Rush leads Pacers past Mavericks
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Brandon Rush scored eight of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Dallas Mavericks 102-89 on Wednesday night.
Danny Granger and Darren Collison both scored 17 points and rookie Paul George added a season-high 16 for the Pacers, who won their second straight.
Jason Terry scored 18 points and Tyson Chandler had 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for the Mavericks in a disappointing return to Conseco Fieldhouse for former Pacers coach Rick Carlisle.
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Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki missed his eighth straight game with a sprained right knee. The Mavericks entered the night with the second-best record in the Western Conference, but dropped to 2-6 without Nowitzki.
Dallas also is playing without Caron Butler, who recently had surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right knee, likely sidelining him for the rest of the season.
The Pacers hadn't won consecutive games since Nov. 28 against the Los Angeles Lakers and Nov. 30 against Sacramento. In their previous home game, they squandered a 15-point lead in the second half by shooting 1 for 15 in the fourth quarter of a loss to San Antonio. They shot 8 for 19 in the fourth against Dallas.
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The teams were tied at 52 at halftime, but Indiana's Tyler Hansbrough made back-to-back mid-range jumpers in the third quarter to give the Pacers a 67-62 lead midway through the period.
Indiana pushed its lead to 74-66 on a 3-pointer by Granger, and the Pacers took a 77-69 lead into the fourth quarter.
George hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Pacers an 83-71 lead with 10 minutes left, and the Pacers remained ahead by at least six points the rest of the way.
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NOTES: Jeff Foster tried his first 3-pointer of the season as the shot clock was running out during a possession in the first quarter and missed. He's only made six 3s in his 12-year career. ... Dallas has scored more than 100 points just twice in eight games without Nowitzki. ... Chandler was issued a technical foul for disagreeing with an official with 2:50 left in the fourth quarter.