(The Sports Xchange) — – -Indiana could have folded under another barrage of three-pointers from the Atlanta Hawks but instead the Pacers answered and evened a series that has been much closer than many expected.
Paul George scored 24 points and George Hill had his best game of the series in a 91-88 victory over the Hawks at Philips Arena. The first-round playoff series is tied 2-2 and heads back to Indiana for Game 5 on Monday.
Hill, like the rest of the Pacers, has struggled in the series, but scored 15 points, including the last basket of the game on a driving layup that put Indiana up three with 56 seconds to play.
The Hawks hit 11 three-pointers, but needed one more and failed to convert on their last three possessions.
Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague hit a deep three-pointer with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter that put the Hawks up 83-78. Hill answered with a corner three-pointer on the next possession.
George and forward David West hit back-to-back three-pointers that helped the Pacers build a four-point lead with 1:32 to play.
The Hawks did not make a field goal in the final four minutes of the game.
Atlanta forward Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 29 points, and Korver added 15. The Hawks scored 11 straight points in the second quarter and led by as many as 10. They led 58-52 at halftime.
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Mavericks 109, Spurs 108
Vince Carter sank a desperation three-pointer to give the eighth-seeded Dallas Mavericks a 109-108 victory over the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs and an unlikely 2-1 lead in the first-round series.
Only moments earlier, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili delivered what looked like would be the winner, spinning home an awkward shot over Dallas center Sam Dalembert with 1.7 seconds left.
But with guard Monta Ellis and forward Dirk Nowitzki bottled up, Carter broke free in the corner and sank the three-pointer to win the game.
The Mavs, who had lost nine regular-season games to the Spurs, continued to frustrate San Antonio with their switching defense while getting help throughout the lineup offensively.
Nowitzki finished with 18 points, Ellis delivered 29, including 12 in the fourth quarter.
Guard Jose Calderon had another strong game with 16 points. Carter finished with 11 points.
Spurs point guard Tony Parker had 19 points and six assists, and forward Tim Duncan scored 22 points a day after turning 38.
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Heat 98, Bobcats 85
LeBron James scored 30 points, and the Miami Heat rolled over the Charlotte Bobcats 98-85 to take a 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
