Will Pacers' fourth-quarter woes Monday be a setback?

The Indiana Pacers had built a bit of momentum heading into the final week before All-Star break, not only winning three straight games but finishing them with strong fourth quarter moments. Then on Monday, the Pacers' final quarter foibles from earlier in the season returned when they let a 14-point lead slip away and the San Antonio Spurs prevailed 95-93.

The Pacers (20-33) matched or even beat the Spurs in several categories (rebounds, assists, 3-pointers and field-goal percentages were nearly even with both teams shooting around 41 percent). The greatest disparity, however, occurred in the fourth quarter when the Spurs outscored Indiana 30-14, which matched a season low point total for the Pacers.

"They made shots and we didn't," David West said about the decisive quarter.

Monday was a dramatic departure from the improvement the Pacers had shown in previous games.

This season, the Pacers have been a middle-of-the-road fourth quarter team averaging 24.6 points. However during the Sunday night comeback in Charlotte, point guard George Hill's game-winning floater punctuated a performance in which Indiana made nine field goals, and almost as many free throws (8-for-10), for an effective field goal percentage of 52 percent through the decisive fourth quarter. Against the Cleveland Cavaliers (Feb. 6), the Pacers scored 36 in the fourth quarter and ripped off 33 versus the Detroit Pistons (Feb. 4).

However in the fourth quarter against the Spurs, Indiana missed 16-of-22 shots (27.3 percent), making just one of 12 attempts in the final 5 minutes and 35 seconds.

The Spurs deserve as much credit as the Pacers must shoulder blame since they made the adjustment to send small forward Kawhi Leonard, who defended LeBron James in the NBA Finals, to track Hill. The Pacers' offense could not move as fluidly as it did through the third quarter, which they skillfully won by a 34-18 margin, and Hill was not a factor.

Though Hill torched the Spurs with seven points through seven minutes of the first quarter, he remained scoreless the rest of the game and attempted only two shots in the fourth quarter – one swatted at the rim by Leonard and the other, a missed 3-pointer under duress with 2.1 seconds remaining.

In spite of the setback, several Pacers viewed the loss as only a slight hiccup.

"I think we're turning it around, slowly but surely we're turning it around," Roy Hibbert said, then shook his head when asked if Monday's fourth quarter was a step in the wrong direction. "We're moving along, we're getting better and hopefully we can get this next one."

Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.





INDIANA at NEW ORLEANS

Tipoff: 8 p.m. Wednesday

TV: Fox Sports Indiana.

Radio: WFNI-FM (107.5), WFNI-AM (1070).<

PACERS (20-33)

Pos. Player PPG Key stat PG George Hill 13.9 3.4 apg SG Rodney Stuckey 11.5 3.0 apg SF C.J. Miles 12.5 2.8 rpg PF David West 13.0 7.3 rpg C Roy Hibbert 11.2 7.2 rpg 6th C.J. Watson 10.3 3.8 apg

PELICANS (27-25)

Pos. Player PPG Key stat SG Eric Gordon 12.8 3.8 apg PG Tyreke Evans 17.0 6.1 apg PF Dante Cunningham 5.1 3.5 rpg C Omer Asik 7.0 9.9 rpg C Alexis Ajinca 5.4 4.2 rpg 6th Tony Douglas 6.5 2.5 apg

STORYLINES:

A must win: Road wins are difficult to come by, especially when playing a team with a winning home record, but this is a game the Pacers must get. The Pelicans are depleted and ready for this weekend's All-Star break. Anthony Davis (24.5 points, 10.3 rebounds) is likely out again with a sprained right shoulder. PG Jrue Holiday (15.2 points, 7.1 assists) and PF Ryan Anderson (14.9 points) also missed Monday's 100-96 home loss to Utah with injuries. New Orleans is thin at guard and lacks productivity in the post. Cunningham and Ajinca are so off the league's radar that their combined salaries don't reach $1.7 million. Gordon had 31 points against the Jazz.

Balance aplenty: The Pacers won't be represented in this weekend's All-Star game in New York, but they have multiple scoring options, especially with Hill returning to form after a groin injury. Seven players are averaging double-figure points and three more are at 9.1 or better. That's 10 players that coach Frank Vogel can count on to score.

Prediction: The Pacers won the Dec. 23 meeting with New Orleans 96-84 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and that was with Davis scoring 21 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Vogel's team should be riding a four-game winning streak (it yielded a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback Monday against San Antonio), so momentum is there. Plus, this is the last game before a nine-day break from competition. Indiana is three games out of a playoff spot in the East; New Orleans is 1.5 games out in the West, but this feels like a chance for the visitors to gain ground. Indiana wins 92-79.

— Curt Cavin