Pacers 91, Raptors 84
INDIANAPOLIS -- Forward Paul George scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Toronto Raptors 91-84 on Friday night to remain the NBA's only unbeaten team.
George also had eight rebounds and six assists for the Pacers (6-0).
Pacers center Roy Hibbert had 20 points and seven rebounds and guard George Hill, who missed the previous three games with soreness in his left hip, finished with 14 points.
Forward Rudy Gay led the Raptors with 30 points. Forward Amir Johnson had 12 points and 10 rebounds and guard Kyle Lowry added 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Raptors (2-4), who lost their third straight.
Toronto scored 32 points in the first quarter and 52 the rest of the game. The Raptors made just 19 of 58 field goals after the opening period.
Toronto's largest lead was 12 points in the second quarter. The Pacers whittled away at their deficit, and Hibbert's jumper from near the free-throw line trimmed the Raptors' lead to 46-44 at halftime.
Gay, who hadn't scored more than 20 points in a game all season, had 22 at halftime while being guarded primarily by George.
Indiana guard Lance Stephenson, who had been off to a strong start this season, left the game in the first half with a sore left knee but returned to start the second half.
Indiana opened the second half on a 10-0 run. A 3-pointer by George caused Toronto to call a timeout just three minutes into the second half with Indiana leading 54-46. Gay made two free throws with 8:43 left in the third quarter for Toronto's first points.
George made a 3-pointer over Landry Fields as time expired in the third quarter to push Indiana's lead to 72-59. He scored 17 points in the third quarter to help Indiana outscore the Raptors 28-13 in the period.
Gay, who was unstoppable in the first half, was held to two points on 0-for-4 shooting in the third quarter. Toronto made just 5 of 18 shots in the period.
The Pacers extended their lead to 78-62 on a jumper by forward Luis Scola early in the fourth, and they led by at least six points the rest of the way.
NOTES: Raptors F Tyler Hansbrough and G D.J. Augustin played for the Pacers last season. Hansbrough was booed when he entered the game late in the first quarter. ... Pacers F Paul George entered the game ranked fourth in the NBA at 25.8 points per game. ... Pacers C Roy Hibbert blocked at least five shots in four of his first five games. ... Indiana was leading the NBA in scoring defense (84.4) and second in point differential (11.0). ... The Pacers and Raptors split their series 2-2 last season. ... The Raptors led 32-22 at the end of the first quarter. The 32 points were the most the Pacers had surrendered in a quarter this season. ... The Raptors shot 57 percent from the field in the first quarter and the Pacers shot 50 percent.
