By BRIAN MAHONEY
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Paul George and the Pacers were down and just about out, seconds away from consecutive losses.
Once a late foul call gave him a chance to tie it, he wasn’t letting Indiana lose it in overtime.
“I wanted to attack,” he said.
George made three throws to tie it with 5.2 seconds left in regulation, then scored nine of his season-high 35 points in the extra period as Indiana pulled out a 103-96 victory Wednesday night over the New York Knicks, who dropped their sixth straight at home.
New York scored the first 13 points, but this settled into a playoff-type game between teams that met in the postseason last May. And it again went to the Pacers, who bounced back from their first loss after a franchise-record 9-0 start.
“Heck of a win for our guys,” Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. “A grind-it-out kind of game. That’s sometimes when we’re at our best. The offense wasn’t really flowing but our defense really buckled down.”
George Hill added 23 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who beat the Knicks in six games in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals. Just as in the clincher of that series, Roy Hibbert had a pivotal block on Carmelo Anthony’s drive to the basket.
Anthony had 30 points and a season-high 18 rebounds for the Knicks, who looked completely deflated after they couldn’t score following the free throws George made when Iman Shumpert was called for fouling him.
George then put away the Knicks in overtime, keeping them winless at home since beating Milwaukee on Oct. 30 in their season opener.
“I thought we had the game won,” Anthony said. “And in overtime, I don’t know, they just walked away with it.”
J.R. Smith had 21 points, and Beno Udrih scored a season-high 19 for the Knicks, including a go-ahead shot with 1:21 left in regulation when he appeared to just throw it at the rim when Anthony couldn’t get free. The Knicks protected the lead through a couple of missed 3-pointers by Hill, and Anthony made two free throws for an 89-86 lead with 9.2 seconds left.
Shumpert was then called for the foul on George, with replays showing what appeared to be perhaps just a slight touch to George’s arm. The All-Star sank the free throws, and Anthony missed on the other end, and Smith was off on a tip attempt.
“It don’t really matter what I think or what happened,” Shumpert said. “They called the foul.”
The stunned Knicks walked back to the bench as if they had just lost — and pretty soon, they had.
George followed Hibbert’s block with a 3-pointer, and answered Anthony’s basket with four straight points to put the Pacers in control.
Last season’s winner of the Most Improved Player award said he would have deferred in similar situations in the past.
“I would have looked to have someone else to be in that position or that role,” George said. “This year, this time around I want to be more aggressive.”
The Knicks were again without injured starters Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton. Amare Stoudemire also didn’t play on the second night of the back-to-back.
They now go on a four-game road trip, perhaps what they need with their inability to win on their home floor.
George was two shy of his career high, bouncing back well from a season-low 12 points on 3-for-14 shooting in a 110-94 loss at Chicago that ended Indiana’s perfect start.
The Knicks jumped to a 13-0 lead while Indiana missed its first seven shots. The Pacers were only 5 for 20 in the first quarter, but one of the makes was Hibbert’s ugly, banked 3-pointer that beat the buzzer and cut it to 19-14.
New York was ahead 42-37 at the half and never trailed by more than four until overtime.
The teams were evenly matched last season, only minutes from heading to a Game 7 until Hibbert’s sensational, momentum-shifting block on Anthony’s dunk attempt late in Game 6. Indiana went on to force Miami to seven games in the East finals and is intent on doing better this season.
As for the Knicks, they are 3-8, unable to match their strong start last season, certainly not able to keep pace with Indiana’s blistering start.
This was a much better performance from the Knicks, who had been critical of their own effort and were coming off a loss in Detroit a night earlier, but not good enough.
HEAT 20. MAGIC 92
ORLANDO, Fla. — LeBron James had 21 points and seven assists, Chris Bosh scored 18 and the Miami Heat beat the Orlando Magic 120-92 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight victory.
James Jones scored 14 of his 17 points in the third quarter, when the Heat turned what was a five-point game into a runaway.
All five Miami starters sat out the fourth quarter for the second straight night, and Dwyane Wade sat out the whole way once again to give his knees more rest.
Michael Beasley scored 14 points and Chris Andersen added 10 for the Heat, who opened the game on a 16-0 run, lost the lead briefly in the second quarter, then dominated after halftime.
Arron Afflalo scored 20 of his 30 points in the first half for Orlando and went 7 of 9 from 3-point range. Victor Oladipo added 20 points but had eight turnovers, giving him 17 in his past two games.
MAVERICKS 123, ROCKETS 120
DALLAS — Monta Ellis had a season-high 37 points and assisted on the go-ahead basket for Dallas to spoil Dwight Howard’s best offensive night for Houston.
Dallas was down one when Ellis drove and zipped a pass to Shawn Marion in the corner for the go-ahead 3-pointer with 47 seconds left.
Houston’s James Harden had a chance to tie it with 9 seconds left but missed the second of two free throws. Jose Calderon made two free throws after a Houston foul, and Harden shot an airball on a 3-point try in the final seconds.
Howard made his first 11 shots and scored a season-high 33 points.
Dirk Nowitzki finished with a season-high 35, including 14 in the fourth, and passed Reggie Miller for 15th on the NBA scoring list. Nowitzki has 25,298 points, 18 ahead of Miller.
The Rockets led by 18 late in the third quarter before the Mavericks rallied in the fourth by shooting 74 percent and outscoring Houston 36-19.
TRAIL BLAZERS 91, BUCKS 82
MILWAUKEE — LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points, Damian Lillard added 19 and Portland beat Milwaukee for its eighth straight win.
Wesley Matthews had 15 points, all in the first half, to help Portland complete a sweep of a four-game Eastern Conference road trip. The Trail Blazers have won 10 of 12 to start the season.
Luke Ridnour scored 13 points to lead the Bucks, who lost their sixth in a row.
Portland held the lead throughout the second half but the Blazers had difficulty pulling away from the struggling Bucks. Lillard had a breakaway dunk and a 3-pointer to put Portland up 89-78, and the Bucks got no closer than seven again.
SPURS 104, CELTICS 93
SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker scored 19 points and San Antonio beat Boston to win its eighth straight overall and remain undefeated at home.
Kawhi Leonard had 16 points and Tim Duncan rebounded from a poor outing in San Antonio’s previous home game to score 13 points. Boris Diaw had 12 points, Tiago Splitter added 11 points and 10 rebounds and Danny Green 11 points for the Spurs (10-1).
Avery Bradley, Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger each had 19 points for Boston, which has lost five straight.
RAPTORS 108, 76ERS 98
PHILADELPHIA — DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points and Rudy Gay had 18 to help Toronto beat Philadelphia.
In a down year so far in the Atlantic Division, the Raptors (5-7) wrested away first place from the Sixers (5-8).
DeRozan and Gay dominated the Sixers in the second half to turn this one into a rout. Gay hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 15 points in the third quarter, and DeRozan scored 30 points through the first three quarters to build a 16-point lead.
Spencer Hawes hit his first nine shots and finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers.
Philadelphia’s fourth straight loss came on the heels of an 0-3 road trip.
WIZARDS 98, CAVALIERS 91
CLEVELAND — Bradley Beal scored 26 points and Nene added 24 to lead Washington over Cleveland.
John Wall and Martell Webster both scored 15 points for Washington, which took control early and held off Cleveland’s late charge.
The Wizards led by double figures midway through the first quarter, were ahead 56-38 at halftime, and pushed the margin to 27 points in the third quarter.
Cleveland trailed 86-71 midway through the fourth before Kyrie Irving scored 11 straight points to cut the deficit to four with 2:56 remaining.
Marcin Gortat’s two free throws with 1:16 left extended the lead to 92-86, and Beal added two free throws with 32.8 seconds remaining to put the game away.
Irving scored 28 points, including 18 in the final period, to lead Cleveland, which has dropped four of five.
BOBCATS 95, NETS 91
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kemba Walker scored a season-high 31 points and Charlotte handed turnover-prone Brooklyn its sixth loss in the past seven games.
Walker was 12 of 20 from the field and knocked down four 3-pointers as the Bobcats (6-6) snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Nets. Walker hit two free throws with 6.1 seconds left to seal the win.
The Bobcats outscored the Nets 52-34 in the paint.
With owner Michael Jordan sitting on the end of the bench, the Bobcats started the second half with a 15-1 run to take control of the game.
Andray Blatche led the Nets with a season-high 25 points. Brooklyn had 18 turnovers.
Nets guard Deron Williams reinjured his left ankle during the second quarter and did not return.
HAWKS 93, PISTONS 85
ATLANTA — Paul Millsap, signed in the offseason to replace Josh Smith, had 19 points to steal the spotlight in Smith’s return to Atlanta with Detroit.
Smith, who signed with the Pistons after nine seasons with the Hawks, had 11 points while shooting 5 of 15 from the field.
The Hawks pulled away after leading 66-64 through three quarters. Jeff Teague scored 18 points and DeMarre Carroll had 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks was ejected with 2:36 remaining after complaining to an official during a timeout. Brandon Jennings led Detroit with 21 points.
Millsap started after missing the Hawks’ loss at Miami on Tuesday night with a sore right elbow.
CLIPPERS 102, TIMBERWOLVES 98
MINNEAPOLIS — Blake Griffin had 20 points and 10 rebounds while dominating his matchup with Kevin Love, and Chris Paul scored 16 in the fourth quarter to lead Los Angeles past Minnesota.
Paul finished with 20 points and 11 assists for his 12th straight double-double to open the season, breaking Magic Johnson’s previous record of 11 straight in 1990-91. Paul scored 12 straight points for the Clippers in the final 3:41 to hold off another late charge from the Timberwolves.
Kevin Martin had 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Nikola Pekovic had 20 points and seven rebounds for Minnesota. Love managed just 10 points on 2-for-14 shooting to go with 12 rebounds.
Jamal Crawford scored 16 points for the Clippers, who made 12 of 24 3-pointers and held the Wolves to 37.8 percent shooting.
GRIZZLIES 88, WARRIORS 81, OT
OAKLAND, Calif. — Mike Conley shook off a rough shooting night to make a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:36 left in overtime, and Memphis held on to beat Golden State.
Tayshaun Prince added a pair of long jumpers over the final 56 seconds, including an 18-footer with 24.8 seconds remaining to help seal the Grizzlies’ 11th consecutive win over the Warriors.
Conley finished with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists while Zach Randolph had 21 points and 12 rebounds. The win completed a four-game West Coast sweep for Memphis.
Andrew Bogut had 12 points and 14 rebounds for Golden State, which played without Stephen Curry (concussion).
PELICANS 105, JAZZ 98
NEW ORLEANS — Anthony Davis had 22 points, nine rebounds and eight blocks to lift New Orleans over struggling Utah for its second consecutive victory.
Ryan Anderson added 14 of his 19 points in the second half to help the Pelicans pull away in the fourth quarter after the Jazz, who beat New Orleans for their only win of the season last week, had rallied to take a third-quarter lead.
Jure Holiday scored 14, Tyreke Evans 13 and Jason Smith 11 for New Orleans.
First-round draft choice Trey Burke made his NBA debut for Utah after missing the first 12 games because of surgery on his right index finger. The ninth overall pick last summer scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting in only 12 minutes.
Enes Kanter led Utah with 19 points, but the Jazz (1-12) dropped their fourth straight. Gordon Hayward shot 1 for 17 and finished with six points.
KINGS 113, SUNS 106
PHOENIX — DeMarcus Cousins overcame a sore shoulder to score 19 points and grab 12 rebounds, leading Sacramento past Phoenix for its first road win of the season.
The Kings took control in the third quarter, turning a five-point halftime lead into a 14-point advantage. They finished off a back-to-back sweep after beating Phoenix at home on Tuesday night.
The Suns lost their fourth straight game.
Isaiah Thomas came off the bench to score 23 points.
Point guard Goran Dragic scored the first 11 points for the Suns. Dragic shot 10 of 20 and ended up with 31 points. Gerald Green went 6 for 8 on 3-pointers and tied a season high with 23 points.
