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 Monday night's rematch in Bankers Life Fieldhouse was quite a
different production for Ellis and George, who combined for 49
points on 15 of 33 shooting in Indiana's 99-91 victory.
Ellis scored 26 points, including 21 in the second half, and George
added 23, including two free throws with 15.7 seconds remaining to
give Indiana (34-30) a 97-91 lead,
The Spurs (53-10) had an eight-game winning streak snapped and were
without coach Gregg Popovich, who was home with an ailing family
member.
"We were dialed in and more focused this time," said George, who was
1 of 14 in the game in San Antonio. "I knew I needed a better
effort. This was one of our best games overall. We did a great job
for four quarters against a great team."
Ellis, who carried the Pacers during the second half each time San
Antonio closed the gap, said Indiana's defense won the game.
"We got stops," Ellis said. "On the other end, my teammates found me
when I was open. That was a great team, and this was a big win for
us. Everybody refreshed their minds at the All-Star break, and
everybody got locked in. We have had some tough losses, but we've
stayed together."
Rodney Stuckey scored 12 for Indiana, and Ian Mahinmi had 11 points
and nine rebounds. The Pacers shot 41 percent from the field (32 of
78) and outscored the Spurs 28-19 from the free-throw line.
Forwards Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge each scored 23 for San
Antonio, and Patty Mills came off the bench for 17. The Spurs shot a
season-low 35.4 percent (34 of 96).
"You have to feel good about beating the Spurs," Pacers coach Frank
Vogel said. "That's a heck of a team. The last six quarters, we have
worked extremely hard on the defensive end. For the most part, we
were guarding at a high level."
San Antonio scored the first six points of the third quarter and
continued to apply the pressure, but two George free throws and an
Ellis steal and dunk gave Indiana a 71-59 lead with 44 seconds left
in the period. The Spurs got a David West putback at the buzzer to
pull to within 73-62 with 12 minutes remaining.
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"It was a rough night shooting for us," said assistant coach Ettore
Messina, who coached the Spurs in Popovich's absence. "We were
getting food looks, but it just happens sometimes. We were just not
as sharp as we could have been."
The Spurs scored the first two field goals of the fourth quarter to
slice the deficit to 73-66, but Indiana answered with a 9-0 run that
included two Jordan Hill baskets, a Solomon Hill 3-pointer and two
Myles Turner free throws for an 82-66 lead with 9:33 remaining.
"We missed a lot of shots, obviously," Mills said. "The mistakes we
made tonight are mistakes we don't normally make. In the second
half, we gave ourselves a chance, but we just couldn't come through
down the stretch. Ellis hit some big shots. It seems like he does
that against us no matter who he is playing for."
In the first half, Indiana took advantage of the Spurs' 4-of-24
start from the field to lead 45-32 through 24 minutes. San Antonio
led 4-0, then Indiana countered with a 14-0 run.
The Spurs made only 13 of 50 first-half field-goal attempts (26
percent), including 1 of 14 from 3-point range. Leonard was 5 of 11
in the opening half, but his teammates were a collective 8 of 39.
Leonard finished the half with 11 points.
Indiana shot only 40.5 percent (15 of 37) but was 11 of 13 from the
free-throw line while the Spurs were 5 of 6. Stuckey came off the
bench to lead the Pacers with 12 first-half points.
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