Game Rewind: Pacers 114, Timberwolves 115

With 3.4 seconds left in the game, Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio was fouled on a 3-point shot, sending him to the line with a chance to give Minnesota a lead. Rubio calmly connected on all three, putting the T-Wolves up 115-114 and handing the Pacers one of their most frustrating home losses of the season.

The Pacers led for much of the fourth quarter, but with the game on the line, the Timberwolves scored five straight points, all in the form of free throws en route to the one-point victory.

Indiana had one last chance to win, as the Pacers put the game in the hands of Paul George with 3.4 seconds to play. George received the inbounds pass at the top of the key and took stock of the defense. With a double-team closing in, George rifled a pass to Monta Ellis, whose last-second desperation 3-pointer didn't go down, ending the Pacers' evening.

"As a team, we've got to have the grit, we've got to man up, got to own up," said Paul George after the game. "At this point in the season, you don't have a game like this, being up four with under a minute (left) and let your opponent beat you, especially a young team. You don't give that up. It's a very frustrating loss."

For Indiana, George's offense was a constant on the night, scoring 37 points, 25 of which came in the first half. As a team, Indiana made just five 3-pointers and four of them came for George.

But for the Timberwolves, second-year center Karl-Anthony Towns was close to unstoppable, adding 37 points of his own and snaring 12 boards. Towns was also able to bully his way to the free throw line, hitting on all 10 of his attempts, including his final two to make it a one-possession game in the final minute.

Indiana was leading for much of the fourth quarter, but the outcome was thrown into doubt when Andrew Wiggins connected on a midrange jumper with just over two minutes remaining to make the score a 112-110 Pacers lead.

With 1:16 remaining and six seconds on the shot clock, Pacers head coach Nate McMillan drew up an inbounds play for George, but his 3-point attempt rimmed out, giving possession back to the Timberwolves.

As the T-Wolves attempted to tie or take the lead, defensive pressure applied by Thaddeus Young caused Towns to lose the ball out of bounds. With another offensive chance, Myles Turner picked up a foul on a shot attempt, sending him to the free throw line where he hit on both to make it a two-possession game with 44.6 remaining.

Not surprisingly, the Timberwolves went straight to Towns for offense, who drew a foul against Young and hit on both of his freebies to tighten the game up to a 114-112 Pacers lead.

Looking to ice the game, a Pacers possession fizzled and ended with Teague missing a heave at the rim. The rebound was corralled by Towns, who got the ball upcourt and got a Timberwolves timeout with 11.8 remaining, setting up the final play.

With 3.4 seconds left in the game, The Fieldhouse erupted in boos as the refs whistled Jeff Teague for a foul against Ricky Rubio on a 3-point shot, sending Rubio to the line with a chance to win the game.

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After sinking the first two, Rubio calmly repeated, hitting his third free throw to put the Timberwolves up 115-114 with just seconds remaining.

"(Rubio) made a good play, he drew a foul. It was a tough one at that time, but they called it. I guess my arm got caught in there when (Gorgui) Dieng ran into me," Jeff Teague said. "I don't know (if it was a foul). I get that call all the time. The play before was a bad play. I didn't realize the shot clock had more time and I shot a bad shot just trying to get it on the rim. Two bad plays on my part and we lose the game."

The Pacers got one more chance to win it, but facing a pressure defense, George shipped a pass to Monta Ellis whose 3-point heave at the buzzer sailed wide as the Pacers fell to the visiting Timberwolves in a one-point thriller.

The Pacers started the night off in control, building a 24-17 advantage in the first quarter. But the Timberwolves — who had lost six straight games entering Tuesday — climbed back, using a 9-1 run to close out the quarter and take a 26-25 lead into the second quarter of action.

In the second quarter, the Pacers began to fall behind as Minnesota guard Kris Dunn found ways to get to the basket, pushing the Timberwolves to a 40-32 lead midway through the period. Luckily for the Pacers, the play of Ellis lit a spark, scoring on two quick drives to the basket, which was followed up by a bucket from Teague that brought the score to a 40-38 Timberwolves lead.

With four minutes remaining in the half, a Pacers turnover ended up a memorable highlight as Teague chased down T-Wolves guard Tyus Jones for the block. Off of the loose ball, Ricky Rubio picked it up and attempted a layup, but he too was blocked, this time by the crashing Ellis. On the other end, Teague executed a crafty crossover and finished on a floater to bring the Pacers within one.

In the closing moments of the first half, no player was hotter than George, who scored Indiana's final eight points of the half, including two 3-pointers. But even with PG's offense, a late bucket from Minnesota lifted the T-Wolves to a 59-57 halftime edge.

Midway through the third, the Pacers found themselves with the game threatening to slip away. But with the Timberwolves up by nine, Indiana opened up a 14-0 run to regain control of the game.

But despite carrying a lead into the final quarter of play at The Fieldhouse, the Timberwolves outscored the Pacers 28-24 in the final quarter, including three daggers from the free throw line from the hands of Rubio.

"We've got a game tomorrow," said Myles Turner. "We know we're in a tight race, we've got to get better. It's frustrating losing when we had a lead in the fourth quarter, but you've got to get past it."

Paul George scored 37 points on 12-of-29 shooting, two points shy of his season-best 39. George went 9-of-9 from the free throw line.

Jeff Teague notched a double-double with 20 points and 10 assists.

Indiana outscored Minnesota 62-30 in the paint and 21-6 on fastbreak points.

Tuesday's loss was the first time this season that the Pacers lost at home when taking a lead into the fourth quarter.

"You have to be disciplined in situations like that. We were in the penalty with seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter and you have to be aware of the situation. You have to defend without fouling. We basically put them on the free throw line with (Karl-Anthony) Towns and (Ricky) Rubio. You can't leave it up to the officials. You have to be disciplined in that situation." -Pacers head coach Nate McMillan

"As a team, we've got to have the grit, we've got to man up, got to own up. At this point in the season, you don't have a game like this being up four with under a minute (left) and let your opponent beat you, especially a young team. You don't give that up. It's a very frustrating loss." -Paul George

"Paul had a big first half. He's tough to deal with just the way he moves without the ball and with the ball, so you can never let your guard down. If you relax one second he's gone and you know he's going to get a good look at the basket. I thought that put a lot of pressure on us." -Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau

The Pacers led 110-103 with 3:48 left. From there, Minnesota closed the game with a 12-4 run.

Indiana heads straight to Memphis for a Wednesday night meeting with the Grizzlies. Tipoff is set for 8 PM ET.

Primary Logo Tee - $12. Game Night Specials can be purchased in the Home Court Gift Shop or any of our souvenir stands located on all levels of Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The special is also available online at PacersGear.com until midnight.