Pacers 104, Jazz 84
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers made sure not to start another losing streak.
After falling behind by five early, the Pacers woke up, took off and never looked back in their 104-84 victory over the Utah Jazz at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Wednesday.
The victory made up for Tuesday's loss at Milwaukee for the Pacers.
Pacers swingman Paul George, who was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week earlier this week, continued his strong play by finishing with 20 points, 11 rebounds and four rebounds in only 33 minutes. Point guard George Hill added 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Swingman Gerald Green had a breakout game, scoring 21 points off the bench in 23 minutes.
Power forward Derrick Favors led the Jazz with 16 points and nine rebounds. Utah is 1-1 on its current four-game road trip.
The Pacers got off to a slow start, falling behind 11-5 less than four minutes into the game.
Fast forward four minutes and they took off without having to ever feeling threatened again.
The Pacers took the lead for good -- 16-14 -- on two Hill free throws. The pushed their lead up to 11 points later in the quarter.
The Jazz only got as close as seven the rest of the way, before the Pacers went up by double digits -- 37-26 -- for good on a George fast break dunk.
The Pacers maintained their grip as one of the best defensive teams in the league by holding the Jazz to 37 percent shooting.
The final percentage is deceiving because Utah was able to improve its percentage during garbage time in the fourth quarter. The Jazz scored 33 points in the final quarter when Pacers coach Frank Vogel was resting most of his key rotation players.
They held the Jazz to below 30 percent from the field for nearly three quarters.
The Pacers held an opponent to single digits in a quarter for the second time this season when the Jazz only scored eight in the second quarter. The Pacers led 53-31 at halftime.
NOTES: There was an Indiana feel on the Jazz roster for Wednesday night's game. Gordon Hayward went to high school and college in the state. Point guards Jamaal Tinsley and Earl Watson spent time with the Pacers at different points in their careers. ... Pacers coach Frank Vogel said despite center Roy Hibbert's struggles this season, he will still use him over Ian Mahinmi at the end of games because Hibbert is the anchor of their defense and they can turn to other players for offense. ... Maybe it's because his younger brother is in the lineup or because he's just finding a rhythm, whatever the reason is, Tyler Hansbrough has finally started finding a groove offensively. He's 12-of-19 from the field since Ben Hansbrough became George Hill's backup at point guard. ... Pacers rookie center Miles Plumlee was recalled from the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants, the team's D-League affiliate, on Wednesday. He averaged 14.4 points and 10.4 rebounds in five games with the Mad Ants.
