Pacers 100 - 91 Rockets
Final
  for this game

Hibbert leads Pacers past Rockets

Mar 28, 2013 - 4:01 AM Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Roy Hibbert poured in a game-high 28 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 100-91 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

Lance Stephenson scored a season-high 21 points, while Paul George and Tyler Hansbrough added 16 points apiece for the Pacers, winners in five of their last six games.

James Harden scored 22 points to pace Houston, but was just 6-for-24 from the field. Greg Smith added 18 points and 19 rebounds and Chandler Parsons chipped in 11 points for the Rockets, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.

"We didn't have any rhythm to our offense whatsoever, and the big thing was, when we did kind of get in the paint, they challenged our shots and we bobbled some passes. The Pacers were just corralling everything," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said.

Indiana jumped out to a 35-19 lead after the first quarter. Hibbert led all Pacers scorers with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting. The team shot 60.9 percent in the frame, and scored eight points off four Houston turnovers.

The lead grew to 19 points in the second, but the Rockets opened up a 20-7 run to pull within 55-49 with just under 2 1/2 minutes left, and went into the break trailing by nine. Houston went 8-for-11 from the field on the run.

Jeremy Lin's three-point play pulled the Rockets within four, 68-64, with just under seven minutes left in the third, but the Pacers countered with a 12-3 swing to go up 80-67 at the 3:44 mark. Indiana led 82-71 entering the final frame.

The Rockets used an 8-2 swing to reduce the deficit to 84-79, but the Pacers scored six unanswered points to take a double-digit lead near the midway point. The Pacers' edge grew to 13, and the Rockets couldn't get closer than eight the rest of the way.

"Our defense was sensational, led by Paul George's matchup on Harden," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Roy Hibbert's rim protection was off the charts. He was only listed for three blocks, but he changed about 20 other plays that came to the rim."

Game Notes

Houston, which averaged nearly 11 3-pointers per game, went just 6-for-21 from behind the arc ... Pacers forward David West missed his second consecutive game because of a lower back injury. He is considered day-to-day ... Houston outscored Indiana 20-10 in second-chance points ... The Pacers never trailed in the game.






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