AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Paul George had 32 points and the Indiana Pacers beat the Detroit Pistons 121-116 on Tuesday night.
Myles Turner and Jeff Teague each scored 17 for Indiana, which blew a 15-point first-half lead but pulled away in the fourth quarter to win its third straight game. The Pacers (18-18) are 2 1/2 games ahead of Detroit (16-21) in the Eastern Conference standings.
Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 22 points. Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson each had a double-double.
Detroit lost for the eighth time in 10 games, with two of the defeats coming at home to Indiana.
Reggie Jackson on the Pistons defense: "It's a joke... If we were to play pick-up, I hope someone would kick us out of the gym." pic.twitter.com/UsXDUkYnvO
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) January 4, 2017
The Pacers hit six of seven 3-pointers in the first quarter to score a season-high 36 points and take an eight-point lead. The margin was as big as 15 in the second before the Pistons rallied late to pull to 66-60.
George and Teague each had 14 points in Indiana's highest-scoring half of the season. The Pacers shot 59 percent from the floor, 88 percent on 3-pointers and 93 percent from the foul line.
Detroit also shot well, hitting 57 percent of its shots, but couldn't keep up despite 13 points from Jackson.
Jackson's jumper early in the third cut the lead to 73-72 and prompted a timeout from Indiana coach Nate McMillan. Jackson's alley-oop to Drummond tied the game at 77, and it was 92-all going into the fourth quarter.
Indiana's offense got hot again early in the fourth, and the Pacers built a 103-96 lead with seven minutes to play. George's three-point play with 3:28 left made it 114-104, and Detroit couldn't get enough stops to threaten until the final minute.
Marcus Morris' two 3-pointers pulled Detroit to 119-114 with 50.3 seconds left and, after a turnover, Drummond's putback made it a three-point game. Monta Ellis made two free throws before Morris and Jackson missed at the other end.
TIP-INS
Pacers: The win was Indiana's fifth of the season on the road, and it snapped a three-game losing streak away from Indianapolis. The Pacers are 2-0 at the Palace this season, and 3-13 in other road games.
Pistons: With Aron Baynes sidelined by an ankle injury, Detroit went with little-used Boban Marjanovic as Drummond's backup. Marjanovic matched up mostly with Al Jefferson, who always gives Drummond problems.
HISTORIC RIVALRY
As part of the last season at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the Pistons spent much of the night honoring great moments from their rivalry with Indiana. The list was heavily populated by their postseason battles in the mid-2000s, with No. 1 being Tayshaun Prince's chase-down block of Reggie Miller in the 2004 Eastern Conference finals. Not a surprise: The most memorable Pistons-Pacers moment, the brawl involving Ron Artest and fans in November 2004, was not included.
UP NEXT
Pacers: Host the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
Pistons: Host the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday.
