George picks up slack, leads Pacers past Bulls

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CHICAGO – Paul George scored 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Indiana Pacers to an 80-76 win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.

Roy Hibbert added 10 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana, which closed a four-game trip with three victories.

The Bulls, who failed to win three straight for the first time this season, were able to keep David West, Indiana’s leading scorer, in check – but George picked up the slack.

George scored 10 points in the first quarter, highlighted by a thunderous dunk as George Hill’s three-point attempt bounced up off the back of the rim. It was George’s best performance since scoring a career-high 37 points Nov. 21 against New Orleans. George went scoreless Saturday against Golden State, missing all seven of his shots.

Nate Robinson fired up the crowd with three baskets on successive possessions midway through the fourth quarter. His three-pointer brought the Bulls within 65-64, then a pair of driving layups gave Chicago its first lead since early in the third, but the Bulls could not pull it out.

Robinson scored 19 of the 25 points the Bulls got from their reserves. Carlos Boozer notched his seventh double-double in nine games with 14 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago.

Boozer beat West on consecutive possessions to start the game, but the Pacers responded with a 10-0 run that ended when Kirk Hinrich hit a three-pointer.

West reached double-digits for a ninth straight game with 10.