George leads Pacers past short-handed Knicks

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INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George scored seven points in a 13-0 fourth-quarter run and finished with 24, leading the Indiana Pacers past the short-handed New York Knicks 81-76 on Thursday night.

The Pacers (22-14) have won 12 of 15, including a sweep of the other two Eastern Conference division leaders — Miami and the Knicks — this week.

New York (23-12) was led by J.R. Smith with 25 points on a night they clearly missed Carmelo Anthony. The NBA's second-leading scorer was suspended by the league for Monday's postgame confrontation with Boston's Kevin Garnett.

Without Anthony, the Knicks fell nine points below their previous season-low point total (85) and shot just 34.8 percent from the field.

New York rallied from a 49-38 third-quarter deficit and started the fourth with a 60-58 lead.

But George changed the game with his quick scoring flurry, which gave Indiana a 71-62 lead. Indiana never trailed again.