West, George helps Pacers end Atlanta skid
ATLANTA -- David West scored 22 points, Paul George added 18 and the NBA-leading Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks 89-85 on Tuesday night.
The Pacers snapped a 12-game regular-season losing streak in Atlanta while improving the league's best record to 38-10.
Atlanta failed to place a starter in double figures. It had won two straight and five of seven.
Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver had nine points apiece for the Hawks, but All-Star forward Paul Millsap went 2 for 11 from the field and finished with seven points.
Teague made a 3-pointer to give Atlanta a 41-35 lead with 1:06 left in the second quarter, but the Hawks were outscored 38-16 over the next 17 minutes.
Cartier Martin's 3 cut Indiana's lead to 86-84 with 14.9 seconds left. C.J. Watson and Danny Granger then combined for three free throws to help the Pacers hold on for the win.
Elton Brand, a 14-year veteran, had 12 points and was the only Hawk to score in double figures before Mike Scott scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.
The Pacers' most recent win in Atlanta came last May in the clinching Game 6 of their first-round playoff series. But they had not won in the regular season at Philips Arena since Dec. 22, 2006.
Ian Mahinmi gave Indiana its biggest lead of the game with a tip-in that made it 73-57 with 8:10 left to go.
Pacers guard Lance Stephenson hit the floor hard on a layup at the 7:56 mark of the third, falling over Millsap in the lane and landing on his left shoulder and hip. Stephenson then converted the three-point play to make it 55-47, but he sat out the entire fourth quarter.
George stole the ball from rookie point guard Dennis Schroder late in the fourth and scored a fast-break layup to make it 82-74.
NOTES: Indiana, the NBA's best defensive team, improved to 23-0 when holding opponents under 90 points. ... The Pacers are 10-3 since losing 97-87 in Atlanta on Jan. 8. ... Korver extended his NBA record to 116 consecutive games with a 3-pointer. Korver began his streak last season in Atlanta's second game - a win at Oklahoma City.
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