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Hibbert, Pacers top Jazz to end skid

Nov 11, 2014 - 6:35 AM Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Roy Hibbert scored a season-high 29 points two days after leaving a game with an injured knee and the Indiana Pacers snapped a six-game losing streak with a 97-86 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.

Hibbert scored 11 of his 29 points in the first quarter after suffering a knee bruise in the first quarter of Saturday's game against Washington.

A.J. Price scored 22 points off the bench four days after the banged-up Pacers signed him to bolster their depleted backcourt.

Price, who played his first three NBA seasons with the Pacers from 2009-12, made two 3-pointers during a 13-2 run in the fourth quarter that turned a three-point deficit into an eight-point lead.

"He obviously gave us a big-time lift tonight," said Pacers Frank Vogel, who expects the team to re-sign Price when his 10-day contract is up as long as the team still needs bodies.

The Pacers never trailed by fewer than five points after the run and avoided what would have been their longest losing streak in almost five years.

Solomon Hill added 13 points and Lavoy Allen scored 12 with a game-high 15 rebounds off the bench.

Indianapolis native Gordon Hayward poured in 30 points for Utah. Enes Kanter had 18 points and Derrick Favors scored 13 in the loss.

"Got to credit them, they hit some tough shots, they battled," Hayward said.

Indiana won for the first time since its season opener against Philadelphia on Oct. 29. Each of its six straight losses came by 10 points or fewer.

Hibbert scored 11 points on 10 shots in the first quarter and the Pacers shot under 30 percent to trail 20-17 going into the second. They were much better over the next 12 minutes, hitting more than 52 percent of their shots and using a late 9-0 run to build a 47-41 lead at halftime.

Indiana had just two turnovers in the first half and Hibbert scored 17. The lead reached eight points on Hibbert's bucket to open the third quarter, but Hayward scored seven points in a 13-2 flurry. The Pacers led 72-69 going into the fourth.

Game Notes

The Pacers haven't lost seven in a row since an eight-game skid from Dec. 18-30, 2009 ... Indiana plays at Miami on Wednesday ... The Jazz are 1-1 on a five-game road trip that continues in Atlanta on Wednesday.