Oct. 30,2013 NBA Game: Indiana Pacers @ New Orleans Pelicans

THE FACT: Possibly as a result of playing Tuesday night, the Pacers shot just 35.3 percent in the first half and trailed by 14 at halftime. But Indiana got its legs back underneath it and shot 50 percent in the second half, including going 11-of-18 in the fourth quarter, to leave New Orleans with a second straight win this season.

THE LEAD: New Orleans' youth nearly pulled off a shocker Wednesday night. Instead, Indiana's playoff-tested roster never panicked and overcome a 16-point deficit to beat the Pelicans 95-90.

Paul George led Indiana (2-0) with 32 points, including 19 in the second half, and George Hill added 19.

The Pelicans (0-1) kept Indiana in check in the first half by playing tight defense. Eleven Indiana turnovers turned into 18 New Orleans points and, behind Eric Gordon, the Pelicans were cruising. Healthy for the first time in New Orleans, Gordon had 15 points at halftime and appeared to be the electrifying presence the franchise was missing.

But then New Orleans -- and Gordon -- went silent. The Pelicans made only six shots in the third quarter and Gordon went oh-fer. Indiana cut the 16-point deficit to seven.

The game was won, though, in the final minute. Hills' 3-pointer put the Pacers up by four with 31 seconds to play and the Pelicans couldn't catch up thanks to clutch free-throw shooting. Indiana converted six straight free throws to ice the game.

Gordon led New Orleans with 25 points, Jrue Holiday added 24 and Anthony Davis had 20 points and 12 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "We've got guys in this locker room that have confidence that's mile-high, particularly late in the game. We believe whoever's got the ball is going to make the right play. We came up with another tough win. We're confident in games like this even when a team gets going early."
-- Indiana's David West on winning after being behind for most of the game.

THE STAT: The Pacers finished with 12 blocked shots against New Orleans and now have 30 on the season. Indiana had three critical blocks in the fourth quarter, including two in the final minute.

TURNING POINT: With 9:43 to play, Indiana was still down nine points. But the Pacers went on a 13-4 run and the Pelicans couldn't find quality shots to hold off Indiana. Hill had five points and George four during the run that tied the game midway through the final quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "We didn't give it away, they took it. I don't think we had understanding of the moment in the fourth quarter."
-- Pelicans coach Monty Williams on the difference Wednesday night.

HOT: Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday introduced the city to the new team in a midcourt speech before the game, and then introduced his game. Holiday went 4-for-6, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range, in the first half and scored 12 points. He also had two assists, two rebounds and a steal in his initial 24 minutes with New Orleans.

NOT: Indiana's bench scored just 10 points a night after putting up 26. The Pacers' Ian Mahinmi, Orlando Johnson, C.J. Watson and Luis Scola were just 3-of-10 shooting.

NOTABLE: The Pelicans' Davis recorded his 21st career double-double and had a career-high seven offensive rebounds. ... Indiana made more free throws (25) than New Orleans took (21) and made one less 3-pointer (10) than the Pelicans took (11). ... New Orleans lost in the season-opener for the second straight year after a stretch in which the team won 6 of 7 curtain raisers. ... George has made 18-of-35 shots to start the season.