Game Rewind: Pacers 121, Pistons 116

The Indiana Pacers (18-18) won their third game in a row for the first time all season, knocking off the Pistons (16-21) in Detroit, 121-116. Paul George's 32 points and clutch shooting in the fourth quarter helped lead Indiana to the victory.

The game was tied at 92 heading into the fourth quarter. After Indiana grabbed a seven-point fourth quarter lead, Detroit got back within four with 6:13 remaining, and that's when PG took control. George scored 11 of Indiana's next 12 points and the 12-4 run ballooned Indiana's lead to 116-104 with 2:24 to play.

The Pacers led 119-108 with just over a minute to play, but the Pistons had one more spurt left in them. They nailed consecutive triples to cut the deficit to five with 50 seconds to go. After a Pacers turnover, a Pistons layup made it a three-point game with 16.9 to go.

On the ensuing possession, Monta Ellis was fouled and iced the game at the free-throw line. The win pushed Indiana back to .500 with a record of 18-18.

Indiana came out hot, shooting 4-of-6 from the field in the opening minutes, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, with two coming from George. The fast start gave the Pacers an 11-2 lead and forced a Detroit timeout with 8:23 to play in the first.

Indiana led 22-11 with five minutes and change left in the opening period, before Detroit got itself back into the game with a 7-0 surge to cut the lead to four at the 3:48 mark. But a couple of Myles Turner triples jumpstarted the offense, and at the end of the first quarter, Indiana led, 36-28.

In the second quarter, the Pacers' second unit kept the Pistons at bay. Indiana grew its advantage to 11 midway through the period.

Indiana furthered its lead to 15 before the Pistons stormed back. They used a 14-4 run to get within five and set up a competitive second half. At halftime in Detroit, the Indiana Pacers led the Pistons, 66-60.

After halftime, slowly but surely, Detroit continued to chip away at Indiana’s lead. With 6:15 to go, Indiana led by just two, 77-75. Seconds later, Drummond slammed home an alley-oop to tie it.

From there, the teams traded buckets, with neither squad able to build a lead of more than two the rest of the quarter. The teams entered the final period tied, setting the stage for George to lead his team to a win.

Outside of George, Jeff Teague had a nice game, finishing with 17 points and eight assists. Ellis had his best game since returning from injury, scoring 16 points, while shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor. Kevin Seraphin contributed 10 points off the bench.

For Detroit, Drummond ended with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Reggie Jackson also had a double-double, with 20 points and 12 assists.

Monta Ellis' 16 points were the most he's scored since returning from injury on Dec. 28.

Every member of the Pacers' second unit ended the night with a positive +/- rating.

Indiana is 11-1 when scoring 110 or more points.

"I think you guys know where the difference was in the game. They scored 121 points, shot 58 percent, 56 percent from three and went to the line 30 times. You don't need any kind of expertise to know what the difference was in this game." - Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy

"We're showing that we can score. We just need to focus on defending, executing, moving the ball to the open guy." - Pacers head coach Nate McMillan

"We don't come out ready to compete. It takes us getting punched in the mouth a few times to wake up and realize we are in a fight." - Pistons guard Reggie Jackson

Paul George finished with 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting. He was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line.

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