Game Rewind: Pacers 99, Trail Blazers 92

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Game Rewind: IND 99, POR 92

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Returning home for four of the next five games, the Indiana Pacers hosted the Portland Trail Blazers, who were wrapping up a seven-game road trip, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. After a tight first half, the Pacers (10-9) used a big third quarter spurt to build a cushion. The Blazers (8-11), however, challenged in the fourth, getting within four, but the Pacers held them off and came out with a 99-92 win.

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David West scored the first basket of the game but the Pacers were sloppy on their next nine possessions during which they turned the ball over three times and recorded six straight misses, including a couple as the shot clock expired. When coach Frank Vogel went to his bench with about three minutes to play in the first, the second unit provided a lift and scored the final nine points of the quarter to make it a 21-20 game.

The contributions from the Pacers' bench, particularly the frontcourt, continued in the second period. Tyler Hansbrough made a couple of field goals and all four of his free-throw attempts, while Ian Mahinmi connected on both of his shots and was big on the boards. Rookie Damian Lillard rebutted with a couple of big buckets and the Blazers scored the final six of the half, including a put-back layup from J.J. Hickson at the buzzer, to take a 50-48 edge.

Indiana dominated the third quarter, outscoring Portland 31-14 and 17-4 over the final five minutes. They defended well—contesting shots, forcing extra passes, and not fouling—and built up a 79-64 cushion heading into the fourth.

Instead of putting their foot on the pedal, the Pacers committed several turnovers and had several poor possessions which allowed the Blazers back in the game. The Pacers' 18-point lead was cut to four, 85-81, with seven minutes remaining. Portland made only one field goal in the final 5:30 and George Hill and Paul George each hit their free-throws to propel Indiana to a 99-92 win.

Paul George scored at least 20 points for the fifth game this season, leading the Pacers with 22 points and five assists. George Hill (18), David West (16), Ian Mahinmi (season-high 12), Roy Hibbert (10), and Tyler Hansbrough (10) all scored in double figures.

Rookie Damian Lillard finished with 23 points and six rebounds to pace the Blazers. Wesley Matthews scored 19 and both LaMarcus Aldridge (18 points 10 rebounds) and J.J. Hickson (14 points, 12 rebounds) recorded double-doubles.

After scoring a total of 12 points in the last five games, Tyler Hansbrough scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in less than 16 minutes.

Nine of the 10 Indiana players that played pulled down at least two rebounds.

Indiana's bench outscored Portland's, 31-13.

"Another strong effort by our team in terms of following the plan... A good effort by our guys, the second night of a back-to-back and coming off the West Coast trip. (There) was a lot of guts and determination to get this win." – Frank Vogel on the win

"Our bench gave us a big lift. On the second night of a back-to-back, you always need your bench more than usual. They produced tonight. D.J. (Augustin) brought great pressure, Sam (Young) his defense. Obviously Ian (Mahinmi) and Tyler (Hansbrough) had great nights ... and Gerald made some big shots as well." – Frank Vogel on the bench

See What They're Saying: Pacers 99, Blazers 92 »

"You see some of the shots he's making and say 'Boy, if he could ever stabilize and do this on a consistent basis, with the way he defends, you got a special player there.'" – Frank Vogel on Paul George

"It's starting to get fun. We're starting to play our style of basketball that we played last year and we're starting to click offensively." – Paul George

"We are just trying to be steady, trying to build some consistency in our effort and how we approach every single game." – David West

Connecting on 18-of-19 (94.7 percent) tries, the Pacers had their most efficient night of the season at the free-throw line. Four attempts late put the Blazers away for good.

The Denver Nuggets make their only appearance to the Fieldhouse this Friday at 7 PM EST. The game features Cash 5 Promotion with Hoosier Lottery tickets along with regularly-priced seats. Buy Tickets »

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