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George leads Pacers over Suns

Mar 31, 2013 - 5:42 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Paul George scored 25 points and the Indiana Pacers held off the Phoenix Suns, 112-104, on Saturday.

Roy Hibbert added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who have won four in a row and lead the Bulls by 6 1/2 games for first place in the Central Division.

Lance Stephenson had 16 points, George Hill donated 15 points and David West recorded 14 points and seven boards for the Pacers, who sit second in the Eastern Conference.

"Sometimes you just have to win. It's not always going to be a 25 point road win. Any win on the road is a good win. I'm happy to get out of here with a win," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said.

Goran Dragic ended with 21 points and nine assists for the Suns, who have dropped six straight. Markieff Morris and Jermaine O'Neal finished with 18 and 13 points, respectively.

"Like I have said before there are no moral victories, but when you are traveling down the road we are traveling you have to get small victories out of tough times," Suns coach Lindsey Hunter said. "I think tonight we got a lot of small victories. That is a championship-caliber team over there I would say and I think we fought them toe to toe right up until the end."

Trailing by four, 15-11, with 6:51 left in the first quarter, the Pacers went on a 15-2 run. George and Hibbert scored eight and seven points, respectively, during the surge to give Indiana a 26-17 margin with 1:48 remaining.

The Pacers took a 27-21 lead into the second stanza. Indiana extended its margin to nine, 34-25, on Stephenson's 3-pointer with 8:18 left until half. The visitors led for the rest of the half and took a 57-49 edge into the locker room.

The Suns cut the gap to one in the early stages of the third frame, but the Pacers used an 18-8 run to take control. D.J. Augustin tallied the final four points of the surge to give Indiana an 82-71 margin with 2:22 to go. It was an 86-76 game heading to the fourth.

Phoenix used a 7-0 spurt early in the fourth to cut the gap to three, 88-85. The Pacers, however, responded with seven straight points of their own to make it a 95-85 contest.

The Suns made a late run and got within one, 102-101, on O'Neal's three-point play with 3:10 to play.

West made two free throws at the other end to spark a 10-3 Indiana run to end the game.

Game Notes

The Pacers went 2-0 against the Suns this season ... Indiana guard Gerald Green (upper respiratory infection) missed the game ... Wesley Johnson and P.J. Tucker had 11 points apiece for the Suns ... The Pacers went 34-of-46 from the foul line.