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Pacers backcourt buries Brooklyn
INDIANAPOLIS -- Each member of the Pacers starting backcourt scored at least 20 points and Indiana held the visiting Nets to just ** percent shooting in the second half on the way to a 105-91 win on Saturday.
Paul George led the Pacers (24-5) with 24 points and Lance Stephenson nearly missed his fourth triple-double of the season with 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
"I was proud of our guys for gutting and out and playing through five days of rust, which they're not used to doing," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Obviously Lance and Paul had strong games, but I thought George Hill was our best player tonight."
Hill had 21 points and also controlled his assignment on defense, limiting the Nets' (10-20) Deron Williams to just 14 points and six assists.
Hill said it's tough to matchup with Williams, a former all-star who has struggled so far this season, because of his versatility.
By fighting through screens, mixing up routes and relying on his teammates to help off the ball, Hill was able to not just stop Williams, but save energy for his own offense.
"(Williams) is kind of the head of the snake of their offensive attack and (Hill) battled him all night," Vogel said. "Lance and Paul are doing something special on the wings and they have the ball in their hands a lot. It's a typical point guard-style of play that we're running here, so to have somebody like (Hill) that comes in and guards point guards as well as any point guard-defender in the league and be able to knock down shots on the perimeter, spacing the floor when his number's called, I'm really happy with what we're getting from George Hill."
The Pacers jumped out to an early lead but allowed the Nets to get back into the game by halftime.
Indiana appeared out of sync in the first half, a problem all year that was compounded Saturday because of an extended layover since the team's last game on Tuesday, which was also against Brooklyn.
The Pacers forced just the Nets into just four turnovers in the first half and allowed them to make 50 percent (23-46) from the field.
A more focused approach was clearly evident after the break.
"This team's got a lot of fire power, the Brooklyn Nets, and we saw that in the first half, but our guys held them to 35 points in the second half and I was proud of that effort," Vogel said. "This team has a unique ability to figure a team out within the game and get stronger as the game goes on."
The Pacers built a big lead in the third quarter and gave extended minutes to forward Danny Granger, now in his fourth game back since returning from injury. Leaving Granger and other bench players on the court longer helped the Pacers reduce the minutes of George and Stephenson.
That might be an unnecessary luxury, considering Saturday was the Pacers only game in a seven-day stretch, but it was an advantageous convenience.
As the Nets attempted their comeback, they subbed in a small-ball lineup that included only one true post player, rookie Mason Plumlee.
Because the Pacers don't match teams that go small against them, Vogel said before the game, preferring their traditional lineup with a power forward and center.
That David West was on the perimeter defending guard-forward Alan Anderson.
West said he likes the challenge of guarding smaller players, which he works on in practice when the Pacers play 6-5 Orlando Johnson at power forward against him.
The tactic didn't work as the Nets still attempted only five 3-pointers in the fourth, matching their total for turnovers.
The Pacers are now 9-1 in games where two or more players score at least 20 points in a game this season and 8-1 in games they total 100 points.
George was 3-for-6 from 3-point range, which put him past Austin Croshere into seventh-place on the Pacers' total from made 3s (378).
Paul Pierce led the Nets in scoring with 18 points. Mirza Teletovic had 17 points and made 3-of-8 on 3s.
Indiana is off until Tuesday when it hosts Cleveland (10-18) in a New Year's Eve matinee at 3 p.m.