m, said centre Anze Kopitar of the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.Maurice reflected last wee

ATLANTA - The Indiana Pacers knew what they were up against. This was a game they had to have. Paul George and David West made sure they got it. George and West hit key 3-pointers down the closing minutes, and top-seeded Indiana held off the Atlanta Hawks 91-88 to even the opening-round series at two wins apiece Saturday. Finally, the Pacers showed some grit and resilience, regaining the home-court edge that slipped away when they were stunned by the No. 8-seeded Hawks in Game 1. "We were just in desperation mode," West said. "You just cant go down two games in a playoff series. The odds are against you." George put the Pacers ahead 86-85 with a jumper beyond the arc, and West hit another trey with 1:33 remaining. Atlanta had a chance after Kyle Korver was fouled in the corner and knocked down three free throws, taking advantage of a do-over after the Pacers were called for a lane violation. But George gave the Pacers two chances at the other hand, scrambling for an offensive rebound after Lance Stephenson missed a 3. George Hill took advantage by scooping one in off a drive with 56 seconds left. That would be the final points. The Hawks whiffed on their last three possessions; Pero Antic missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime after the Pacers made sure Korver, the long-range specialist, didnt get his hands on the ball. Game 5 is Monday in Indianapolis. After questioning his teams toughness, George scored 24 points and added 10 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double. West added 18 points. "My number was called," George said. "I had to deliver." Unfortunately for the Hawks, Paul Millsap couldnt provide the matching punch. Even though he led the Hawks with 29 points, the All-Star forward turned it over with a bad pass with 33 seconds to go. Then, after Stephenson lost the ball and the Hawks gained possession off a jump, Millsap missed a spinning shot in the lane as Atlanta passed on going for a tying 3-pointer. "Were still a confident group," Millsap said. "We let one slip away, but we showed we can go out and compete in the games up there. Thats where our mindset is now. Weve got to let this one go and get ready for Monday." Indiana left the door open by missing its final four free throws, including a pair by George with 7.5 seconds left when only one would have been enough to seal the victory. But the Pacers buckled down at the defensive end, forcing Antic to throw up a desperation shot that clanked off the rim. The Pacers decided against benching Roy Hibbert to go with a smaller lineup against the Hawks, who have taken the 7-foot-2 centre out of his comfort zone by spreading the court with their big men. Hibbert continued to struggle, managing just six points and three rebounds in a little less than 25 minutes. But he did have his first two blocks of the series. George and West took care of the rest. Cheered on by a raucous crowd at Philips Arena, where they even took down a curtain that normally covers part of the upper deck, the Hawks looked as though they were headed for a commanding lead in the series as they pushed out to their biggest lead, 54-44, early in the third quarter. But Millsap picked up two fouls just 7 seconds apart, giving him four in the game and forcing him to the bench for much of the period. The Pacers took advantage of the Atlanta stars absence, whittling the deficit down to 59-56 by the time he returned. "Getting him on his heels, putting him in a tough spot, obviously it changes who they are," West said. "The game was getting away from us. He goes to the bench, we closed the gap somewhat." It was tight all the way in the fourth, and things really got heated down the stretch. With about 5 1/2 minutes remaining, Millsap stumbled trying to drive to the basket and two Pacers piled on him trying to snatch the ball away. Tempers flared, Hill gave Atlantas Mike Scott a little shove, and both players were assessed technical fouls. After sorting things out, the officials ruled it a jump ball. "In the fourth quarter, we just made enough plays," West said. "The season was on the line." Notes: The Hawks gave a lot more attention to Indiana F Luis Scola, who had scored 37 points in the two previous games. He managed only 4 Saturday. ... Scott had 12 points off the Atlanta bench, but went just 4 of 15 from the field. ... Evan Turner gave the Pacers a boost early on, scoring seven straight points. He finished with 11. ... All five Indiana starters blocked at least one shot. ... Korver had a career playoff high with nine rebounds. Clayton Geathers Jersey . Then he got back at the team that released him five days before the start of last season, hitting a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning of the first game at Fenway Park since Boston won the World Series last October. T.J. Green Jersey . The 31-year-old, a two-time CFL lineman of the year, was among the most coveted free agents on the market. The Windsor, Ont., native will be especially important to a team that has lost veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo to retirement and is expected to go with the less experienced Troy Smith and Tanner Marsh this season. http://www.officialindianapoliscoltsfootball.com/authentic-henry-anderson-jersey-womens . On Monday night, many fans in this city placed the blame squarely on the captain for his role in the James Neal overtime winner against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Joe Haeg Jersey . The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and foot injuries. Quenton Nelson Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side.The Winnipeg Jets have taken off and are on course to land in the playoffs, an experience their passionate fans havent enjoyed in nearly 20 years.At this point in the season, obviously it becomes a little bit more realistic, left wing Evander Kane said. But we dont pay too much attention to that. Were just focused on the 20-some-odd guys we have in the room and the job we need to do ourselves.Theyve been doing that job well.The Jets went 6-0-1 in their last seven games before the All-Star break to take a firm grip on the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference into the final stretch. Theyre in fourth place in the daunting Central Division, five points behind leader Nashville.I love our room. Weve stuck together all year. We had a tough start to the season, right wing Blake Wheeler said. Weve made a commitment to each other to just do the right things and stick with what works. I think weve put a lot of individual stuff behind us and just rallied around our team and our group and what were good at. I think that makes playing this game with these guys a lot of fun.The old Jets went one-and-done in the 1996 playoffs, their last year in Winnipeg before moving to Arizona to become the Coyotes. The NHL returned to Manitoba in 2011, but the franchise that floundered in Atlanta as the Thrashers has qualified for the post-season only once in 15 years (in 2007). The new Jets have been competitive most of the time, but this season the breakthrough has been obvious.Theyve been unbelievable this year. Theyre a big, fast strong team. They play a good team game, Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Brent Seabrook said. We played them three times now and lost to them all three times. Theyre tough games every time we play them. Theyre going to be a team to beat.The professorial conductor of the success this season is coach Paul Maurice, who was hired a little over a year ago after the firing of Claude Noel. He has injected some liveliness into his relatively young team, pushing a punishing style with back-checking forwards yet enough speed and skill to play a puck-possession game.All-Star Dustin Byyfuglien, now a permanent presence on the first blue line pairing where hes most comfortable after spending some time on the wing, is 10th in the league with 144 hits.ddddddddddddThe Jets lead the NHL in penalty minutes. Theyre in the middle of the pack in scoring, with well-balanced production along the top two lines.They have a lot of meat on that team. They play hard. They play fast, and they come after you. It reminds me a lot of our team, said centre Anze Kopitar of the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.Maurice reflected last week on the progress from those pressure-filled early days of his tenure. Even this season, the Jets have overcome a rash of injuries on defence and a four-game October losing streak when they were outscored 13-2 after winning their opener.There was a lot of frustration. They were playing hard. They wanted to play better, Maurice said. And now, I think the general feel in there is that weve been pretty good. Were on the right path. When you stand behind the bench, the players call the game, too. They know whats going on.Goaltending has been perhaps the biggest strength, with rookie Michael Hutchinson taking more and more turns from Ondrej Pavelec, who has been vastly improved himself from a year ago. Hutchinson is second in the NHL with a 1.90 goals-against average.Jets fans chanted his name as their last game before the break wound down, a 4-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Though a limited amount of tickets are still made available for each home date at the MTS Centre, a base of 13,000 season tickets for the 15,000-seat arena has made the full house a nightly occurrence.Weve definitely turned a corner up there, Byfuglien said. Our game has come a long way. Our locker room is better. Weve handled things a lot better. ... Its definitely changed. Its a good thing, and its fun to be a part of.___AP Sports Writer Rusty Miller and AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed to this report from Columbus, Ohio.Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version incorrectly identified Claude Noel as Claude Julien. 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