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Pacers down Heat in rematch of 2013 ECF

Dec 11, 2013 - 6:28 AM Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Roy Hibbert is still having his way against the Miami Heat.

Hibbert had 24 points and the Indiana Pacers overcame a 13-point first half deficit to defeat the Heat 90-84 on Tuesday night in a rematch of the Eastern Conference finals.

The two teams, who have raced out to the two best records in the East so far, met for the first time since the Heat won that back-and-forth series in seven games. Hibbert averaged 22.1 points and 10.4 rebounds. Miami also defeated Indiana in six games in the 2012 East semis.

Swarmed by Miami Heat defenders for much of the first half, Paul George struggled but remained patient.

His composure was rewarded.

George had five turnovers, two points and missed all four of his shots in the first half, but netted 15 of his 17 points on 4-of-7 shooting over the final 24 minutes.

"The biggest difference in Paul (George) I think is confidence. He has the confidence of being the go-to-guy, knowing that he's the guy that has to go out and do it every night," Heat forward LeBron James said of George.

David West added 17 points and nine rebounds for Indiana, which came off its worst performance of the season in a 118-94 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night by beating the Heat at home for a fourth straight time.

The triumph moved Indiana to an NBA-best 19-3.

James netted 17 points to go with 14 rebounds and six assists for the Heat, who have dropped three of their last five. Dwyane Wade scored 17 in defeat.

The Heat didn't trail in the first half and led 53-47 early in the third before the Pacers scored 11 of the next 15 points to take their first lead.

Hibbert's second three-point play of the frame gave Indiana a 58-57 edge with 6:12 remaining and two free throws and a bucket by George over the next few minutes pushed the margin to 62-57.

Miami never led again.

"I wish we didn't have to rely on the third quarter. We didn't play that well in the first half but we were only down seven," Hibbert said.

The Pacers, who got a pair of triples and 12 points from George in the third, took a 68-64 advantage into the fourth.

Wade's pull-up jumper whittled the deficit to 70-68 early in the stanza, but Hibbert had five points during a 12-6 swing to up the margin to 82-74 with 4:59 left.

A bit later, James airballed a three from the top of the arc with Miami down five and West drove down the left baseline for a tough layup to make it 88-81 with 38.9 ticks on the clock.

Earlier, Miami, which used a 13-2 run in the opening quarter to help the Heat build a 30-19 gap after a quarter of play, led 47-40 at the break.

Indiana committed 13 of its 21 turnovers in the first half.

Game Notes

Indiana shot 50.7 percent (34-of-67) from the field ... The Heat were 4-of-21 (19 percent) from beyond the arc ... Indiana outrebounded Miami 43-33 ... Miami's Chris Bosh had 12 points.