Forum » Paul George forced Indiana Pacers coach

WASHINGTON -- Paul George forced Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel to leave him on the court. Curtis Joseph Jersey . George took -- and made -- the key shots, to the tune of a career playoff-high 39 points. He grabbed rebounds, 12 in all. He guarded the Wizards most dangerous scorer. When there was a loose ball, it was George diving to the floor to collect it. In sum, the tireless George willed the up-and-down Pacers within one victory of a return trip to the Eastern Conference finals, playing every second of the final three quarters as Indiana erased a 19-point deficit to beat Washington 95-92 Sunday night. "I kept wanting to try to get him a rest, and he kept saying, No," Vogel said. "And usually Ill override that, but he kept making big shots, too." Roy Hibbert had 17 points and nine rebounds, continuing his recent surge after a poor-as-can-be, zero-point, zero-rebound showing in Game 1. He responded with 28 points in Game 2, then 14 in Game 3, before helping Indiana win its third consecutive game Sunday, when Hibbert said he got a motivational boost from what he called a heckling fan. "He woke me up," Hibbert said. "He said I was tired. He was saying a lot of obscenities. Im a God-fearing man, so Im not going to go ahead and say what he was saying." After dropping Game 1, the Pacers have won three in a row to go up 3-1 and can close out the best-of-seven series at home Tuesday night. Only eight teams in NBA history have blown that lead. "Weve got a chance to make something happen," said Washingtons Bradley Beal, who was hounded at the defensive end by George and worked hard to get his 20 points. Beal might be right, but Washington better figure out how to limit George, who averaged 14.5 points in Games 1 and 2, but ramped that up with 23 Friday. And he was not about to let Vogel put him on the sideline down the stretch Sunday. In all, George played 46 minutes, and he scored 28 points after halftime. "I already had it in my head that I was pretty much going to go the whole distance," George said. "There was a moment where I was pretty gassed, but that second wind kicked in." The Wizards were up 17 at halftime, then made it 57-38 on Nenes basket to open the third quarter. But Washington showed a propensity this season for blowing double-digit leads -- the Wizards lost 11 games after being up by at least 10 points -- and again fell apart. "We never panicked," Pacers forward David West said. Georges 3 with 5 1/2 minutes left made it 85-79, and another 30 seconds later made it 85-82, giving him seven from beyond the arc, matching a franchise post-season mark held by Reggie Miller and Chuck Person. George also helped the Pacers limit the Wizards to one field goal over the final 7 1/2 minutes. John Wall gave Washington its last lead at 91-90 with about 2 minutes to go. George pushed Indiana back in front with two foul shots, and the Pacers forced a shot-clock violation. Hibbert made a 12-foot turnaround hook shot with 1:02 remaining to put the Pacers up 94-91, and sprinted down the court, his arms spread, his smile wide. Left all alone, Wall passed up an open 3-pointer, instead sending the ball to Beal, who missed a 3 try with under 50 seconds left. "Thats what the play was for, and I made the right decision," Wall said. The Pacers are playing much more like the team that pushed the Miami Heat to seven games in last seasons conference finals, and the one that earned the No. 1 seeding by going 46-13 at the start of this season. Theyre looking less like the bunch that went 10-13 down the stretch this year, then needed seven games to sneak past Atlanta in the first round. "We go through ups and downs, and highs and lows," said Hibbert, who scored two points before halftime, 15 after. Whats clear is this: When Paul is at his best, the Pacers are, too. "Paul is Paul. You know that youre going to get 150 per cent every time hes on the court," Hill said. "He knows hes the go-to guy on this team." NOTES: Georges previous post-season career best was 30 points. ... Wizards coach Randy Wittman likes to call his trio of not-yet-retired reserves -- Andre Miller, 38; Al Harrington, 34; Drew Gooden, 32 -- the "AARP group," but they helped produce a 32-2 bench scoring edge for the hosts. Brett Hull Jersey .com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action. Vladimir Konstantinov Jersey . Vonn had another scary moment at Saturdays World Cup downhill in Val dIsere, ending up clutching her knee in pain after losing her balance and missing a gate. But she gave a reassuring answer shortly afterward, saying no new damage had been done to the surgically repaired knee, and that her plans for the Sochi Olympics were still intact. http://www.redwingshockeyauthentic.com/chris-chelios-jersey/ . The freestyle skier from Calgary finished sixth in the qualification round with a total of 82.00 points. Groenewoud won a silver medal at the X Games last month, just over five weeks after undergoing double knee surgery.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Atlanta Hawks only needed one spectacular quarter to earn their first back-to-back wins of the season. Well, that and Al Horford. Horford had 13 of his 24 points in the third quarter as the Hawks outscored Charlotte 34-16 en route to a 103-94 win Monday night in Bobcats coach Steve Cliffords first game back after having two stents placed in his heart. "Energy, by far," Horford said of the difference in the third quarter. "Especially on the defensive end. And we stopped fouling so much. At the beginning of the game we were really getting some cheap fouls. So, we did a better job defending them." The Hawks trailed by eight at halftime but shot 72 per cent from the floor in the third quarter; the Bobcats managed just 33 per cent. Jeff Teague, who finished with 14 points and 12 assists, was pivotal during that stretch and Clifford said the Bobcats simply couldnt find anyone to guard him. "We came in the third quarter with absolutely no energy, and that was obviously the difference in the game," Clifford said. Cartier Martin scored 16 points off the bench, including a pair of 3-pointers to help push the lead to 14. Horford finished 9 of 15 from the field; Martin was 5 of 7. Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer called it a good road win. "I think another step forward for our defence," Budenholzer said. "I think a great job by our bench to come in and give us a boost. We had some foul trouble early and I think some guys just got picked up tonight by their teammates and by their bench." Atlanta, which came in ranked seventh in the NBA in scoring, has reached at least 100 points in all seven games. Josh McRoberts led the Bobcats (3-4) with 19 points and seven assists. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 16 points, but none in the second half. Al Jefferson had 10 points and seven rebounds in his first game since Oct. 30. But its clear the Bobcats still havent adjusted to playing with their $41 million free-agent pickup. Jefferson looked slow and rusty and was a non-factor in the opening half with no points and one rebound in 10 minutes. Meanwhile, the offence was out of sync. Steve Yzerman Jersey. . McRoberts said it will take time for everyone to get used to playing with Jefferson. "Its just a different style of play playing through Al," McRoberts said. "You try to work through growing pains. ... There are probably guys in here who have never played with a low-post scorer in their entire careers, whether college or NBA. So its definitely a change having one of the best low-post players in the world down there in the block. We have to adjust and play through him." Jefferson feels bad knowing that it hasnt been easy for his teammates to get used to his style of play with him being in and out of the lineup. He missed most of the preseason, too, with a sprained ankle. "Weve all got to get on the same page," Jefferson said. Said Clifford: "Hes not in a great shape yet, and he played more minutes than I thought he would simply because we are better when hes on the floor." The Bobcats certainly had their chance to erase a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter after the Hawks went cold from the field. But Charlotte couldnt get anything to fall, with McRoberts missing a pair of layups and leading scorers Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker unable to get going. As for Clifford, he said he plans to obey doctors orders and not overdue it in his return to coaching. Clifford missed Charlottes game last Friday night against the New York Knicks after having two stents placed in his heart. "Im doing exactly what they tell me to do," Clifford said before the game. "Im going to do a little bit less during the work day, come in just when the team is here. Im going to work out of the house more, sleep in for a couple of weeks and I think Ill be good. Ill be getting checked regularly. I think itll be fine." NOTES: Kyle Korver has made at least one 3-pointer in 80 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in NBA history behind Dana Barros. ... The Hawks have at least 24 assists in all seven games this season. They are first in the NBA in assists per game. ... The Bobcats have lost two in a row at home after winning five straight. ' ' '