INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana: The Indiana Pacers won the battle of the first-placed teams Thursday (Friday in Manila), beating the New York Knicks 81-76 behind a superb defense and 24 points and 11
rebounds from forward Paul George.

George also had six steals and five assists for the Pacers, who won their third consecutive National Basketball Association game.

“We are improving every game,” George said. “Our defence is holding up. We may not score a lot of points but our offence is going to come around. Right now we are just grinding it out.”

While George did a little bit of everything, Ian Mahinmi came off the bench to help out with the scoring. Centre Mahinmi finished with 13 points as he became the only other Pacer player to reach double figures.

“In the first half I struggled so I knew I had to get going,” George said. “I really tried to defend and was able to get some easy baskets.”

The Central Division leading Pacers limited the Knicks to 26 points below their average two days after holding the reigning NBA-champion Miami Heat to 77 points. The Pacers improved to 22-14 while the Knicks fell to 23-12.

The Knicks were without Carmelo Anthony, serving a one-game ban for trying to confront Boston’s Kevin Garnett following Monday’s loss against the Celtics.