George is too hot for Charlotte
Paul George made six 3-pointers and finished with 39 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 98-77 victory over the Charlotte Hornets last night in Indianapolis.
Jeff Teague added eight points, eight rebounds and 11 assists, Myles Turner had six points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, and Monta Ellis scored 16 points for the Pacers.
Leading 50-47 in the third quarter, Indiana used a 15-0 run to extend the lead and ultimately shut the door on Charlotte. Frank Kaminsky led Charlotte with 20 points. Mavericks 112, Wizards 107 — Dirk Nowitzki scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, Harrison Barnes finished with 22 and visiting Dallas boosted its slim playoff hopes with a win over Washington.
Nicolas Brussino scored eight of his 11 points off the bench in the fourth for the Mavericks, who began the night 31⁄ games behind Denver for the final postseason spot in the Western Conference. Portland was positioned between Denver and Dallas.
Wizards guard John Wall had 26 points and 11 assists despite briefly leaving the game in the second quarter with a sprained left foot.
Trail Blazers 110, Spurs 106 — Damian Lillard scored 36 points and visiting Portland prevailed over San Antonio, spoiling LaMarcus Aldridge’s return from a health scare. C.J. McCollum added 26 points for the Trail Blazers. Aldridge had 19 points and seven rebounds after missing two games with a minor heart arrhythmia.
Kawhi Leonard had 34 points to lead San Antonio, which fell one game behind Golden State for the league’s best record.
Heat 120, Pelicans 112 — Goran Dragic played through a black eye and bloodied mouth to score 33 points, Hassan Whiteside had 20 points and 17 rebounds, and host Miami rolled past New Orleans.
Wayne Ellington scored 19 for the Heat, have won for the 22nd time in 27 games and are 14-1 in their last 15 at home.
Grizzlies 98, Bulls 91 — Mike Conley and Marc Gasol each scored 27 points to lead Memphis to victory in Chicago.
Conley and Gasol scored 18 of the team’s 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Grizzlies held off the Bulls, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.
The Bulls were without Dwyane Wade down the stretch after he injured his right elbow with 8:34 remaining and did not return.
Rockets 139, Lakers 100 — Lou Williams scored 30 points against his former team and James Harden had his 17th triple-double of the season to lead host Houston to a rout of Los Angeles. Harden had 18 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds. Houston sent Corey Brewer and a first-round draft pick to Los Angeles in a trade for Williams three weeks ago.
Jazz 97, Pistons 83 — Gordon Hayward scored 25 points and George Hill added 17 as visiting Utah prevailed over Detroit.
Aron Baynes had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Detroit, which lost for the second straight night and is in danger of falling back out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
Kings 107, Suns 101 — Rookie Skal Labissiere scored 21 of his career-high 32 points in the fourth quarter, a breakout performance that lifted Sacramento over host Phoenix.