Roy Hibbert finished with 26 points and four rebounds as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Boston Celtics, 107-100, at Conseco Fieldhouse on Monday night.

Boston (51-22) jumped out to a 33-27 lead after the first quarter, but fell victim to its recent inconsistent play and was outscored by Indiana, 30-16, in the second quarter to take a 57-49 lead entering halftime.

In typical fashion,the Celtics bounced back in the third quarter, outscoring the Pacers 36-24 to take an 85-81 lead into the final quarter. But it was Indiana that had the last laugh, putting up 26 points while holding the Celtics to 15 points in the fourth to secure the win.

Paul Pierce led the way for Boston, scoring 23 points and grabbing six rebounds. Rajon Rondo finished with 22 points and eight assists and Glen Davis added 20 points and five rebounds off the bench for Boston, which shot 54.8 percent in the losing effort.

Danny Granger, the Pacers’ leading scorer, finished with 18 points and Darren Collison finished with 17 points for Indiana (33-42). A.J. Price added 15 points off the bench and both Dahntay Jones and Brandon Rush had eight points for the Pacers.

INDIANAPOLIS — Roy Hibbert scored 26 points as the Indiana Pacers beat the Boston Celtics 107-100 on Monday night and remained in sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Danny Granger scored 18 points and Darren Collison added 17 for the Pacers.

Boston point guard Rajon Rondo started after missing Sunday’s game against Minnesota with a jammed finger on his right hand. Coach Doc Rivers said before the game that Rondo would not play, but Rondo scored 10 points in the first 5:10 and finished with 22 points and eight assists.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 23 points, and Glen Davis added 20 for the Celtics, who are fading in their quest to catch Chicago for the best record in the East.

The Celtics shot four for 14 in the fourth quarter, and have lost seven of their last 12.

The Pacers entered a game ahead of Charlotte and two games ahead of Milwaukee for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Charlotte beat Milwaukee on Monday, so the Pacers remained a game ahead of Charlotte and extended their lead over Milwaukee to three games.

Monday’s game was tied in the fourth quarter before the Pacers made a run. Collison scored on a short jumper in the lane, then Hibbert found a cutting Brandon Rush to give Indiana a 98-94 lead. Collison then stole the ball from Rondo near halfcourt, and the six-foot point guard went up for an emphatic two-handed dunk to put the Pacers ahead 100-94. A putback by Hibbert pushed Indiana’s lead to eight with 3:52 to play.

Boston hung close, but Collison made a fadeaway jumper with 1:16 left, then made a driving layup with 34.4 seconds remaining to give Indiana a 106-100 lead.

Boston led 31-23 when Rivers sat Rondo for a rest. Indiana then went on a 14-4 run to take a 37-35 lead early in the second quarter.

Kevin Garnett was called for his third foul with 5:51 left in the second quarter, and starting center Nenad Krstic was already out with three fouls. Indiana took advantage and took a 57-49 lead at halftime. Hibbert had 19 points before the break. Indiana shot 60 percent, while Boston was at 59 percent in the first half.

A 3-point play by Hibbert early in the second half pushed Indiana’s lead to 67-57, but Boston responded with an 8-2 run. A jumper by Ray Allen cut Indiana’s lead to 69-65 and caused the Pacers to call timeout. The Celtics made six of their first seven shots in the second half.

Allen hit a 3-pointer to put Boston up 72-71 with 5:04 left in the third quarter, and the Celtics extended their lead to 85-81 at the end of the period.

Notes
Hibbert scored 13 points in the first quarter on six-for-seven shooting. … Former Pacers Jermaine O’Neal and Troy Murphy were inactive for the Celtics. O’Neal was out with a sore left knee, while Murphy missed the game with a sprained right ankle.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Roy Hibbert scored 26 points as the Indiana Pacers beat the Boston Celtics 107-100 on Monday night and remained in sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Danny Granger scored 18 points and Darren Collison added 17 for the Pacers.

Boston point guard Rajon Rondo started after missing Sunday’s game against Minnesota with a jammed finger on his right hand. Coach Doc Rivers said before the game that Rondo would not play, but Rondo scored 10 points in the first 5:10 and finished with 22 points and eight assists.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 23 points, and Glen Davis added 20 for the Celtics, who are fading in their quest to catch Chicago for the best record in the East.

The Celtics shot 4 for 14 in the fourth quarter, and have lost seven of their last 12.

The Pacers entered a game ahead of Charlotte and two games ahead of Milwaukee for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Charlotte beat Milwaukee on Monday, so the Pacers remained a game ahead of Charlotte and extended their lead over Milwaukee to three games.

Monday’s game was tied in the fourth quarter before the Pacers made a run. Collison scored on a short jumper in the lane, then Hibbert found a cutting Brandon Rush to give Indiana a 98-94 lead. Collison then stole the ball from Rondo near halfcourt, and the 6-foot point guard went up for an emphatic two-handed dunk to put the Pacers ahead 100-94. A putback by Hibbert pushed Indiana’s lead to eight with 3:52 to play.

Boston hung close, but Collison made a fadeaway jumper with 1:16 left, then made a driving layup with 34.4 seconds remaining to give Indiana a 106-100 lead.

Boston led 31-23 when Rivers sat Rondo for a rest. Indiana then went on a 14-4 run to take a 37-35 lead early in the second quarter.

Kevin Garnett was called for his third foul with 5:51 left in the second quarter, and starting center Nenad Krstic was already out with three fouls. Indiana took advantage and took a 57-49 lead at halftime. Hibbert had 19 points before the break. Indiana shot 60 percent, while Boston was at 59 percent in the first half.

A 3-point play by Hibbert early in the second half pushed Indiana’s lead to 67-57, but Boston responded with an 8-2 run. A jumper by Ray Allen cut Indiana’s lead to 69-65 and caused the Pacers to call timeout. The Celtics made six of their first seven shots in the second half.

Allen hit a 3-pointer to put Boston up 72-71 with 5:04 left in the third quarter, and the Celtics extended their lead to 85-81 at the end of the period.

INDIANAPOLIS, March 28 (UPI) — Roy Hibbert scored 26 points and the Indiana Pacers used a big fourth quarter Monday to post a 107-100 comeback victory over Boston.

Danny Granger added 18 points and Darren Collison contributed 17 for Indiana, which outscored the Celtics 26-15 in the final frame and retained its hold on the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth.

The Pacers started the quarter quickly, overcoming an 85-81 deficit with a 19-6 run ignited by Dahntay Jones’ slam dunk with 10:55 remaining and capped by Hibbert’s basket 7 minutes later.

Paul Pierce provided 23 points and Rajon Rondo chipped in 22 and eight assists for Boston, which began the day two games behind first-place Chicago in the conference standings.

(Sports Network) – The Indiana Pacers are fortunate to be in the running for a playoff spot at 10 games under .500 and will try to move closer to that goal in the opener of a three-game homestand Monday versus the Boston Celtics.

Indiana is a game ahead of Charlotte for the eighth and final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference with eight games left in the regular season. It hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2005-06 season and is coming off Saturday’s 100-88 loss at Detroit in which Brandon Rush posted 19 points in a losing cause. Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Granger scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, for the Pacers, who have lost two straight and three of five.

“We just had a poor offensive third quarter, we fought to stay in it in the fourth quarter and (Charlie) Villanueva came in, hadn’t played all game or last game, and he was the difference in the game,” Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said.

The Pacers will also host Detroit and Milwaukee on the residency and own a 19-16 mark at Conseco Fieldhouse this season.

Boston hasn’t played like an Atlantic Division champion lately and will resume a four-game road trip Monday night. It has won five of the past 11 games, including Sunday’s 85-82 triumph against lowly Minnesota.

Paul Pierce had 23 points and seven rebounds, Kevin Garnett compiled 13 points and 13 boards and both Nenad Krstic and Ray Allen scored 11 points for the Celtics, who have won three in a row on the road and played without point All- Star guard Rajon Rondo because of an injured right pinkie finger.

“We have to work to win them all, tonight was no different,” Garnett said. “Our first quarter ball movement was excellent, but (Minnesota) fought to get back in it.”

The Celtics will also visit the Spurs and Hawks on the current road swing and are 22-13 outside of Beantown in 2010-11. They are currently two games behind Chicago for the top seed in the Eastern Conference with Miami just a half-game off the second slot.

Rondo, meanwhile, is questionable for Monday and is averaging 10.2 points and 11.3 assists per game.

Boston is aiming to sweep the season series with Indiana for the first time since winning all three meetings in the 2007-08 campaign. It has won five in a row and 11 of the previous 13 matchups between the clubs.

The Sports Network

Read More: Paul Pierce (F – BOS), Jeff Green (F – BOS), Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics, Mar 16, 2011 7:30 PM EDT

Jeff Green had perhaps his best game yet with the Boston Celtics as he scored 19 points off the bench as the reigning Eastern champs knocked off the visiting Indiana Pacers 92-80. The Pacers had won two straight — both over the New York Knicks — but were never in contention against the C’s, who actually play defense.

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 20 points, including a monster jam (that isn’t on YouTube) on Roy Hibbert. The way Doc Rivers has used Green to augment the rotation is pretty interesting; Pierce obviously soaks up the lion’s share of small forward minutes, and Rivers is comfortable with Kevin Garnett, Nenad Krstic and Glen Davis running the frontcourt (until Shaquille O’Neal returns, and allowing Troy Murphy some burn). So Rivers has used Green as a two-guard behind Ray Allen, playing next to Pierce. When Pierce comes out, on Wednesday at least, Rivers turns to two-guard Delonte West, pushing Green up to small forward.

Green played power forward almost exclusively in Oklahoma City. The role is quite a shift, but it makes sense given Green’s skillset, and it seems to be working.

Tyler Hansbrough, who destroyed Amar’e Stoudemire twice in a row, couldn’t get it going against Garnett. Psycho T shot just 4-14. Paul George led the Pacers with 15 points.

In the far corner of the Boston Celtics locker room is a portable desk loaded with video equipment.

It’s where players can quickly check out a play or a player. It’s where DVDs are made and games are won. For several years it was the work station of Frank Vogel, brought to the Celtics in 1997 by new coach Rick Pitino, who had hired him in the same capacity at the University of Kentucky.

“Rick Pitino used to tell me it’s the foundation of coaching,” Vogel said. “You have to be able to study the game inside and out on the video tape and every answer is always on video tape. It’s been my foundation for getting into coaching.”

Sure enough, Vogel returned to Boston Wednesday night, having advanced through the coaching ranks several times over the years. But on Jan. 30, eight years into his coaching career, Vogel received the ultimate promotion: he replaced another former Celtics coach, Jim O’Brien, as head coach of the Pacers.

It came as quite a shock, because he didn’t know if he’d ever get the chance.

“Until the phone call from Larry (Pacers President Bird) I always wondered that. I understood all along that this was a possibility. I always considered at some point maybe taking a look at some college jobs but I always felt as long as I was continuing to grow as an assistant coach, continuing to move up the ladder, which I was every year or two under coach O’Brien – he kept me moving up and improving and maturing – as long as I felt I was doing that I was OK staying as an assistant and hoping for this opportunity.”

Vogel won his first four games, and seven of his first eight. He came into his meeting with the Celtics at 12-11, having made some changes such as handing the reigns of the offense to his point guards and letting young forward Tyler Hansbrough loose. The Pacers came to Boston after knocking off the Knicks a night earlier, but that snapped a six-game losing streak. They went down, hard, to the Celtics, 92-80.

Vogel, 37, the youngest coach in the league, has the complete backing of Bird, O’Brien, and even Pitino, who’ll be coming to watch him coach once Kentucky’s season ends.

Under difficult circumstance, O’Brien couldn’t have been more positive. “He just said, ‘Take it and run with it,’” Vogel said. “He was very happy for me. He and Larry actually called me together. When Larry called me he said, ‘I’m sitting here with Coach O’Brien right now, and I just wanted to let you know we’re gonna make a coaching change and he could see I was silent. He said, ‘I want to see if you’re interested in taking the job.’

“Before I could say a word, coach O’Brien interjected and said, ‘Frank, I just want to let you know I’m here. I’m OK with this. This is the right thing. It’s your time to shine and you gotta take this and be happy about it.’ So he’s been great.

“I mean, that’s obviously a very emotional day. For three-and-a-half years you work to turn things around for him and everything you do in your life is to help him succeed as the coach and you want it so bad for him and for us and to see it end that way for him is obviously a very tough day.

“And then at the same time in the same breath I’m being offered the opportunity of a lifetime, so it was an emotional roller coaster for that day and after I woke up the next morning it was all business. It was time to win games and time to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Coming back to Boston, though, was something else altogether. “I’d be lying if I said it was just another game,” he said. “It’s very special coming here and coaching in this building. It’s my first job out of college. I was a grad assistant my first year at Kentucky. Everyone remembers their first job in the real world, right?”

Around the rim

Comcast SportsNet broadcast team Tom Heinsohn and Mike Gorman were honored for their 30-year partnership during a pre-game ceremony … The Celtics outscored the Pacers, 26-9, at the free throw line, leading to a frustration technical for Pacers Danny Granger. “It’s hard, man,” Granger said. “Four minutes to go in the fourth quarter they had shot 32 free throws. We had shot five.” … Delonte West revealed that he injured his ankle when he stepped on a coach’s foot during walkthrough … The Celtics left for Houston immediately after the game. They’ll play there Friday before moving to New Orleans and New York.

NEW YORK – Tyler Hansbrough knows he has doubters, his old coach perhaps among them.

He’s getting a chance now, and the Indiana Pacers hope his hard work can get them into the playoffs.

“I don’t know if he’s trying to prove anything, I just think he has a motor that is really unparalleled in this league,” interim coach Frank Vogel said. “Nobody goes harder than that kid. Nobody in the league plays harder than Tyler Hansbrough.”

Hansbrough scored a career-high 29 points, Dahntay Jones added 18 in place of leading scorer Danny Granger, and the Pacers snapped a six-game losing streak with a 106-93 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday night.

Though a former college player of the year during a decorated career at North Carolina, Hansbrough was expected to be a late first-round pick because of doubts over how he could transition to the NBA. The Pacers took him 13th in the 2009 draft, but he sat out much of his rookie season after a summer shin injury, and coach Jim O’Brien wasn’t giving the forward heavy minutes this season before he was fired in January.

Vogel has made Hansbrough a starter and he has responded with four straight games of 20 or more points.

“I got a chip on my shoulder,” Hansbrough said. “A lot of people don’t feel like I deserve to be in the league, the coach didn’t play me in the past because I don’t know why, so I come in the gym every day, try to get a little better and prove a point.”

Darren Collison added 16 points for the Pacers, who moved back into a tie with Charlotte for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. Roy Hibbert had 12 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots.

CELTICS 87, BUCKS 56: In Boston, Ray Allen scored 17 points in just three quarters as the Celtics set a franchise record for fewest points allowed in the shot clock era.

It was the lowest score against the Celtics since they beat the Milwaukee Hawks 62-57 at Providence, R.I., on Feb. 27, 1955.

The Celtics held the Bucks to just 38 points through three quarters.

MAGIC 111, SUNS 88: Dwight Howard had 26 points and 15 rebounds, then watched the fourth quarter from the bench as Orlando earned its first victory in Phoenix in nine seasons.

Aaron Brooks, starting in place of injured Steve Nash, had 19 points and 10 assists, but the Suns were blown out at home for the second game in a row.

THUNDER 95, CAVALIERS 75: In Cleveland, Russell Westbrook scored 12 straight during a 5-minute stretch of the third quarter to awaken his listless Oklahoma City teammates.

Westbrook scored 14 of his 20 points in the third, helping the Thunder open a 20-point cushion. Kevin Durant, the NBA’s leading scorer, added 19 points.

Daniel Gibson had 13 points and J.J. Hickson pulled down 15 rebounds for Cleveland.

BOBCATS 95, RAPTORS 90: D.J. Augustin scored 23 points and Gerald Henderson had 18 to help Charlotte snap a five-game road losing streak with a win in Toronto.

Andrea Bargnani had 17 points and Leandro Barbosa added 15 for Toronto, which has lost 11 of 15 and 24 of 29.

The Miami Heat’s 110-103 win over the Indiana Pacers was the type of game fans expected and analysts warned of this offseason as Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James assembled in South Beach. Wade made his presence known from the start, scoring 21 points in the first quarter as the Heat jumped all over the Indiana Pacers.

It was, essentially, three on five. But in the first quarter, it worked like a charm. The Heat jumped out to a 41-19 lead, Wade was on fire and all was well. Wade and James even hooked up for one of the best alley-oops you’ll ever see. Yet by halftime, the Miami lead was four, and 11 Pacers had scored. It was team-ball versus the three-man show.

The “Big Three” combined for 65 of Miami’s 88 shots on the night, making 35. More than half of the Heat’s rebounds and all but three assists came from the trio, as well. The game was a display of the best and what could be considered the worst of the trio of Bosh, Wade and James.

On one hand, the first quarter performance was a thing of beauty. On the other, the three provided the only offense for Miami on the night, and struggled to put away a Pacers team they should’ve easily dispatched. Would the story have been different against the NBA’s elite — the Celtics, Lakers or Spurs?

When the Heat are playing like they were in the first quarter, they’re as close to unstoppable as a team can get. But is it sustainable? Playing the bulk of the minutes while forced to shoulder the load on both ends of the floor is taxing. When it comes together, as it did early-on against the Pacers, the “Big Three” can put on a show with the best of them.

The Indiana Pacers have thrived under interim coach Frank Vogel’s new approach, winning seven of eight games in their push for a playoff berth.

Their only loss in that stretch came against the Miami Heat.

The teams meet again Tuesday night in Indiana as Miami looks to rebound after falling out of the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Pacers (24-28) have surged into eighth place in the East, with a slight cushion over ninth-place Charlotte. Indiana is averaging 107.6 points since Vogel took over, compared to 97.8 under the fired Jim O’Brien.

Four Pacers scored in double figures in a 103-97 win over Milwaukee on Saturday, with Danny Granger(notes) recording a game-high 30 points.

“Honestly, I just think we started playing toward our strengths,” Granger said of Vogel’s emphasis. “Whereas before, we kind of just tried to mold everybody into the system that we had. Now, we play inside-out. We’ve got a really quick point guard, so we play up-tempo. We space people out because we have a lot of good shooters. We’re just playing to the strengths that we have with this team.”

Vogel said his players are believing in themselves.

“Our guys are starting to understand how good they are,” Vogel said. “They’re taking care of their business in the fourth quarter with poise and patience.”

That wasn’t the case last Tuesday against the Heat, however, as Indiana was dominated in the fourth quarter of a 117-112 loss. Miami erased a seven-point deficit by outscoring the Pacers 27-15 in the final period.

LeBron James(notes) scored 41 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, helping Miami (39-15) avenge a 93-77 defeat to Indiana on Nov. 22.

James scored 22 points but missed a critical free throw with 12.5 seconds remaining in a 85-82 loss to Boston on Sunday, which dropped Miami into second place in the East behind the Celtics.

Chris Bosh(notes) had 24 points and 10 rebounds, but Dwyane Wade(notes) shot 6 of 17 and combined with James to commit 10 of the Heat’s 17 turnovers. The Celtics turned a four-point halftime deficit into a 74-61 lead at the end of the third.

“We definitely dug ourselves a hole,” James said. “We can’t expect to come into Boston and turn the ball over 12 times in the first half. We also can’t afford to come in the third quarter and not have our motor going and let them go on a 20-3 run to start the quarter. I feel 10 times out of 10 you’re going to lose those games.”

Wade suffered through an even worse shooting effort against Indiana in November, going 1 of 13 from the field and finishing with three points in one of the worst performances of his career.

James has averaged 34.9 points in his last seven against the Pacers, winners of five straight at home.

Miami has taken five of the last six meetings and two in a row at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The Indiana Pacers have fired Jim O’Brien in his fourth season as coach with the team, Yahoo! Sports and the Indianapolis Star have reported.

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Ron Hoskins/Getty ImagesJim O’Brien was hired to coach the Pacers in May 2007.

O’Brien was told of his dismissal during a Sunday morning meeting with Pacers president Larry Bird, the Yahoo! Sports report said. The Pacers have called a 4 p.m. ET news conference, according to the Indianapolis newspaper.

The Pacers sat in 10th place in the Eastern Conference at 17-27 after a 110-98 loss at Chicago on Saturday, their seventh loss in eight games.

Hired to reverse course for a team that had plenty of off-the-court troubles before his arrival, the Pacers have continued to flounder on the floor, missing the playoffs in each of his three seasons to extend a streak of missed postseasons to four.

The Pacers were 121-169 under O’Brien, dropping his career coaching record in the NBA to 303-327.

O’Brien, who succeeded current Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, had been out of coaching since he was fired by the 76ers after the 2004-05 season.

He also coached the Celtics from 2001 to 2004.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

The Indiana Pacers have fired Jim O’Brien in his fourth season as coach with the team, the team announced Sunday.

Assistant coach Frank Vogel will take over on an interim basis.

“We’ve been looking at everything with our team, from the beginning of the season and now at the halfway mark and I think at this time a change is necessary,” Pacers president Larry Bird said in a statement. “This isn’t all on Jim. All of us share in the responsibility for where we’re at and where we need to go.”

[+] Enlarge

Ron Hoskins/Getty ImagesJim O’Brien was hired to coach the Pacers in May 2007.

The Pacers are 10th in the Eastern Conference at 17-27 after a 110-98 loss at Chicago on Saturday, their seventh loss in eight games.

“These decisions are never reached easily and this is no different,” Bird said in the release. “Jim did a good job under the circumstances the last three-and-a-half years in a rebuilding effort, he helped change the culture and worked every day to try to get this franchise turned in the right direction.

“I have the utmost respect for Jim and what he did for us.”

Hired to reverse course for a team that had plenty of off-the-court troubles before his arrival, the Pacers have continued to flounder on the floor, missing the playoffs in each of his three seasons to extend a streak of missed postseasons to four.

The Pacers were 121-169 under O’Brien, dropping his career coaching record in the NBA to 303-327.

O’Brien, who succeeded current Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, had been out of coaching since he was fired by the 76ers after the 2004-05 season.

He also coached the Celtics from 2001 to 2004.

Vogel, 37, has been a loyal coach under O’Brien, also serving as his assistant in Boston and Philadelphia.

“I appreciate this opportunity, but it is a bittersweet feeling since I wouldn’t be in this position without Coach O’Brien believing in me,” Vogel said in the statement. “We will exhaust all of our resources to get this turned around. This definitely isn’t about what I’m going to do, it is about what we are going to try to do.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Poor defense is to blame for the San Antonio Spurs’ first losing streak of the season. Facing a team that has struggled offensively lately could be just what they need to get back on track.

The Spurs look to avoid losing three straight for the first time since last January when they try for their eighth straight victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

San Antonio (29-6) has dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season, putting up two of its worst defensive efforts in back-to-back road losses to New York and Boston.

After a 128-115 loss to the Knicks on Tuesday in which coach Gregg Popovich described he defense as “pathetic,” the Spurs allowed the Celtics to shoot 61.5 percent in a 105-103 loss Wednesday. It was the highest shooting percentage by a San Antonio opponent since the Los Angeles Lakers shot 62.1 percent in 1988.

Despite those poor defensive efforts, San Antonio still has the NBA’s best record – not that that is much comfort to the team.

“We’re not satisfied with where we are, and honestly, I don’t really care what our record is,” said Tim Duncan(notes), who had 18 points Wednesday. “(With) the kind of defense we’re playing, we’re definitely not satisfied where we are right now.”

The Spurs, who gave up 72 first-half points to the Knicks and 27 first-quarter points to the Celtics, have especially had trouble defending in the backcourt. New York’s Raymond Felton(notes) scored 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting and Boston’s Ray Allen(notes) had 31 on 13 of 16. Rajon Rondo(notes) also had a triple-double with 22 assists.

This stretch is particularly frustrating since San Antonio relied heavily on its defense during a four-game winning streak prior to the last two games. It gave up 82.3 points during that stretch.

While the Spurs have been discouraged by their recent defense, they may have an easier time containing Indiana (14-18), which lost for the fourth time in five games with a 98-92 defeat at New York on Sunday. The Pacers have averaged 90.3 points in their last seven games while shooting 39.4 percent.

They were held to 37.4 percent from the field Sunday. Danny Granger(notes) had 25 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, while Darren Collison(notes) added 22 points. Indiana scored 15 points in the final period after missing 16 of 23 field-goal attempts.

“We didn’t finish this one well,” said Granger, whose shooting struggles continued as he finished 9 of 23 from the floor. “You can always work to get better, we just turned the ball over down the stretch too many times.”

Granger is shooting 36.8 percent in the last seven games and has eight turnovers in the last two contests. However he’s been sharp in his last three contests against the Spurs, averaging 28 points on 55 percent shooting.

San Antonio has won seven straight over Indiana, including a season-opening 122-109 victory at home Oct. 27. The Spurs have also won three in a row at Conseco Fieldhouse, holding the Pacers to fewer than 90 points in two of those victories.

NEW YORK — Amare Stoudemire scored 26 points, including six of New York’s last seven points, and the Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers, 98-92, Sunday.

Danny Granger had 25 points and 17 rebounds, and Darren Collison had 22 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Pacers, who lost for the fourth time in their last five games.

The Knicks trailed 87-84 early in the fourth quarter, but Toney Douglas and Wilson Chandler each made a 3-pointer to give New York a 90-87 lead.

Indiana’s James Posey answered with a three of his own, but Raymond Felton made one of two free throws to give New York a 91-90 lead.

ATLANTA 107, L.A. CLIPPERS 98: Joe Johnson scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, Josh Smith added 22 and the visiting Hawks rallied.

Johnson, who returned to the lineup on Dec. 17 after missing nine games following right elbow surgery, was 7-for-20 from the field after going 18-of-51 over his previous three games. In Friday’s loss at Oklahoma City, the four-time All-Star guard missed 14 of 20 attempts — including all six from three-point range. Smith was 5-for-14 after missing his first eight shots.

Clippers rookie Blake Griffin scored 19 of his 31 points in the first half and pulled down 15 rebounds for his 27th double-double and 21st in a row. Baron Davis had 15 points and five assists.

BOSTON 93, TORONTO 79: Paul Pierce scored 30 points, Ray Allen had 23 and the Celtics beat the host Raptors. Glenn Davis added 15 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as Boston won for the 10th time in 11 meetings with Toronto.

DALLAS 104, CLEVELAND 95: Shawn Marion scored 22 points and DeShawn Stevenson added 21, leading the Dallas Mavericks over the host Cavaliers. The Mavericks, playing without starting forwards Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler, used a balanced attack to break a three-game losing streak. Jason Terry scored 18 points, Tyson Chandler added 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Jason Kidd had 10 points and eight assists.