Pacers hit all right notes in victory over road-weary Jazz
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Jeff Teague scored 21 points, Paul George added 19 and the Indiana Pacers beat the Utah Jazz 107-100 on Monday night.
Indiana continued its trend of following a loss with a win – failing to do either in consecutive games since Feb. 16. The win helped the Pacers maintain the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.
Former Butler star Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with a career-high 38 points. Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 14 rebounds on the final stop of a four-game trip.
Utah looked sluggish all night, and the Pacers took advantage.
While they struggled to put away the win, the Pacers seized control with an early 8-0 run and never trailed after the 6:42 mark of the first quarter.
Every time the Jazz tried to charge back, the Pacers had an answer.
Utah cut the lead to 30-28 early in the second quarter, but then Indiana scored seven straight.
When the Jazz got within two late in the first half, Glenn Robinson III banked in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to make it 51-46.
Utah closed to 55-54 early in the third quarter, but then the Pacers scored five consecutive points before closing the third quarter on a 10-2 spurt to make it 80-70.
And when George Hill’s three-point play cut the Pacers’ lead to 103-100 with 1:45 left, Indiana’s defense came up big on consecutive possessions to set up George’s 20-foot jumper with 18.9 seconds left.
It was that kind of night – all night – for the weary Jazz.
George scored Indiana’s last seven points.