Paul George superb as Pacers beat Pistons, 101-94

Barely hanging on against a team recently thrashed by the pitiful Philadelphia 76ers won't earn any style points. But after a mediocre March punctuated by a three-game losing streak, the Indiana Pacers will take any win they can get.

Paul George had a superb performance and the Pacers beat the Pistons 101-94, getting April started on a better note than the way March ended — a 103-77 home loss to the San Antonio Pacers on Monday.

"It's a step in the right direction," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. "You're not just going to step back into it when you've been out of rhythm like we have for the last couple of weeks. But definitely a positive step on the offensive end in that we shared the basketball and took care of the basketball."

Yes, the Pistons (27-48) lost 123-98 at Philadelphia last Saturday, in which the 76ers snapped their NBA record-tying 26-game losing streak. They entered the game 5-18 since a three-game winning streak in early February. They blew a 25-point lead in a 112-104 overtime loss to the Pacers on March 15 — the last time Indiana had surpassed the 100-point barrier.

But Vogel and the rest of the Pacers saw enough positives to convince them it's a sign of better things to come.

"It was our most fun game in a while besides the Miami game," George said in reference to a 84-83 victory over the Heat the previous Wednesday. "It's the most we've been together. They made a pretty big run, but at no point did we feel like we were going to lose this."

Indiana (53-23) committed just 10 turnovers and put six players in double figures, including backup center Ian Mahinmi, who got some extended playing time when Roy Hibbert suffered a neck injury late in the first quarter and missed the rest of the half and finished with 10 points and five rebounds. (Hibbert returned to start the second half.)

They also shot 49 percent from the field, snapping a franchise-record of six straight games under 40 percent and their highest total since shooting 58.2 percent in a victory over Philadelphia on March 17.

Yet, the Pistons were able to keep it close, thanks in large part to taking 14 more shots than the Pacers and actually took a 74-73 lead on Greg Monroe's basket to start the fourth quarter.

But the Pacers re-took the lead at 76-74 on Luis Scola's jumper with 11:08 left, the last of 13 lead changes. George hit a jumper from near the midcourt circle (he shot it because he believed the shot clock was expiring, though it re-set during his shot) to make it 94-90 with 3:39 left and, after a 3-pointer by Detroit's Brandon Jennings, the Pacers outscored the Pistons 7-1 down the stretch.

"The results will come," Vogel said. "That's what we said during that stretch. They made a run. They made some tough shots. Keep playing the right way and we'll get it back."

The Pacers showed flashes of the team they appeared to be during the season's first four months, when they compiled the NBA's best record. That was especially true during a 10-0 spurt in the second quarter that gave them a 45-40 lead after a slow start. Lance Stephenson started the run with a driving dunk and also had two assists and two rebounds.

"He really changed the game," Vogel said. "We came out playing hard, but still a little bit unconfident and missing some shots and trying to grind through the rhythm and timing. Lance's burst kind of blew the game open a little bit. Just gave us a huge lift."

Added Stephenson: "I've just been watching old film and watching what I was doing before and just trying to get it back. Get the rebound and pushing it. I hadn't been doing that."

It led to a nice victory and one that had the Pacers feeling a little better about themselves. But much tougher challenges are ahead.

"We want to be better than we were today," Stephenson said. "We're happy, but not too happy."

Call Star reporter Michael Pointer at (317) 444-2709. Follow him on Twitter @michaelpointer.