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Hill's buzzer-beater sends Pacers past Hornets

Nov 20, 2014 - 6:44 AM Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Solomon Hill's putback as time expired gave Indiana an 88-86 victory over Charlotte on Wednesday.

Luis Scola had finished off a three-point play with 1:28 to go that drew the Hornets even, Lance Stephenson and Marvin Williams both missed jumpers which would have given the visitors the lead once more.

Rodney Stuckey got the ball as time wound down and hit the rim, but Hill alertly tapped it home at the buzzer.

"I knew it had a chance. I tried to put a little soft touch on it," Hill said."

Roy Hibbert topped the scoring list with 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who have won two in a row and four of their last five. Scola added 15 while Stuckey and Donald Sloan totaled 11 each.

Al Jefferson's game-best 28 points wasn't enough for the Hornets, who have lost three in a row. Kemba Walker picked up 12 points and Stephenson had 10 in a losing cause.

"We lost the game in Portland because we weren't physical enough, and it happened again tonight," Hornets head coach Steve Clifford said of blocking out opponents under the boards. "We've got to have everybody ready. If we're not physical, we're not winning these games."

Jefferson had eight points and Brian Roberts netted seven as the Hornets led 28-20 after one quarter.

Charlotte led by as many as 15, 42-27, on a Jefferson jumper with 4:42 left before hafltime, but Indiana closed the gap to 49-33 on two from the line by Sloan.

Ian Mahinmi's tip with 1:36 left in the third capped a brief burst and gave the Pacers a 61-59 edge, but Jefferson's bucket inside of 10 seconds left sent the Hornets into the final period with a 66-65 advantage.

Stuckey's shot with less than five minutes played in the fourth ended a 12-5 opening run and provided a 77-71 lead for Indiana, before a Jason Maxiell make ended Charlotte's counter for a 79-79 contest.

Walker sank a shot from long distance with 2:15 remaining and the Hornets assumed an 86-83 edge.

"We have young guys playing more than they ever have. They'll make mistakes, but the young guys are growing and it showed tonight," said Pacers head coach Frank Vogel.

Game Notes

Indiana has won two of three from Charlotte last season and hadn't lost a season series against the franchise since 2007-08 ... Prior to the contest, Charlotte Hornets forward Jeff Taylor was suspended 24 games by the NBA on Wednesday after pleading guilty last month to a domestic violence charge in Michigan ... Taylor has already served 11 games of the suspension and will not be eligible to return until Charlotte's Dec. 17 game against Phoenix.