Andre Iguodala, straight off back-to-back triple-doubles, posted 16 points, 10 assists, and four rebounds while Jrue Holiday added 16 points for Philadelphia, which is three games over .500 for the first time this season and now sits just a half-game behind the idle New York Knicks for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
"Our starters have been starting really slow and tonight was huge for us because we got our defense set," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "Iguodala was fantastic."
Jodie Meeks added 15 points while both Elton Brand and Spencer Hawes scored 12 points in the victory, Philadelphia's third straight and seventh in eight games.
Tyler Hansbrough finished one point shy of a career-high with 26 points to go with six rebounds, while both Danny Granger and Dahntay Jones added 11 points for the Pacers, who have dropped four straight and six of their last seven.
"We just have to stick together, everyone as a team," Hansbrough said.
The Sixers held an 84-70 advantage entering the final quarter, and throughout the opening minutes of the final stanza their advantage remained around 15. However, two A.J. Price free throws just over the four-minute mark started an 8-0 Pacers run that kept the game close.
Price capped the spurt with another pair from the line at 2:17, but after a Holiday turnover, Price missed a three-pointer. After Price's missed three, Roy Hibbert was stripped on the rebound by Holiday, and Meeks drilled a three of his own on the far end to widen the Philadelphia lead back to 10.
Indiana worked its deficit to as low as 106-99 in the final minute, but Meeks made 4-of-4 from the line down the stretch to silence the Pacers' chances of a legitimate comeback.
"Give credit to Philadelphia, they were the better team," Pacers interim coach Frank Vogel said. "Our guys have to do better. They understand it, I understand it."
Philadelphia opened the game on a 13-5 run, and with just over 3 1/2 remaining in the first held a 22-9 advantage. The Sixers shot 60 percent from the field in the first quarter, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, and held a 34-23 lead after one.
The Sixers widened their lead to as high as 15 on multiple occasion in the second and took a 65-53 lead into the break. Philadelphia shot 59 percent from the field in the first half.
The Philadelphia lead remained above 10 for the entire third quarter, and an Iguodala layup just under the midpoint widened it to 79-58. However, the Sixers only made two of their final 11 shots down the stretch as the Pacers whittled their deficit to 84-70 entering the final stanza.
Game Notes
Evan Turner added 10 points and four assists in a reserve role for Philadelphia...Hibbert finished with 13 points, Price 12 and Paul George grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for Indiana...Philadelphia led for the entire 48 minutes...Iguodala blocked two shots for the Sixers.
Copyright: The Sports Network
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