Paul George scored 23 points, reserve Jordan Hill had 14 points and 11 rebounds and the Indiana Pacers beat the Brooklyn Nets 104-97 on Friday night.
Rodney Stuckey added 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Pacers (16-9), who won their third consecutive game.
The Pacers have won four of their last five games after dropping three in a row. Their 16th victory last season did not come until two weeks before the All-Star break.
George scored seven points in the final six minutes. Hill had 10 points in the final quarter, including an emphatic dunk with 2:36 left that put the game out of reach.
Jarrett Jack had his second-best offensive game of the season, scoring 26 points for Brooklyn in its first road game since Nov. 28.
Thaddeus Young had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Nets. Brook Lopez scored 18 points and Andrea Bargnani had 12 in his fifth game back from injury.
Indiana outscored Brooklyn 21-14 down the stretch after it was tied at 83 thanks in large part to Hill's timely rebounds and baskets. The Pacers' lead got to 104-92 with 90 seconds left before Jack and Joe Johnson combined for 5 points in a last-ditch comeback effort.
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Nets: The Nets fell to 1-12 on the road this season and 3-9 overall in December. . Young's team-high 13th double-double gave him 12 in his last 17 games. Only LeBron James has played more minutes than Johnson since the start of the 2003-04 season
Pacers: George passed Jeff Foster for ninth in franchise history with his 508th career steal. . Point guard Monta Ellis was listed as questionable with a sore right knee but started and played 34 minutes for the Pacers. . Indiana is 5-0 this season when Hill has a double-double.
UP NEXT
Nets: Host Minnesota on Sunday.
Pacers: Visit Memphis on Saturday.
