INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Paul George scored 33 of his career-high 37 points after halftime and Roy Hibbert had a triple-double to help the Indiana Pacers beat the New Orleans Hornets 115-107 in overtime on Wednesday night.
George made a team record nine 3-pointers, all after halftime. Hibbert had 10 points, 11 rebounds and a career-best 11 blocks, and David West and George Hill each scored 16 points for the Pacers (6-7), who have won three of four.
Robin Lopez had 21 points and 13 rebounds for New Orleans, but he made just 3 of 17 field goals. Jason Smith added 18 points for the Hornets (3-7), who lost their fifth straight.
Number one overall pick Anthony Davis missed his second consecutive game for New Orleans with a stress reaction in his left ankle.
The Pacers trailed 90-83 in the fourth quarter before back-to-back 3-pointers by Lance Stephenson and George cut the deficit to a point and forced New Orleans to call timeout with 3:05 remaining.
George hit another 3-pointer with 1:17 left in regulation to give Indiana a 97-93 lead.
Al-Farouq Aminu's high-arching baseline jumper with 22.3 seconds left tied the score at 97.
Indiana had several chances to win it in the closing seconds. West missed, Hibbert missed a putback dunk, then Hill missed in close and, finally, Stephenson missed from near the 3-point line at the buzzer.
Indiana kept rolling on offense in overtime. Back-to-back 3s by George and Hill gave the Pacers a 103-97 lead one minute into the extra period. A layup by West and a pair of free throws by George gave Indiana a 10-point lead.
New Orleans rallied one more time. A 3-pointer by Roger Mason trimmed Indiana's lead to 107-103, but George hit another 3-pointer at the other end to give the Pacers control again.
New Orleans led 47-43 at halftime as Jason Smith scored 10 points off the bench. The Hornets led by 10 points late in the first quarter, lost the lead, then regained it before the break.
The Pacers came out of the break with a quick 5-0 run. A 3-pointer by George and an acrobatic layup by Stephenson gave Indiana a 48-47 lead. Another 3 by George pushed the Pacers' lead to four.
The Hornets rallied, and Ryan Anderson's 3-pointer gave the Hornets the lead back at 56-53.
Aminu's alley-oop dunk on a lob from Greivis Vasquez gave New Orleans a 72-65 lead, but Indiana rallied late in the third quarter. A layup by George tied the score at 72, and a three-point play by Sam Young gave the Pacers a 75-74 lead at the end of the quarter. George scored 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting in the period.
NOTES: Former Pacer Haywoode Workman was one of the officials. ... Earlier in the day, the Pacers assigned rookies Miles Plumlee and Orlando Johnson to their D-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. ... Anderson fouled out with 17 points for the Hornets. ... The teams combined to make 21 of 37 3-pointers. Both teams shot much better from 3-point range than they shot overall.
