Paul George scored 18 of his 35 points in the third quarter Tuesday night and the desperate Indiana Pacers rallied from a 19-point, first-half deficit and blew out Toronto 108-90.

 

The Pacers ended a four-game losing streak that saw them slide from a tie for the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference to the very real possibility of missing the postseason.

 

DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, which had won its previous two.

 

It was an astounding comeback for Indiana, which was so lethargic in the first half it needed an 8-2 spurt just to get within 51-40 at halftime.

 

The game was marred by a shoving match between Indiana's Lance Stephenson and Toronto's DeMarre Carroll with 3.3 seconds left. The melee spilled down the sideline and into the Pacers' bench, where Carroll and Toronto's P.J. Tucker were still jawing with Pacers players.

 

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Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points, and the New York Knicks snapped the Chicago Bulls' four-game win streak with a 100-91 victory on Tuesday night.

Courtney Lee had 14 points for New York, and Maurice Ndour added 13 points and 12 rebounds. The Knicks (30-48) had dropped seven of nine.

 

The Bulls (38-40) shot just 38.1 percent from the field and committed 15 turnovers. They dropped into a tie with Indiana for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference, just a half-game ahead of idle Miami.

 

All-Star Jimmy Butler scored 26 points for Chicago, and Nikola Mirotic had 21 points.