George Hill of the Indiana Pacers shoots the ball during their game against the Portland Trailblazers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana yesterday.
INDIANAPOLIS: George Hill scored a career-high 37 points to lift the Indiana Pacers over Portland 118-113 in overtime yesterday, as the NBA’s top defencive team beat its top-scoring squad.
Hill added nine rebounds and eight assists while David West scored 30 points on 13-of-16 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who improved the NBA’s best record to 39-10 and the league’s top home mark to 24-2.
Portland led 85-77 late in the fourth quarter before the Pacers rallied to take the lead, then again to force overtime.
“Knowing that we fought back in this game, being down, we said we’re in it for a reason and we have to take advantage of our opportunities,” Hill said. “Once we got (into overtime), we knew a couple of stops would change the complexion of the game.”
Indiana’s two NBA All-Star Game players struggled with Paul George having 17 points and seven assists while shooting only 5-of-23 from the field, and Roy Hibbert managing only four points.
The Pacers also were without guard Lance Stephenson due to a lower back injury that he suffered in an 89-85 win over Atlanta on Tuesday. Stephenson averages 14.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
“No pressure at all,” Hill said of his big night when others were absent or struggling. “Every time we have got a man down we have another man stepping up. That’s what this team is built on.”
Damian Lillard scored 38 points and passed off 11 assists to lead Portland while LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points and nine rebounds in a losing cause.
Tobias Harris slammed down a two-handed dunk as time expired to give the Orlando Magic a 103-102 NBA triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder fell to 40-12, still the second-best record in the NBA, while the Magic remained the second-worst team in the league at 15-37. Steve Nash celebrated his 40th birthday by scoring 19 points as the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 112-98 for their second straight victory.
Guard Dion Waiters scored 24 points and point guard Kyrie Irving had 23 points and matched his career-high 12 assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a six-game losing streak with a 115-113 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Forward C J Miles scored 18 points for the Cavaliers (17-33), who fended off a Washington rally in the final minutes.
The victory came one day after the Cavaliers fired general manager Chris Grant.
Guard John Wall had 12 of his 32 points in the final 4:22 of the fourth quarter for the Wizards (24-25).AFP
