INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George scored 25 points and the Indiana Pacers pulled away during the final 7:43 on Tuesday night for a 103-98 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Two George Hill free throws with 7:43 to play began a 6-0 Pacers run and the Celtics (39-28) never led again. It was only the fourth time in the past 30 games that Boston was held below 100 points.
Indiana (36-31) won the four-game season series with Boston 3-1.
Monta Ellis added 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Pacers. Jordan Hill came off the bench for 15 points and Ian Mahinmi finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
The Pacers shot 46.4 percent from the field (39 of 84) and held Boston to 38.3 percent (36 of 94), including 8 of 32 from 3-point range.
Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 21 points, Jonas Jerebko had 17 and Jared Sullinger added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Marcus Smart scored 12 points.
The Celtics took a 52-51 lead on Thomas’ 3-pointer with 7:12 left in the third quarter. Thomas scored 16 points in the quarter, but an Ellis runner in the lane with 0.5 of a second left in the third gave Indiana a 71-70 advantage with 12 minutes remaining.
Led by Mahinmi’s nine points, the Pacers grabbed a 43-39 halftime lead, outscoring the Celtics 23-19 during the second quarter.
Boston, which got 11 from Jerebko and nine from Smart, shot only 34.8 percent from the field (16 of 46) in the first half but outrebounded Indiana 26-24.
The Pacers trailed 20-13 in the first quarter but led 43-33 in the second quarter before the Celtics scored the final six points to pull to within four at intermission.
NOTES: The Celtics were without No. 3 scorer Jae Crowder (14.4 points), who has a right ankle sprain. … F/C Kelly Olynyk (10.1) is playing with a right shoulder sprain. … Pacers G Ty Lawson is recovering from a sprained left foot and G/F C.J. Miles has an upper respiratory infection. … Boston came in having won seven of its past 10 games. … Indiana was 5-5 in its last 10 before facing Boston. … Pacers F/G Paul George (23.3) was ranked 10th in NBA scoring and fourth in made 3-pointers (179). … The game against the Celtics begins a sequence in which the Pacers play eight of nine in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. … The Celtics lead the NBA in opponents’ turnovers per game (16.7) and are second in opponents’ 3-point field goal percentage (32.4) and second in steals per game (9.6). … Indiana is fourth in steals per game (9.0) and sixth in opponents’ turnovers per game (15.9) … The Pacers won two of the first three meetings against the Celtics.
Magic 116, Nuggets 110
ORLANDO, Fla. — Guard Evan Fournier matched his career high with 30 points Tuesday night, leading the Orlando Magic to a 116-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets at the Amway Center.
Reserve center Jason Smith scored a season-high 25 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter to hold off a late charge by the Nuggets. Victor Oladipo had 23 points and six assists. Aaron Gordon scored 16 points. Brandon Jenning, in his first Magic start, had 12 points and a game-high 11 assists.
The Magic (29-37) won for just the second time in six games. The Nuggets (28-40) dropped their second consecutive game.
The Nuggets were led by Gary Harris with 18 points. Reserve Will Barton had 15 points. Emmanuel Mudiay and Nikola Jokic each scored 14 points. Reserves Joffrey Lauvergne and D.J. Augustin each had 12 points. Darrell Arthur scored 13 points.
The Nuggets never got closer than four points in the last nine minutes, although they stayed close until the end.
Fournier was called for a technical foul midway in the fourth after shoving Jokic in the chest after play had stopped. Jokic had just fouled Fournier.
The Magic led, 85-79, going into the final period, but the Nuggets had the momentum after cutting into the 18-point deficit with a late rally that included eight points from Augustin.
Augustin opened the fourth by hitting three free throws and cut the deficit to 85-82. But that was as close as the Nuggets would come.
The Magic led 61-46 at intermission, capitalizing on their hot-shooting start. Fournier had 18 points and hit seven of nine shots in the first half. Gordon made six of his seven shots for 14 points. Gordon scored nine points in the first four minutes.
The Magic shot 61.4 percent (27 of 44) in the first two periods, taking a quick lead they never lost. They closed the first half on a 13-2 run.
The Nuggets, who lost in Miami on Monday, turned to their reserves early. Barton had 10 points in 17 first-half minutes. The Magic were flawless early, finally committing their first turnover midway through the second period.