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Pacers hang on to beat Jazz

Feb 8, 2012 - 4:04 AM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Darren Collison scored a season-high 25 points and added four rebounds as the Indiana Pacers held off the Utah Jazz, 104-99, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.

Utah erased a 21-point third quarter deficit, but the Pacers managed to hold on.

Roy Hibbert added a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Danny Granger scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Pacers, who improved to 16-0 this season when scoring 90 or more points.

"We moved the ball well, made passes and got other people open. Danny came through in big fashion in the fourth quarter. He picked us up when we really needed it," said Hibbert.

Paul Millsap had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds and Al Jefferson added 16 points for the Jazz, who lost their fourth straight game away from EnergySolutions Arena and fell to 2-7 on the road.

Indiana came out firing in the second half, pushing its lead to 21 points with 8:04 to play in the third quarter. Utah made its move immediately afterward, though, rolling off a 17-4 run to cut the deficit to eight.

"We just started playing," said Millsap of the third quarter comeback. "In the first half we didn't have very good energy. We just weren't in sync in the first half, and against a good team like the Pacers you can't do that."

Utah took its first lead since the first quarter at 85-84 with 7:35 remaining in the fourth, and the teams traded the lead nine more times before a Paul George trey put the Pacers up for good with 3:03 remaining.

Earlier, the teams traded baskets through a fast-paced first quarter, but the Pacers pulled away slightly in the last three minutes on the back of a 13-5 run to lead 27-23 after one.

Indiana utilized that momentum to its advantage in the second quarter, eventually building a 13-point lead with 43 seconds left in the half before settling on a 57-46 halftime edge.

Game Notes

Pacers guard Lance Stephenson left the game in the second quarter with a lower back contusion...It was the only meeting between these teams this season. The Jazz won both meetings in 2010-11 have won nine of the last 11 in the series...The Pacers scored 100 or more points for the fifth time this season, and for the fourth time in six games.