Nate Taylor

nate.taylor@indystar.com

Nets at Pacers, 7 p.m. Thursday, Fox Sports Indiana

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — The mood was joyful, the laughter was loud, and the jokes were aplenty. The Indiana Pacers, inside their small visitor’s locker room at the Palace at Auburn Hills, were happy — perhaps as happy as they’ve been since their season started Oct. 26.

Paul George smiled while watching his teammates. Al Jefferson and Thaddeus Young traded jokes at each other’s expense. Monta Ellis, though the first player to leave the locker room, encouraged his teammates about their future and what could be possible.

The Pacers entered their locker room winners Tuesday after their 121-116 victory over the Detroit Pistons. It took 36 games to accomplish, but the Pacers were enjoying their first three-game winning streak of the season.

BOX SCORE: Pacers 121, Pistons 116

“We talked about it,” Ellis said. “It feels great. We’ve just got to keep building on it. My thing right now is it’s just our time to turn that corner.”

Against the Pistons, the Pacers (18-18) continued to look like a more cohesive team. They played with better ball movement, better shot selection and a better defensive effort in the game’s most important minutes.

Another positive trend was the play of Paul George, who once again was the Pacers’ leading man. After his teammates built a lead in the final minutes, George played the role of closer. He scored 12 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter and took advantage of the smaller Reggie Jackson several times, making midrange baskets on isolation plays.

George’s best individual effort resulted in a three-point play with less than 4 minutes left to give the Pacers a comfortable 10-point lead. After the official blew his whistle and the ball rattled through the hoop, George started dancing. The basket frustrated Jackson and Andre Drummond, who fouled George. Drummond complained so much to the officials that they whistled him for a technical foul. George swished the technical foul shot, too.

“That was a good stretch for us,” George said of his highlight. “I think that play right there really sealed the game. It gave us enough of a cushion. That kind of positioned us to go ahead and finish the game.”

George received plenty of help from his teammates. Myles Turner scored 17 points and collected a team-high seven rebounds. Jeff Teague, who played Tuesday with a minor left ankle sprain, ran the Pacers' offense effectively while adding 17 points and eight assists.

“Jeff is really doing a great job, and I feel like everything is starting with him,” Turner said. “We’re obviously playing some great defense, but we’re moving the ball so much better, and our offense is starting to come into its own. We need to go ahead and pick up these next two games (against Brooklyn and New York) going into London. It’s a fact we’re trusting each other a lot more.”

Monta Ellis was excellent in his fourth game since his groin injury. In 20 minutes, Ellis was explosive, decisive and steady with the ball in his new role as the Pacers’ sixth man. He scored an impressive 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting. Al Jefferson and Kevin Seraphin, who combined to score 16 points, also played well with as Ellis the primary playmaker with the second unit.

“Both of those guys set great screens and they’ve got soft touches around the basket, so that’s going to help us a lot,” Ellis said of Jefferson and Seraphin. “It feels good to be back and getting in that rhythm. Hopefully, I can continue to keep that up and see what happens.”

Coach Nate McMillan rewarded Ellis' stellar effort by playing his veteran deeper into the fourth quarter over Glenn Robinson III, the third-year wing. McMillan’s decision proved to the correct one. The Pacers re-established their lead early in the fourth quarter with Ellis on the floor. Indiana grew its lead to 10 points before McMillan put Robinson back into the game.

“We’ve been playing through Al Jefferson with that second unit, but we felt like Kevin had a matchup we liked,” McMillan said. “I liked Monta in the pick-and-roll, so therefore C.J. (Miles) and Al didn’t get the touches they normally get. They’ve got to allow each other to play. When we do that, we’re a dangerous team. We’re showing that we can score. We just need to focus on defending, executing and moving the ball to the open guy.”

The Pacers’ opened the game by scoring 36 points in the first quarter on 61.1 percent shooting. Crisp ball movement allowed them to build a 15-point lead in the second quarter. On several possessions in the first half, each Pacer touched the ball and made a quick decision that led to an open shot. The few times the ball did stop for an isolation play, the Pacers trusted George to beat his defender in a one-on-one situation. George often did, as he scored 14 points in the first half.

The speed and passing of the Pacers’ offense frustrated Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy throughout the game.

The Pistons (16-21) did rally to tie the score at 92 at the end of the third quarter. Jackson was the key, as he penetrated the Pacers’ defense often in the second half and either created a shot for himself or for one his teammates. Jackson finished with 20 points and 12 assists.

The Pacers, though, never panicked and never let the Pistons take control of the game, which had happened so often in their previous road games. Yet during their winning streak, the Pacers have responded by scoring timely baskets and playing solid defense.

After coming up clutch in another victory, George said he can sense the Pacers’ confidence growing.

“I feel that’s all we needed,” he said. “We needed to get a winning streak going just so that momentum can start to build. Once we get a streak, I think, it will turn out to be where we win, you know, seven or eight games. I think we’ve got a big run coming ahead of us.”

Call IndyStar reporter Nate Taylor at (317) 444-6484. Follow him on Twitter:@ByNateTaylor.

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Nets at Pacers, 7 p.m. Thursday, Fox Sports Indiana