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Pacers complete comeback over Hornets

Feb 9, 2015 - 2:29 AM Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - George Hill's layup with 4.9 seconds left helped the Indiana Pacers complete a remarkable comeback for a 103-102 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night.

Hill had the ball in his hands in the closing seconds and some miscommunication between Cody Zeller and Brian Roberts led to the winning basket. Zeller did a fine job of picking up the screen from the top of the key as Hill drove the baseline, but he did not finish the play to leave Hill an open look.

Hill was left alone near the left block because Zeller held up to look for his man and Roberts appeared to trail the play, thinking Zeller would pick up Hill. The play ended with Hill converting the open floater, and Roberts missed a desperation heave from just inside midcourt as time expired.

Indiana erased a 21-point deficit in the third quarter to get a third straight win.

"It's huge," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said of the win. "We're trying to turn our season around... We've talked all along like it's gonna turn for us."

C.J. Watson led the Pacers with 22 points, while David West and Rodney Stuckey each had 15 points in the win. Luis Scola also scored 15 points to go along with 14 rebounds for Indiana.

Al Jefferson supplied 30 points with 13 rebounds and Roberts tallied 19 points for the Hornets, who have dropped two straight.

Watson followed a three-point play from Stuckey with a triple as the Pacers embarked on a 16-3 run that helped them close within 83-75 after three quarters.

"We came out to start the third quarter with nothing," said Hornets coach Steve Clifford. "We regrouped and rebuilt the lead, then the last four or five minutes of the third was probably the worst basketball we've played all year."

Indiana went on a 6-0 run to begin the fourth quarter that cut its deficit to 83-81. Watson then converted a floater minutes later to even the score at 89.

Gary Neal buried a 3-pointer to help Charlotte retake the lead that was part of a 7-2 run. The Hornets maintained their edge until Watson hit a 3 to cut the deficit to one with under a minute left before West pushed the Pacers ahead, 100-99, on a pair of free throws.

Gerald Henderson missed a runner coming out of a timeout, Scola grabbed the rebound and proceeded to knock down 1-of-2 from the line with 23.9 seconds on the clock.

Marvin Williams then converted a contested 3-pointer just over the outstretched arms of Scola on the following possession to give Charlotte a one-point lead.

With the game tied in the early going, Roberts canned a pair of 3-pointers just past the midway point of the first quarter that started a 15-0 run for the Hornets. Watson then hit a 3 to quell the surge, which ended a scoring drought of 4:51 for Indiana. Charlotte brought a 32-20 lead into the second quarter.

The Pacers went through another cold spell in the second as the Hornets built the lead to 17 points, their largest of the first half. Indiana went without a field goal, scoring just three points from the line, for 5:07 in the second. Charlotte led 56-39 at the break.

Hill opened the second half with a 3 as the Pacers scored the first seven points of the third, and they later cut the deficit to nine after a West layup.

The Hornets regained another comfortable advantage when Roberts capped an 11-0 run later on to push the margin to 76-55, but Indiana surged back into the contest after that.

Game Notes

Indiana has won 16 of its last 19 in the series ... Charlotte shot 46.8 percent from the floor, while the Pacers made 44 percent of their shots ... Hill finished with 11 points ... The Hornets went 8-of-14 from beyond the arc ... There were eight ties and four lead changes.