NBA : Smits’ 26 Lead Pacers Past Pistons

Rik Smits scored 13 of his 26 points in the third quarter, sparking a 25-9 second-half spurt that lifted the Indiana Pacers to a 118-101 victory over the Detroit Pistons at Indianapolis Monday night.

Smits made a three-point play to begin the run that put the Pacers ahead to stay, 72-69, with 5:41 left in the third quarter.

Detroit, which got 27 points from Isiah Thomas and 19 rebounds from Dennis Rodman, closed to 87-78 on a three-point play by Thomas with 11:16 left in the game. But Indiana, which lost six of its previous seven games, took command by scoring the next seven points.