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George, Pacers push past Pistons

Apr 24, 2012 - 2:29 AM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - With most of Indiana's usual starters resting, Paul George scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Pacers past the Detroit Pistons, 103-97, on Monday.

David West contributed 20 points and five Pacers finished in double figures as they won their eighth in nine tries.

"It was a great team win. A lot of guys contributed, we got guys rest," said Pacers head coach Frank Vogel.

Greg Monroe paced the Pistons with 18 points and 12 boards and Brandon Knight donated 16 in defeat.

Indiana is playoff-bound for the second consecutive year and is locked into the third position in the Eastern Conference, while Detroit had already been eliminated from postseason contention.

The Pacers entered the fourth quarter up one and the teams battled back-and- forth for several minutes until, with the game tied at 84-84, Indiana rolled off a 7-0 run to take the lead for good. George capped off the effort with a resounding dunk.

Trailing 97-96 a bit later, Monroe had an opportunity to take back the lead, but he missed both attempts at the line.

Tyler Hansbrough somehow managed to come down with West's miss on the other end while surrounded by three Pistons and was fouled. He hit both from the stripe.

Monroe was again fouled on the next possession and made the first but missed the second. George came down with the board and converted both from the line to seal the contest.

"It was an up-and-down game. We had a lot of opportunities that we didn't capitalize on, and we came up a little bit short," Knight said.

Indiana shot almost 10 percent worse from the field in the first half, but picked up five more rebounds and converted five more attempts from the free- throw line en route to a 54-52 halftime edge.

Game Notes

George Hill tweaked his left shoulder Saturday against Philadelphia and sat tonight...Danny Granger did not play to rest a sore knee...Roy Hibbert sat for undisclosed reasons...Indiana will host fellow playoff-bound Chicago in its regular-season finale on Wednesday. Detroit hosts Philadelphia in its season finale on Thursday.