MINNEAPOLIS — On a night when he was picked for his fourth All-Star game, Paul George looked every bit the part.
Karl-Anthony Towns was right there with him, but the young Minnesota Timberwolves star will not be joining George in New Orleans next month.
George scored 32 points after being picked for his fourth All-Star game to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 109-103 victory over the Timberwolves on Thursday night.
"I’ve got to bring it," George said. "I’ve got to be ready at all times, always got to have the mindset to be aggressive."
Myles Turner added 23 points, and Jeff Teague had 20 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds to help the Pacers snap a three-game losing streak. Indiana outrebounded Minnesota 44-34 and shot 52 per cent.
Towns had 33 points and 10 rebounds, Zach LaVine scored 23 points, and Andrew Wiggins had 21 for Minnesota. But the Timberwolves missed a chance for their first four-game winning streak since 2012.
"It felt like we were a step slow all night," Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said.
The Pacers had lost three in a row and four of six since a trip to London snapped a five-game winning streak.
"Ever since we got back from London we haven’t been the same team since before we left," Teague said. "We had to come out tonight and play with a lot of energy, played hard, and just got to continue to keep going."
George was named a reserve for the Eastern Conference about an hour before tipoff, and he came out firing with the 21-year-old Wiggins checking him. George hit 3 of 4 3-pointers and got Wiggins to foul him on a 3-pointer with seven minutes to play. Thibodeau picked up a technical foul for arguing the call and George, the leading free throw shooter in the league, made all four foul shots for an 86-81 lead.
Towns hit a pair of 3-pointers to try to jumpstart a Wolves charge and LaVine hit another to cut the deficit to 96-90. But Teague and C.J. Miles each hit 3-pointers late in the shot clock down the stretch to turn back the Wolves.
"We almost pulled it off," Towns said, "but almost isn’t good enough."
TIP-INS
Pacers: Indiana is 12-2 this year in games in which they shoot 50 per cent. … F Kevin Seraphin was scratched with a sore right knee. Coach Nate McMillan said he tried it in practice on Wednesday and was still sore so they held him out. … The Pacers shot 55.6 per cent (10 for 18) from deep.
Timberwolves: Nemanja Bjelica struggled offensively, making just 1 of 6 shots and 1 of 5 3-pointers, many of them open looks. … Minnesota had been one of the best rebounding teams in the league over the last month, but were soundly beaten in that category on Thursday night and were outscored 13-5 in second-chance points. … Towns had his 35th double-double of the season.
ALL-STAR GEORGE
"I think being a reserve is personally special because the coaches are voting you in and have more respect for your game. Obviously, I love being a starter as well, but it’s always a special and a humbling opportunity to be an All-Star in this league." — George on his selection.
BIG MOMENT
After Wiggins made a layup to pull Minnesota to 106-103 with 15 seconds to play, Teague took the inbounds pass and headed up the sideline. It appeared that he stepped out of bounds, which would have given the Wolves the ball with 12 seconds left. But officials didn’t call it, Teague squirted up the sideline and fed Turner for a dunk to seal it.
"He was out of bounds, so it’s (down) three with a chance to tie," Thibodeau said. "But we put ourselves in a bad position."
ROUGH NIGHT
The Towns family had a rough night. Karl-Anthony was left off the All-Star team and his father, Karl, was hit by Wolves mascot Crunch during a stunt in the second quarter. Crunch slides down the stairs on a sled, but he hit Karl Towns’ leg. Big Karl stayed in the game though, watching the second half with an ice pack on his right knee, but needed crutches to leave the arena.
UP NEXT
Pacers: Indiana returns home to host Sacramento on Friday night.
Timberwolves: Minnesota continues its homestand with a game against Brooklyn on Saturday night.
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