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Pacers starting point guard George Hill to make season debut against Pelicans

INDIANAPOLIS – For whatever reason, NBA players seem to frequently make their returns from injury against New Orleans, including Kevin Durant’s much-anticipated season debut on Dec. 2 for Oklahoma City. Although he doesn’t have quite the same name recognition as Durant, Indiana starting point guard George Hill will be making his 2014-15 debut tonight vs. New Orleans. Hill, who was a key part of the Pacers’ last two teams that reached the Eastern Conference finals, sat out the first 28 games due to a left knee contusion.

The Pacers are expected to be without top player Paul George for the entire season due to a broken right leg, while Ian Mahinmi is sidelined with torn left plantar fascia. Reserve shooter Damjan Rudez is also out, with an upper respiratory infection.

Other notes from pregame Tuesday:

  • Monty Williams on the Pelicans trying to replicate their play from Sunday’s 101-99 victory at Oklahoma City: “We feel good about the way we played the other day. We talked about that after the game, being consistent. We had a blip on the screen (in Saturday’s 26-point home loss) against Portland, but we had been playing well and we feel like we got it back.”
  • Williams on the physical Pacers: “They try to beat you up. They try to take away the paint. Their pace of play is a bit slower than most of the teams our fans are used to seeing in the West. We’ve got to make sure our 20-second rule is in play, which means we get the ball up the floor quickly.” Williams was referring to getting the offense started with 20 seconds left on the shot clock, as opposed to 15, 10 or less.