Short-Handed Sixers Beaten By Pacers 106-98
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Roy Hibbert had 27 points and 13 rebounds, Paul George added 19 points, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 106-98 on Saturday night.
Michael Carter-Williams scored 29 points and Evan Turner had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the short-handed 76ers. Spencer Hawes, the team's second-leading scorer, didn't dress because of a sore left knee and Tony Wroten (back) and Thaddeus Young (personal) didn't travel with the team, leaving the Sixers with just nine players in uniform.
Lance Stephenson added 18 points and David West had 17 points and 11 rebounds in Indiana's third straight win, while George Hill finished with 11 points. The Pacers (12-1) are 7-0 at home.
James Anderson scored 13 in the Sixers' fifth loss in six games and fourth straight road loss.
"It's tough to play a game when you find out at the last minute that three or four of their top guys are out," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. "You get some faces you're not used to.
"We grinded it out like we always do."
It didn't matter much in the first half, as the Sixers kept within seven points of the East's top team. The teams were tied 11 times in the first half and the lead changed 15 times, with Indiana able to build just a 56-52 halftime lead.
That was just the fourth time this season that Indiana led at halftime.
And the Sixers kept it close in the third quarter, even as both teams struggled to find the basket. Philadelphia shot just 7 of 24 from the field and Indiana missed seven straight shots at one point. The Pacers were 7 of 17 from the field in the period, but closed the quarter with a 9-2 run to take a seemingly safe 77-66 lead.
But the Sixers opened the fourth with a 19-4 run to take an 85-81 lead. Hibbert completed a three-point play to tie it at 86 with 6:18 to play, then rebounded Evan Turner's miss and George hit a 3-pointer at the other end to give Indiana a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
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