New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - David West finished with 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds against his former team as the Indiana Pacers topped the New Orleans Pelicans 106-93 on Wednesday.
Indiana (21-33) also got 17 points and nine assists from George Hill to win four of its last five games heading into the All-Star break. Rodney Stuckey scored 16 off the bench on 7-of-10 shooting.
"We played really well," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "We played a solid basketball game at both ends."
The Pelicans (27-26) go into the break having lost three in a row, most of which was played without All-Star Anthony Davis, who is dealing with a shoulder injury.
After the game, Davis said in a statement that he will not be participating in this weekend's All-Star festivities.
Luke Babbitt paced New Orleans with 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench and Alexis Ajinca and Toney Douglas each scored 14.
"You don't want to put up horrible performances like that in front of your home crowd," said Babbitt. "We've just got to keep fighting."
Without Davis protecting the paint, Indiana led 32-18 after one quarter. West had 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting in the frame as the Pelicans had a 4 1/2 minute scoring drought and made just three of their first 13 shots.
New Orleans' offense continued to struggle in the second quarter and finished the first half shooting just 38.2 percent with 12 turnovers that led to 16 Pacers points.
At the midpoint of the second period, Babbitt's 3-pointer reduced Indiana's lead to 20 and represented New Orleans' second field goal of the quarter. The Pacers led 57-35 going into halftime after a 10-2 run in the final two minutes was capped by Hill's triple with 14 seconds remaining.
The Pelicans' defense struggled in the third quarter and the Pacers extended their lead to 89-60 through three. Indiana shot 73.7 percent in the quarter, including eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from Hill.
Indiana extended its lead to a game-high 33 points three minutes into the final quarter on Roy Hibbert's basket and the Pacers got an extended look at their reserves for most of the fourth.
New Orleans finally got into a rhythm when all of Indiana's starters were out of the game. The Pelicans went on an 11-3 run and then outscored the Pacers 13-4 run with starter Solomon Hill on the floor to make the score more respectable.
Game Notes
New Orleans was without forward Ryan Anderson for a second consecutive game ... Indiana has beaten New Orleans in eight straight meetings ... The Pacers shot 53.3 percent overall, 45 percent from long distance and made 17-of-18 free throw attempts ... Indiana's reserves combined for 42 points.
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