Pacers beat 76ers, close in on playoffs

PHILADELPHIA >> The Indiana Pacers aren’t worried about looking for help. They believe they’re playing well enough to clinch a playoff spot on their own.

Paul George scored 27 points before he was ejected after a scuffle with 76ers guard Gerald Henderson and the Pacers inched closer to a playoff berth with a 120-111 victory in Philadelphia on Monday night.

The Pacers (41-40) would have wrapped up a spot Monday if Chicago or Miami lost, but both won to improve to 40-41.

“I didn’t look at the scoreboard once,” Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. “My focus is on us and what we need to do. We did that with two solid games on the road against Orlando and Philly and we’ve got one more at home we need to get.”

Thaddeus Young added 20 points, Myles Turner scored 18 and Kevin Seraphin had 17 to give the Pacers their fourth straight victory and move them within one win (or a loss by the Bulls or Heat) of guaranteeing a playoff spot for the sixth time in the past seven years.

The 76ers (28-53) lost for the seventh straight time and finished with a home record of 17-24. They conclude their fifth straight season out of the playoffs Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks.

Timothe LuwawuCabarrot paced the Sixers with 24 points and Richaun Holmes had 17 points.

CHRIS SZAGOLA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Indiana’s Monta Ellis, center, goes up for the shot as he splits between Philadelphia’s Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, right, and T.J. McConnell, left, during the second half of Monday’s game in Philadelphia.