INDIANAPOLIS -- When the Indiana Pacers needed a lift. Paul George stepped up. All over the court, over and over again. George had 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and the Pacers used a big second-half run to rally for a 101-85 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. George Hill scored each of his 15 points in the second half, helping top-seeded Indiana earn a split of the first two post-season games at home. George also had four steals and blocked a shot while helping keep Hawks point guard Jeff Teague in check. "Thats why he was in the MVP conversation early," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "He always does those types of things, guarding the best perimeter player, rebounding the ball, deflecting the ball. His hands were all over the place. It makes him one of the most complete players in the game when he plays like he did tonight."" The Pacers sure needed it. For seven weeks, Indiana heard everyone question its fortitude, team chemistry, even whether it was worthy of a No. 1 seed. The complaints grew louder after Saturdays 101-93 loss. George and his teammates spent the next 72 hours seeking solutions and defiantly insisting they would be OK. On Tuesday, they finally reverted to their early season from. Indiana limited the Hawks to 33 second-half points and dominated the third quarter. Next up is Game 3 on Thursday in Atlanta, where the Pacers have only two wins since December 2006 -- though one of those closed out last years first-round playoff series in six games. "We want to build on what weve got going," Indiana forward David West said. "We want to continue to be aggressive. We know theyre going to play better at home, but were going down there to get back in charge of this series." George was 9 for 16 from the field, including a 5-for-7 performance from 3-point range. He also went 4 for 4 at the line. Perhaps more importantly, he managed to contain Teague after he burned Indiana for 28 points in Game 1. George wanted the responsibility of guarding Teague, who had seven points in the first quarter and seven more for the rest of the game. "I sat down and it was homework for me, just locking into his tendencies and figuring out where I will get beat or where Im vulnerable against him," George said. "Its a challenge." George was the catalyst, but he had plenty of help. Hill, who had been mired in an offensive funk, made 5 of 6 shots in the second half. Luis Scola, who kept the Pacers close when West got into early foul trouble, finished with 20 points and seven rebounds. The defence that gave up 11 3-pointers in Game 1 and eight more in the first half of Game 2, allowed just two over the final 24 minutes. "Our execution on both ends of the court wasnt at the level we need it to be," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "Give them credit, they were aggressive, they made a lot of plays and our execution, particularly in the third quarter has to be better. Thats what well work on." Indiana appeared to be in trouble when it trailed 38-27 in the second quarter and was still down 52-48 at halftime. But the Pacers stormed into the lead with a 31-13 third quarter. West sparked a 25-2 run with a bank shot that made it 70-65 with 3:20 left in the third. George made a buzzer-beating 3 to make it 79-65 heading into the fourth, and the Pacers scored the first eight points of the final period. "If thats what it took for everyone to understand how close this team is, thats what it was," George said. "Weve got each others back and thats what it felt like." NOTES: Atlanta was trying to open a playoff series with two straight road wins for the first time since the St. Louis Hawks swept Baltimore 3-0 in the 1966 Western Division semifinals. ... Defending Indianapolis 500 champion Tony Kanaan attended the game. ... Atlanta outscored Indiana 30-16 in the third quarter Saturday. Ua Hovr Outlet . Niese pitched seven steady innings on a rainy Tuesday night and Daniel Murphy had three hits to lead New York to a 6-1 victory over the Phillies. Curry 3 Outlet Store . Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday after he defeated Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Russian semifinal. "Youzhny is a good player," Ferrer said. http://www.outletunderarmourstore.com/ . Darren Collison and Blake Griffin scored 23 points apiece and the Clippers beat the Suns 112-108 Wednesday night, their fourth win in a row and 17th in the last 19 games. Under Armour Store . CSKA received the heavier punishment of playing its next European home game behind closed doors, after its supporters displayed racist and far-right symbols in the Czech Republic during a 2-1 loss to Viktoria Plzen on Dec. Scorpio Shoes Discount .com) - Robert Martin and Josh Hicks combined for more than 300 yards rushing and three touchdowns, as Rutgers rolled past North Carolina, 40-21, in the Quick Lane Bowl. TORONTO -- Toronto FC left with the win. But Vancouver coach Carl Robinson walked out with a smile. A baby-faced Whitecaps squad escaped the first leg of their Amway Canadian Championship semifinal Wednesday down by just one goal after a 2-1 loss to a star-studded Toronto FC outfit. "Im delighted with them. Im really really proud of the boys in there today," said Robinson. According to the Whitecaps, the average age of their starting 11 was 21.7 years, with an average of 22.1 for the matchday 18. Toronto, meanwhile, rolled out its big guns in U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley and the strike force of Brazils Gilberto and Englands Jermain Defoe. Standing in their way was 17-year-old Canadian goalie Marco Carducci, whose US$36,504 annual salary is probably what Bradley ($6.5 million) and Defoe ($6.18 million) find in their couch. Up 1-0 after Defoes first-half strike, Bradley added what seemed like an insurance goal in the 89th minute, driving down the right and then, after a nifty 1-2 with Defoe, beating Carducci with a right-footed shot. The Whitecaps responded with a stoppage-time goal from substitute Kekuta Manneh, a valuable away goal that may pay dividends if the total goals series finished tied. The second leg is next Wednesday in Vancouver. "I think the tie is wide open," said Robinson. "I think both teams wanted to win this tie and end it tonight," said Toronto manager Ryan Nelsen. "But its not (done). Its up for grabs for both teams." Nelsen said he would make changes for the return leg, but declined to elaborate. Robinson said he would give his young players another opportunity "because I think they deserve it." The defending champion Montreal Impact meanwhile lost their opening semifinal leg 2-1 against FC Edmonton in Alberta later Wednesday. Nelsen, whose club had lost its last three MLS outings, called it an awkward game against a young opposition squad looking to prove itself to its coach. "Boy they were up for it," he said. "It was one of those games where ... you could have easily lost. Theyre a good team, theyre good young players." He lamented his team was unable to get the second goal earlier, allowing Vancouver to retain its confidence. And when Toronto did score again, it was quickly followed by a Whitecaps goal that "left a bit of a sour taste in the mouth." Toronto GM Tim Bezbatchenko certainly looked grim as he left his perch atop the stadium. Vancouver lived dangerously, carved open at times by a Toronto side that more often than not was unable to punish the visitors. But the Whitecaps, who grew into the game, had stretches when they strung passes together and came close to scoring before the late strike. Toronto should have led by several goals after 45 minutes on a windy night at BMO Field before an announced crowd of 22,591 despite a good number of empty seats. But it failed to take advantage of some early stage fright from the visitors, putting only three of eight shots on target in the first half, and needed a pair of defensive stops late in the half to avoid going in tied 1-1. Toronto outshot Vancouver 14-13 over 90 minutes but the visitors had a 6-4 edge in shots on target. Perhaps the big winner on the night was Canadian soccer, with eight homegrown starters and signs of hope for the future. "I just (Canadian coach) Benito (Floro) in the corridor and he must be excited as well, because it was a very competitive game today," said Robinson, a former Welsh international. "Thats the talent that Canadian foootball has.dddddddddddd." Said Nelsen: "Vancouver has a fantastic academy ... I think were probably a couple of years behind them in producing a steady influx of good young Canadian players." With a league game in Columbus on Saturday, Robinson gave veterans like centre backs Jay DeMerit and Andy OBrien the night off and dipped deep into his touring party of 26 as he blooded a bevy of young talent. Under Robinson, the Whitecaps are a young side. But he went "younger than young" Wednesday. In addition to Carducci, the Whitecaps starting 11 included Canadian midfielders Bryce Alderson (20 years old), Marco Bustos (18), Kianz Froese (18) and Russell Teibert (21), who came in the game with 46 MLS appearances under his belt. Robinson gave the captains armband to Teibert, calling him "our face of our residency program." "I was impressed with them, especially their midfielders," said Toronto goalie Joe Bendik. At 17 years 225 days, Carducci becomes the 12th youngest player -- and second youngest keeper -- to play for the Whitecaps. The youngest was forward Guido Titotto who debuted at 16 years 38 days in 1987. "Were talking about a future Canadian (international) goalkeeper. Hes absolutely fantastic," Robinson said of Carducci, who has already represented Canada at the FUFA U-17 World Cup Carducci called it a "dream" night. "Its a positive result for us," he said. "It showed us very well." Toronto, which has a bye this weekend, played a more conventional lineup with Bendik making his first start of the season in place of Julio Cesar -- named to the Brazilian World Cup squad earlier in the day. Other than Bendik, it was the lineup TFC might have used had it played an MLS game on the night. The only starters missing were Brazilian midfielder Jackson and injured Canadian midfielder Jonathan Osorio (charley horse). Vancouver started five Canadians compared to Torontos three (defender Doneil Henry and midfielders Kyle Bekker and Issey Nakajima-Farran). That tied Vancouvers record for the tournament. Nelsen had to make a late change before kickoff, replacing rookie Nick Hagglund with fullback Mark Bloom because of a flu bug that has been going through the team. Bendik, who had 33 starts last season, had long stretches of inactivity but made the tough saves when needed. "Thats the sign of a good keeper," said Nelsen, who called Bendiks play "brilliant." Gilberto, whose goal drought continues, headed woefully wide in the 21st minute. But he played provider in the 28th minute, carving open the Vancouver defence with a nice pass to put Defoe in all alone with plenty of time to beat Carducci. While Gilberto did not score, he exuded danger whenever he got near the ball and showed a good eye in finding his teammates. And it was a typical Defoe performance with the elusive striker disappearing for stretches then turning up in places where he could do damage. Bradley, meanwhile, made some surging runs and played surgical defence. Montreal captured the inaugural Canadian championship in 2008 and won it again last year. Toronto claimed the trophy during the four interim years. Vancouver has finished runner-up the last five years. The winner hoists the Voyageurs Cup, donated by the Voyageurs Canadian supporters group, and earns a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League, a 24-team competition featuring clubs from North and Central America and the Caribbean. The CONCACAF Champions League winner advances to the FIFA Club World Cup. ' ' '