismay, Gay responded by knocking down a fadeaway jumper over two defenders on the left baseline that was the proverbial dagger.

George Hill did manage to hit a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining that cut the deficit to three, but Gay calmly knocked down both free throws to seal the victory for the visitors.

The Kings' new triumvirate of Collison, Gay, and Cousins did most of the heavy lifting for the Sacramento offense on Saturday. Gay led the way with 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting. Collison added 23, going 9-for-15 from the field. Cousins was just 6-for-24, but still managed 20 points and 19 rebounds, recording his 28th double-double of the season.

C.J. Miles and David West both had 17 points to lead Indiana. Luis Scola finished with 13 points and five rebounds, while Roy Hibbert added 11 points and seven boards. George Hill tallied 14 points, six rebounds, and four assists in 22:06 off the bench.

Indiana now has three days off before returning to the court against their Central Division rivals, the Detroit Pistons, on Wednesday at 7:00 PM.

The Pacers made just 5-of-25 attempts from 3-point range in the loss. Miles was just 1-for-9 from long range, while George Hill was 2-for-8. Solomon Hill had gone 5-for-7 from beyond the arc in his last two games, but missed all three of his attempts on Saturday.

After scoring 22 points in each of the last two games, starting shooting guard Rodney Stuckey managed just two points for the Pacers on Saturday, going 1-for-5 from the field in 19:11. Stuckey, who had attempted 13 free throws in the past two contests, did not get to the charity stripe against the Kings.

Though he averages a little over 20 points per game, Gay topped 30 points for just the second time this season on Saturday night. The UConn product scored 40 points against Portland back on Oct. 31.

Collison has now scored in double figures in 21 straight games. He had 12 points in the first quarter alone on Saturday.

Indiana committed 15 turnovers on the night leading to 22 points on the other end. The Pacers did, however, force 11 of Sacramento's 14 turnovers after halftime, which helped considerably in their comeback attempt.

"We just tried to push up the pressure and gamble more. We gambled against Minnesota and got burned. Tonight the gambling played in our favor." -Frank Vogel on the Pacers' second-half defense

"I want to see George Hill and C.J. Miles get their legs back under them. They’re banged up and they're getting back to being healthy, but clearly they don't have their legs under them...Both of them are two of our best shooters. And we sorely need some perimeter shooting to support our inside game." -Vogel on not playing again until Wednesday

"We battled back but we can’t keep putting ourselves in positions where we have our backs to the wall. We keep making it tough on ourselves." -C.J. Miles

"I tried to stay aggressive and have him make tough shots. A guy like that, a great offensive talent, one of the elite offensive guys in the league, it’s not easy to stop him completely. My teammates did an excellent job of helping me. He came through in the end." -Pacers forward Damjan Rudez on guarding Rudy Gay

"I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. This is an organization that I have a lot of respect for. But any time I go against my former teammates I look forward to the challenge." -Collison on playing against Indiana, the team he played for from 2010-12

"That is something that is being preached to us. I thought it helped set the tone, having our three primary guys get off to a good start. I thought it allowed everybody else to get into a flow." -Cousins on the Kings' fast start

Sacramento made its first 23 free throw attempts on Saturday, not missing until Ben McLemore's foul shot bounced around the rim and out with 8:43 left in the first quarter.

Amazingly, the Kings weren't very close to the NBA record for most free throws in a game without a miss. That mark belongs to the Utah Jazz, who went a perfect 39-for-39 from the charity stripe in a game in Portland on Dec. 7, 1982.

The Pacers host Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 7:00 PM. Find Tickets »

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Game Rewind: Pacers 94, Kings 99

When they were steamrolling their way to the best record in the Eastern Conference last season, the Pacers owned the third quarter. The Blue & Gold (17-31) got back to their old ways on Thursday night, dominating the first period after halftime en route to a 103-82 win over the New York Knicks (9-38).

Indiana led by five points at the break, but quickly blew the game open in the second half. The Pacers started the half by going to the post early and often. Center Roy Hibbert scored on four of the team's first five possessions and had 10 points barely over four minutes into the period.

"Big Dog was big for us," Pacers forward Solomon Hill said of Hibbert's performance. "We kept giving him the ball and he kept delivering."

But it wasn't just Hibbert who had it going in the third. The entire team was en fuego.

Rodney Stuckey scored seven points in the period, hitting all three of his shots. Solomon Hill buried a pair of triples on back-to-back possessions. As a team, the Blue-and-Gold went 5-for-7 from 3-point range and shot a blistering 65.2 percent from the field.

On the other end, the Pacers held the Knicks in check, as New York shot just 21.1 percent from the field. As a result, Indiana outscored the visitors, 35-12, making a victory all but inevitable.

"We saw openings and then I got going a little bit and other guys were able to get going," Hibbert said. "The third quarter was a very important turn for us."

Though the Pacers came away with the win, it was the Knicks, winners of four of their last five games, who were firing on all cylinders in the early going. New York scored on eight of their first 11 possessions, shot 61 percent in the first quarter, and led by as many as 11 points.

Perennial All-Star Carmelo Anthony had it going early. Melo scored 12 points in the first quarter on 4-of-7 shooting, making both of his shots from beyond the 3-point arc.

But the Pacers turned the tables in the second quarter. Indiana made 14-of-23 shots in the period (60.9 percent) to take a five-point lead into the break.

Fresh off a 22-point performance on Tuesday, Stuckey picked up where he left off on Thursday, scoring 11 points in the first half on 4-of-7 shooting.

But the most impressive player in the first half was Pacers reserve forward Lavoy Allen.

Allen had fallen out of the rotation for the last seven games, but Pacers head coach Frank Vogel gave him backup minutes at power forward against the Knicks and the 6-foot-9 big man responded. Allen scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and collected five rebounds (three of them offensive) in 9:24. Indiana was +12 with the Temple alum on the floor in the first half.

"He was great," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "Doing what he normally does, knocking down mid-range shots, making some good passes, and hurting our opponent on the glass."

However, Allen injured his right knee late in the half and did not return. It didn't end up being a major factor given the Pacers' third-quarter dominance, but it was a sour end to a surprise storyline. Vogel said the Pacers would re-evaluate Allen's health on Friday.

Stuckey led the Pacers with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Hibbert recorded his 12th double-double of the season, finishing with 18 points (on 9-of-11 shooting) and 10 rebounds. David West and Solomon Hill each added 10 points as 11 Pacers players found their way into the scoring column.

Anthony led the Knicks with 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting, but only scored two after halftime. Lou Amundson surpassed his season high with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

Indiana returns to the court on Saturday night, when they host DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings at 7:00 PM at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The 21-point margin of victory was the Pacers' largest in a home win this season. They shot a season-best 53.2 percent from the field.

The Knicks' 12 points in the third quarter were the fewest New York has scored in any quarter all season.

Pacers center Ian Mahinmi finished with eight points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. The Fashionable Frenchman has now collected 10 or more rebounds in seven games this season after accomplishing the feat only six times over his six previous NBA seasons.

Journeyman forward Lou Amundson's 17 points were a surprise to pretty much everyone in the building. Amundson, who spent the 2011-12 season in Indiana, hadn't scored in double figures in 102 consecutive appearances, the longest active streak in the NBA.

"It’s been a long time since we’ve had a win like that. It’s good to see that tonight the ball movement was good, the shooters made some shots, and the guys that were looking for a rhythm got their rhythm. This is a very good win and hopefully it gets us a little momentum." -Ian Mahinmi

"We definitely wanted to establish David (West) and Roy (Hibbert) inside, but we made a lot of 3-point shots in the third quarter and that made a difference, too." -Frank Vogel

"They were hot coming out, but sometimes you have to look at it and say, can they keep it up the whole game? I think we just weathered the storm and pulled out the win." -Roy Hibbert

"It was bad. They came out and hit shots and got a lot of confidence. Seemed like they came out ready with more energy and effort. The first five minutes was the difference. They got the ball to Roy inside and we adjusted, then they would kick it out and hit some shots and then we’d have to adjust again." -Lou Amundson

"We couldn’t sustain the energy and effort necessary to compete tonight. Their size started to wear us down a little bit and we missed not having a couple bodies in the paint tonight. They had more juice than us tonight and they were the better team." -Knicks head coach Derek Fisher

Veteran Pacers forward Luis Scola did not see the floor on Thursday night after playing in 277 consecutive regular season games, the second-longest active streak in the NBA. In his entire career, Scola had only missed eight games prior to Thursday, all of those coming when he dealt with an injury while playing for Houston during the 2010-11 season.

Pacers fans shouldn't be alarmed, however. Frank Vogel said after the game that he told Scola on Wednesday that he wanted to give the 34-year-old the night off and the Argentinian had no issues with Vogel's decision. Scola should return to the rotation on Saturday against Sacramento.

The Pacers host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 7:00 PM. Find Tickets »

game-rewind-pacers-103-knicks-82

Game Rewind: Pacers 103, Knicks 82

The Pacers got off to a great start on Tuesday night, but the Toronto Raptors (30-15) took control with a strong second quarter and pulled away in the third for a 104-91 win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Though there is no shame in losing to one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, Indiana (16-31) has now lost eight of their last nine games and hasn't won consecutive games since Dec. 31-Jan. 2.

Kyle Lowry, elected to start this year's All-Star Game last week, keyed a big third quarter for Toronto. The Raptors point guard scored 10 points and dished out three assists in the period, hitting a couple of deep 3-pointers during a 15-4 run that gave Toronto a 14-point lead.

Indiana never managed to get within two possessions of the lead the rest of the way.

"They just strung together consecutive plays, we weren’t able to do that, weren’t able to string together stops and slow them down," Pacers forward David West said. "I thought our half-court defense was decent, we just couldn’t string together enough stops and get ourselves some good looks on the other end."

It was a second half short on storylines after a much more interesting first two quarters that gave new meaning to the expression "basketball is a game of runs."

The Pacers got off to a splendid start, scoring the game's first nine points and stifling the Raptors on the defensive end in the early going. Toronto hit just two of their first 12 shots as Indiana jumped out to a 15-6 lead with 4:31 remaining in the first quarter.

But the Raptors quickly found their shooting stroke, outscoring the Blue & Gold 13-5 in less than three minutes to take their first lead of the night.

Indiana then reeled off a run of its own.

George Hill, in his third game back from a groin injury that kept him out 11 games, put together a memorable sequence at the end of the first quarter. Hill drained a corner three, then stripped the ball from Greivis Vasquez on the other end and streaked down the floor to sink a floater just as the buzzer sounded. Hill's 5-point sequence was part of a 12-0 Pacers run stretching across the end of the first and beginning of the second quarters.

The Raptors, however, didn't wait long to answer. Toronto scored 20 unanswered points to turn an 11-point deficit into a nine-point lead. Over that 4:12 stretch, the Pacers struggled offensively, committing five turnovers and missing five shots.

"When we got out of rhythm offensively in the second quarter, I thought we started getting hesitant," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "And I think that impacted our defense."

The Pacers responded to the Raptors' run with an 11-2 spurt, tying the game on Rodney Stuckey's jumper with 3:02 remaining in the half, only to have the Raptors score the next seven points to take a lead into the locker room. They would effectively put the game away in the third quarter.

Stuckey led the way for Indiana on Tuesday, scoring 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds. Solomon Hill added 15 points, David West and Roy Hibbert each scored 11, and George Hill had 13 in just over 20 minutes off the bench.