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George scores 40, Pacers make 19 3s to beat Wizards 123-106

WASHINGTON (AP) – Paul George scored a season-high 40 points and made seven 3-pointers, part of a franchise-record 19 by the Indiana Pacers in a 123-106 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

C.J. Miles added 32 points, his most since joining the Pacers before the start of last season, as Indiana won for the ninth time in 11 games.

Miles was 8 of 9 from beyond the arc, and George also missed only once from deep.

The Pacers finished 73.1 percent (19 of 26) from 3-point range, crushing their previous season high of 44.4 percent (12 of 27).

Gary Neal scored 23 points off the bench for the Wizards, whose three-game winning streak was snapped.

Bradley Beal added 20 points and John Wall scored 18 for Washington, which has lost five of its six games when it allows more than 110 points.

Even with George and Miles combining to shoot a perfect 9 of 9 beyond the arc before halftime, the Wizards remained close for much of the first half and even led for stretches of the second quarter.

But the Pacers failed to cool down and eventually pulled away.

Miles finally missed his first 3-point attempt midway through the third. He answered with his seventh and longest of the game to beat the shot clock and make it 81-74.

George’s turnaround jumper later in the quarter pushed it to 86-77, and then his pull-up 3 from the left wing made it 91-81, the first double-digit lead for either team.

Chase Budinger’s running jumper pushed it to 99-86 early in the fourth, and the Wizards never got closer than 10 after that.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The Pacers nearly matched last season’s New Orleans Pelicans, who made 15 of 20 3-point attempts in a game in November, 2014. That’s the highest 3-point team percentage in the last five seasons with at least 20 attempts, according to STATS.

TIP-INS

Pacers: G George Hill scored 14 points in 32 minutes in his return after missing three games with an upper respiratory infection. . Indiana’s stretch of six consecutive 3s made to start the game ended when Hill’s 28-footer at the first-quarter buzzer rimmed out . With Hill’s return, Indiana’s most-used starting five improved to 5-2.

Wizards: None of Washington’s starters began the second quarter. The Wizards’ second group outscored the Pacers 16-10 to take a 47-43 lead before Beal returned with 6:15 left in the half. . C Nene (sore calf) scored 11 points in 23 minutes after missing practice on Monday. . Wall sat even longer during the second before re-entering with 3:41 left in the half.

UP NEXT

Pacers: Host Chicago on Friday.

Wizards: Visit Charlotte on Wednesday night.