George powers Pacers past Celtics

NEW YORK — As is usually the case when the Indiana Pacers win, Paul George provided plenty of offense. But after Indiana’s 103-98 victory Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics, George and the Pacers wanted to talk defense. “Teams that stretch the floor have given us problems, so we had to guard to win this game,” said George, who led all scorers with 25 points. “Our message tonight was, ‘Guard our guy’.” Two George Hill free throws with 7:43 to play began a 6-0 Pacers run and the Celtics (39-28) never led again. It was only the fourth time in the past 30 games that Boston was held below 100 points. Indiana (36-31) won the four-game season series with Boston 3-1. Monta Ellis added 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Pacers. Jordan Hill came off the bench for 15 points and Ian Mahinmi finished with 13 points and six rebounds. The Pacers shot 46.4 percent from the field (39 of 84) and held Boston to 38.3 percent (36 of 94), including 8 of 32 from 3-point range. Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 21 points, Jonas Jerebko had 17 and Jared Sullinger added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Marcus Smart scored 12 points. Kings 106, Lakers 98: Darren Collison and DeMarcus Cousins scored 22 points apiece, sparking the Sacramento Kings to a 106-98 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night at Staples Center. Rudy Gay added 20 points and eight rebounds for the Kings, who beat the Lakers for the seventh consecutive time. Sacramento (26-40) also swept the regular-season series with the Lakers (14-54) for the first time in 54 seasons. Magic 116, Nuggets 110: Guard Evan Fournier matched his career high with 30 points Tuesday night, leading the Orlando Magic to a 116-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets at the Amway Center. Reserve center Jason Smith scored a season-high 25 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter to hold off a late charge by the Nuggets. Victor Oladipo had 23 points and six assists. Aaron Gordon scored 16 points. Brandon Jenning, in his first Magic start, had 12 points and a game-high 11 assists. Nets 131, 76ers 114: Bojan Bogdanovic set one franchise record and matched another when he scored a career-high 44 points in the Brooklyn Nets’ 131-114 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Bogdanovic had the most points by a Nets player in Brooklyn, surpassing Deron Williams’ 42-point game on March 8, 2013, against Washington. Raptors 107, Bucks 89: Kyle Lowry scored 25 points and handed out 11 assists as the Toronto Raptors got back to their winning ways and swept the season series from the Milwaukee Bucks with a 107-89 victory at the Bradley Center. Spurs 108, Clippers 87: Kawhi Leonard poured in 20 points to lead five San Antonio players in double figures as the Spurs turned a close game into a rout in the fourth quarter and walloped the Los Angeles Clippers 108-87. — Agencies