Pacers 99, Bobcats 94: Lance Stephenson tallied 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and Roy Hibbert added 18 points and 11 boards as Indiana held on to improve to 11-0 at home.
David West scored 14 points and George Hill chipped in 13 for the Pacers, who have won five straight against Charlotte overall and eight in a row at home. Leading scorer Paul George was limited to a season-low 10 points on 2-of-12 shooting.
Al Jefferson collected 21 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bobcats, who have dropped two straight and fell to 4-6 on the road. Kemba Walker scored 13 points – but only four in the second half – and Ramon Sessions added 13 off the bench for Charlotte.
A matchup of the league’s top two teams in scoring defense turned into a surprising shootout early, as both teams shot 50 percent in the first half and Indiana took a 56-55 lead into the locker room. The Bobcats trailed by as many as 10 in the first quarter but scored the final five points of the period and pulled within 27-25 on Walker’s 3-pointer at the buzzer, and it was tight throughout the second quarter.
Charlotte made its first seven field-goal attempts in the third quarter to open a six-point lead, then missed eight straight shots as Indiana reeled off a 16-3 run to go ahead 79-72 and took a three-point advantage into the final stanza. The Bobcats went up 90-89 on Gerald Henderson’s jumper with 5:16 left, but Stephenson answered with a three-point play to put Indiana ahead for good and Charlotte failed to convert on four straight possessions with a chance to tie or take the lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The teams rank first and second in the league in fast-break points allowed and combined for only 12. â? Charlotte C Bismack Biyombo (ankle) returned after missing two games and had six points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes. â? Bobcats C Cody Zeller, playing his first game as a pro in his home state, had seven points and five rebounds in 19 minutes.
