Paul George was too much for the Pistons to handle.
One of the worst NBA road teams Indiana Pacers (18-18) were just trying to win on the road let alone pull away from the tight Eastern conference pack.With last night’s win, they have now beat their division rivals Detroit Pistons (16-21) at home twice this season, the first game was on Dec.17.They will play two more times this season in Indiana.
Behind Paul George’s 32 points on 10 of 17 shooting and 6 rebounds they secured a much-needed road win and are now 2 and a half games above their rival.
“We have a lot of firepower in our lineup, both our starters and our backups,” George said. “The way we have things now, with Monta (Ellis) in the second group, we’ve got the best of both worlds in both lineups.”
Monta Ellis scored 16 off the bench going 6-6.
“It’s huge to come in here and win for the second time this season,” Pacers guard Jeff Teague said. “Things are so crazy and so tight in the Eastern Conference that winning a game like this on the road is huge.
“Paul was the biggest part of it. He’s just a great, great player and we let him go.”
Myles Turner and Teague both scored 17, the Pacers blew a 15-point lead in the first half but they came back in the 4th quarter to win their third straight game.
Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 22 points. Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson each had a double-double with 20 points, Drummond with 14 rebounds and Jackson with 12 assists.
Detroit lost for the eighth time in 10 games, with two of the defeats coming at home to Indiana.Paul George is averaging 29 points in those two games.
“He’s one guy that we’ve never been able to stop in the last couple years,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Other guys have big games against us, but we slow them down at times. We never have an answer for Paul.”
Indiana hosts the Brooklyn Nets and Detroit hosts the Charlotte Hornets both on Thursday night.
