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Williams and Nets take out Pacers

Jan 14, 2013 - 5:23 AM Brooklyn, NY (Sports Network) - Deron Williams scored a team-best 22 points to go with nine assists and five rebounds as the Brooklyn Nets took care of the Indiana Pacers, 97-86, on Sunday at Barclays Center.

Joe Johnson shot 7-of-16 from the floor for 20 points and added five rebounds, while Brook Lopez netted 15 points and pulled down nine rebounds for the Nets, who won for the sixth consecutive time. Kris Humphries added 10 points and nine boards in 17-plus minutes off the bench in the victory.

"This was a big game for us, we had won five in a row, but most of them were against teams under .500," Williams said. "This was a good test for us, a good challenge against a good team. I'm glad we came ready and stepped up our game."

David West dropped in a game-high 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting, while Paul George scored 15 points to go with 12 rebounds and six steals for the Pacers, who saw their four-game winning streak come to an end.

"We couldn't close the game, especially in the last nine minutes, the way we wanted to," West said. "We had opportunities, but I thought we lost our composure and didn't execute down the stretch."

Gerald Green contributed 15 points and five boards for Indiana, while George Hill donated 13 points in a losing effort.

Brooklyn entered the fourth quarter trailing 75-69, and a hook shot by Ian Mahinmi gave the Pacers an eight-point advantage with less than two minutes gone in the fourth quarter.

The Nets took over from there, however.

Andray Blatche made a pair of free throws to start the home side on a 17-0 run, which finally came to an end after a technical free throw from Williams made the score 86-77 with 7:29 to play.

West made a pair from the line to cut the deficit to 86-81 with 6:13 left, but the Nets used a 9-2 flurry to extend the lead to 12 with 2:08 on the clock before holding on for the win.

The teams traded baskets early on, with a trey by Williams pulling the hosts within 12-11 with seven minutes to play in the opening frame, but the Pacers scored five quick points to open up a 17-11 margin with 5:58 left.

On Brooklyn's next trip down the floor, Williams connected on an 18-foot fadeaway jumper, igniting the Nets on a 16-4 run to end the quarter as they took a 27-21 lead heading into the second session.

C.J. Watson nailed a 16-footer with 6:44 to play before the break, putting the Nets ahead 37-30, but the Pacers answered with a 10-2 burst to snag a 40-39 edge with 4:19 to go in the half.

It remained a one-possession game for the rest of the stanza, and the Pacers took a 49-46 advantage into the locker room.

Leading 57-53 early in the third quarter, Indiana ripped off another 10-2 surge, capped by a pair of Green free throws, to widen their lead to 67-55 with 5:30 to play in the period.

Blatche split a pair from the line with under a minute to play in the stanza to slice the deficit to 73-68, but the Nets trailed 75-69 heading into the final quarter.

Game Notes

The Pacers had won 13 of the past 15 matchups between the teams ... George was back in the lineup after missing Saturday's game against the Charlotte Bobcats due to flu-like symptoms ... Brooklyn improved to 8-1 under interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo ... Brooklyn shot 40.7 percent from the floor and 25-of-31 from the free throw line ... The Nets turned 16 offensive rebounds into 16 second- chance points ... Indiana shot 42.2 percent from the field and 6-of-24 from three-point range.