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Pacers bounce back with win over Jazz

Dec 5, 2013 - 5:21 AM Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Paul George led a balanced Indiana scoring attack with 19 points as the Pacers surged past the Utah Jazz, 95-86, Wednesday at EnergySolutions Arena.

Lance Stephenson scored 15 points, Roy Hibbert registered 13 points and nine rebounds and Luis Scola added 14 points off the bench for the Pacers, who bounced back from Tuesday's 106-102 setback in Portland.

"We're a balanced attack," Indiana head coach Frank Vogel said of his squad. "Everybody's a threat at all times."

David West and George Hill supplied 10 points apiece for Indiana, which had dropped its last six trips to Salt Lake City.

Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter each registered double-doubles for the Jazz, who had won two straight. Favors scored 22 points and grabbed 13 boards, while Kanter tallied 20 points and 10 rebounds.

"No body likes to lose, but at the same time, they're one of the best teams in the NBA," Favors said of the Pacers. "We learned a lot tonight, mentally and physically."

The Jazz jumped out to a 12-2 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from Trey Burke before taking a 23-17 cushion into the second stanza.

Utah kept the Pacers at arm's length in the second and held a 46-37 lead with just under three minute left in the half before Indiana closed the frame on a 10-2 swing to pull within one at the break.

The Pacers poured in six of the first eight points of the third to grab a 53-50 lead on Hibbert's reverse layup with 9:10 left in the period.

The teams exchange buckets from there until West drained back-to-back jumpers to cap a 7-0 Indiana surge that put the Pacers on top, 68-63, with 1:56 remaining in the third.

Kanter scored the game's next six points to give Utah a one-point lead early in the fourth, but Indiana answered with another 7-0 sprint to regain control.

The margin was three, 79-76, with 6:42 to play following Gordon Hayward's 3- pointer, but C.J. Watson answered with a triple at the other end, sparking a 9-0 Indiana spurt that West capped with a jumper to make it 88-76.

A pair of Kanter free throws got Utah within 90-83 with 1:04 remaining, but George, who had missed his first seven tries from beyond the arc, nailed a right corner trey to put the game away.

Game Notes

Indiana improved to 8-2 on the road, while Utah dropped to 3-7 at home this season ... Burke netted 13 points and handed out nine assists in the setback ... Indiana scored 54 points in the paint, compared to 38 for Utah ... The Pacers shot 47.6 percent (40-of-84) from the floor, despite going 3-of-16 from 3-point range.