Paul George: ‘We can become a lot better’ after Pacers win marquee matchup over Clippers

George's Indian Pacers improved to an NBA-best 16-1 on Sunday with a 105-100 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Paul George and the Indiana Pacers have raced out to an NBA-best 16-1 record to start the season. Gary A Vasquez / USA Today Sports

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES // Despite having the NBA’s best record, the Indiana Pacers realise there’s always room for improvement.

David West scored 14 of his 24 points in the third quarter and grabbed 12 rebounds, Paul George had 27 points and the Pacers improved their best start in franchise history to 16-1 on Sunday with a 105-100 victory that snapped the Los Angeles Clippers’ four-game winning streak.

“We can become a lot better. We’re still nowhere close to where we want to be offensively, and that’s the next step for us,” George said. “The defence is clicking well, the transition defence is clicking well and we’re playing like a team. This was a great win for us. We knew coming in that it was going to be a hard-fought game.”

Jamal Crawford led the Clippers with 20 points – the 10th time this season that a Pacers opponent didn’t have anyone with more than 20. Chris Paul had 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Blake Griffin scored 16 and pulled down 12 rebounds, equalling teammate DeAndre Jordan’s total.

“We’re always up for a challenge, and we had a good one today,” said center Roy Hibbert, who helped fuel the Pacers’ seventh straight win with 19 points. “The Clippers are going to be a contender for the Western Conference finals, so we just had to get in there and grind it out today and finish it off. But we have a lot more work to do. We don’t worry about swagger. We’re just five individuals out there on the court playing together.”

The defending Pacific Division champions Los Angeles played their first game since finding out that JJ Redick will be sidelined six to eight weeks because of a broken bone in his shooting hand and a ligament tear in his right elbow.

Redick will be re-evaluated on Monday by hand specialist Dr Steve Shin to determine what further course of treatment will be necessary. His injuries, which occurred in Friday night’s 104-98 overtime win at Sacramento, complicated things even more for the Clippers with reserve forward Matt Barnes missing his sixth straight game due to an eye injury.

“The ligament looks intact, so they shouldn’t have to operate on that,” Redick said. “It’s just the fragments of the bone. It’s still swollen and there’s some pain there. It’s frustrating, because I have enjoyed those 17 games immensely.”

Los Angeles used the same starting lineup in each of their first 16 games before Paul sat out Friday’s game with a right hamstring strain. Rivers opted to continue using Jamal Crawford off the bench despite his 31-point outing at Sacramento, so Willie Green started in Redick’s place and scored only two points in 15 minutes.

West capped a 13-3 run with an 18-footer and two free throws to give the Pacers their biggest lead, 74-60, with 4:48 left in the third. Los Angeles closed to 93-89 on Jordan’s dunk off an alley-oop lob from backup point guard Darren Collison with 7:12 to play. Paul set up another one by Jordan with 1:05 to go, pulling the Clippers within 102-100.

“It’s going to happen. I mean, the way CP can move the ball and throw the ball up, we’re not going to take that lob away,” George said. “But we’re not going to give up 3s and we’re not going to let their shooters get hot.”

The Clippers had a chance to tie it again after a missed 3-point shot by Lance Stephenson at the other end. But Paul missed a 15-footer that rattled around the rim, and the Pacers made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 6.9 seconds to put it away.

“I had two great looks at the end,” Paul said. “If I make one of those shots it ties the game up and puts pressure on them, so I was mad and disgusted in myself because I got the shot that I wanted.”

George powered the Pacers to a 53-47 halftime lead with 18 points. The Clippers trailed by 11 late in the first quarter before taking their only lead, 41-40, on a dunk by Griffin with 3:05 left in the half.

OTHER SUNDAY RESULTS

Thunder 113, Timberwolves 103

Kevin Durant racked up his fourth career triple-double while leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Durant finished with 32 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds, four steals and four blocks to help the Thunder (12-3) to a sixth straight win.

Heat 99, Bobcats 98

Chris Bosh made three consecutive three-pointers in the final two-plus minutes to help the Miami Heat rally from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and steal a win.

Bosh finished with 22 points, LeBron James led the Heat with 26, and Dwyane Wade added 17 as Miami (14-3) extended their winning streak to 10 games.

Guard Kemba Walker led Charlotte (8-10) with 27 points.

Warriors 115, Kings 113

Stephen Curry broke a tie by sinking two free throws with 8.6 seconds left, and Andrew Bogut blocked a driving layup by Isaiah Thomas just before the final horn as the Golden State Warriors outlasted the Sacramento Kings.

Curry finished with 36 points and 10 assists to lead Golden State (10-8).

Nuggets 112, Raptors 98

Nate Robinson hit two three-pointers in the final two minutes and scored 23 points coming off the bench as the Denver Nuggets defeated the Toronto Raptors.

Kenneth Faried had 12 points and 12 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season for the Nuggets (10-6).

Rudy Gay scored 23 points to lead the Raptors (6-10), who lost their third game in a row.

Pistons 115, 76ers 100

Second-year center Andre Drummond poured in a career-high 31 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to power the Detroit Pistons past the slumping Philadelphia 76ers.

Brandon Jennings had 20 points and 12 assists for Detroit (7-10), while the Sixers (6-12) have lost eight of their last nine and seven straight on the road.

Pelicans 103, Knicks 99

The New Orleans Pelicans overcame an injury to their star player, power forward Anthony Davis, to get a gritty win over the New York Knicks.

The Pelicans (8-8) played the last three quarters without Davis, who left the game in the first quarter with a non-displaced fracture of his left hand and is out indefinitely.

Ryan Anderson came off the Pelicans’ bench to score 31 points while Carmelo Anthony’s 23 points could not save the Knicks (3-13) from a ninth straight defeat.