George-led Pacers put away Heat
Paul George scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 102-98 victory against the Miami Heat last night in Indianapolis.
Indiana fended off a late surge from the Heat, who had won 21 of their previous 25 games. After falling behind 9385, Miami fought back and took the lead on Dion Waiters’ jumper with 3:24 left.
The Pacers answered with a 6-0 run to put the game out of reach and end the Heat’s four-game win streak.
With George struggling in the fourth quarter, Indiana got clutch plays late from Jeff Teague and Myles Turner. Nursing a 97-96 lead with less than two minutes to go, Teague recorded a timely — and unexpected — block of Heat center Hassan Whiteside.
With Whiteside having one of his more complete games of the season, Teague swatted Whiteside from behind on a spin to the basket, leading to two free throws by Turner on Indiana’s next possession to put the Pacers up 99-96.
Turner’s dunk off his own miss on Indiana’s next possession provided the Pacers the cushion they needed to fend off the Heat’s late surge.
Turner finished with 15 points for Indiana, while Teague had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Whiteside led the Heat with 26 points and 21 rebounds, while Waiters finished with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Nets 120, Knicks 112 — Jeremy Lin ended an 0-for-9 start with a 3-pointer that halted New York comeback, and host Brooklyn held on for its first home victory of 2017.
The Nets ended a 16-game losing streak at Barclays Center. Brooklyn hadn’t won there since Dec. 26, when Lin strained his hamstring in a victory against the Charlotte Hornets.
Lin missed the next 26 games and struggled through his return last night until taking over after the Knicks had trimmed a 22-point deficit to five. He finished with 13 points on 3-for-14 shooting. Brook Lopez had 25 points for Brooklyn. Carmelo Anthony overcame a slow start to score 27 points for the Knicks, who dropped their third straight. Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Rockets 117, Cavaliers 112 — James Harden had a tripledouble of 38 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to outduel fellow MVP contender LeBron James and lead Houston by visiting Cleveland.
It was the 16th triple-double this season for Harden and his 31st game with at least 30 points.
James had 30 points for the Cavaliers, who lost for the fourth time in five games.
Trail Blazers 110, Suns 101 — Damian Lillard scored 28 of his 39 points in the first half and Portland recovered to beat host Phoenix after blowing an 18-point second-half lead. C.J. McCollum added 26 for the Trail Blazers. Devin Booker led the Suns with 28 points. 76ers 118, Lakers 116 — Rookie Dario Saric scored a career-high 29 points, Jahlil Okafor added 23, and visiting Philadelphia edged Los Angeles.
The Lakers, who got a career-best 30 points from Jordan Clarkson, rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to take a lead late in the fourth quarter. But T.J. McConnell’s 12-foot fallaway jumper with 50 seconds left gave the Sixers the lead for good.