LDN - Sports

George-led Pacers defeat Suns

[December 08, 2016] PHOENIX -- When the Indiana Pacers played the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 18 in Indianapolis, Paul George sat out with a sore left ankle and the struggling Suns won a road game by 20 points.

But George was around for the rematch, and the Suns were no match for the Pacers this time.

George had 25 points and 13 rebounds and the Pacers took control of a tight game in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 109-94 win over the Suns.

Myles Turner had 20 points and Jeff Teague added 19 for the Pacers (11-11), who held the Suns to 14 points in the fourth quarter and rebounded from a 36-point loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday by splitting the season series with Phoenix.

"We just played basketball down the stretch. We really didn't call much," said George, who has averaged 20.6 points in three games since returning from injury. "I was able to get good position and find guys and create for myself. We bucked down on defense and just played on the offensive end."

George capped off the win by banking in his only 3-pointer of the night with 14 seconds left.

Indiana is now 2-2 on a five-game road trip that ends in Dallas on Friday.

"It was a bad loss in Golden State, but we still had an opportunity to made this a successful road trip by winning here and trying to win in Dallas," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. "If you can leave the road 3-2, that's a pretty good trip."

Turner hit seven of 11 shots and was expected to have some open looks against Phoenix's Tyson Chandler.

"I knew before the game they were going to sag off me," Turner said. "(Chandler) was way off in the paint, so I knew that my shot was going to be wide open. Once you hit a couple that opens up the paint for guys like (Teague) and (George) to get in there."

Eric Bledsoe had 15 points and Devin Booker had 13 for the Suns (6-15), who have lost five of their last six games and are 2-7 since beating the Pacers. Phoenix missed 24 of 33 3-pointers in the game and shot 40 percent from the field.

"We had a lot open shots and the guys we wanted taking those shots took them," Suns coach Earl Watson said. "Jared Dudley had seven (2-for-7), Booker had six (2-for-6), Bledsoe had five (0-for-5). Those are the main guys you want shooting."

Chandler added 10 points and 10 rebounds in his 1,000th NBA game. But the Suns, who trailed 82-80 after three quarters, are now 0-13 with an opportunity to overcome deficit heading into the fourth.

"It comes down to stops, and Paul got it going late and they kept getting offensive rebounds," Booker said. "We knew they would come in battling after how we played against them in Indiana.

George had eight points in the first quarter for Indiana, but the Pacers committed nine turnovers. Booker had seven points for the Suns, who closed to 23-22 on a Bledsoe layup with 2.3 seconds left.

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Pacers forward Paul George (13) reacts in the first quarter against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Suns got an early second-quarter lift from Leandro Barbosa, who had eight points in seven minutes. Three-pointers by Marquese Chriss and Booker were followed by Booker's alley-oop pass to Chandler to cap an 8-1 run and give the Suns a 47-40 lead with 2:02 left.

But Turner scored all eight of his first-half points in the final 1:46, and his 3-pointer with 28.2 seconds left pulled the Pacers within 53-49 at the break.

The game stayed tight through the third quarter. Thaddeus Young had seven points for Indiana and Jared Dudley had six for the Suns, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer to keep the Suns within 82-80.

But the Suns are 0-13 when leading after three quarters and the Pacers pulled away with a 9-1 run midway through the quarter, with Teague scoring five including two free throws to make it 97-87 Indiana with 5:50 left.

NOTES: Suns C Tyson Chandler played in his 1,000th NBA game on Wednesday night. He is the 122nd player in league history to reach that milestone. Among that 122, he is the 28th who has played at least one game with the Suns but only Chandler, Danny Ainge and Steve Nash played in their 1,000th game as a Sun. ... Pacers coach Nate McMillan said of moving past the 142-106 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday night in which Klay Thompson scored 60 points for the Warriors: "We did look at the film and it wasn't a good film to watch. We talked about it, but we do have to move on. We have a chance to still make this a special trip." ... Suns coach Earl Watson on the bench wiping out a 23-point deficit in the fourth quarter before losing, 112-105, to Utah on Tuesday night: "They played with so much passion; you almost have to leave them out there. They deserve that. Our second unit was amazing." ... The Phoenix bench scored 78 points in a 116-96 win over the Pacers in Indianapolis, the most scoring by any bench in the league this season.

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