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INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel was worried about facing the Milwaukee Bucks in a matchup of the teams with the best and worst records in the NBA. Turns out, he had reason for concern. "If youre a team without a great record, and youve got a chance to knock off one of the top dogs, thats obviously a win that scores more points with you," Vogel said before the Pacers 101-96 comeback victory Thursday night. Roy Hibbert had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Paul George and Lance Stephenson each scored 18 points for Indiana. The Pacers, 44-13 overall and an NBA-best 28-3 at home, blew a 17-point lead in the first half. "Theyre a real good team and I thought we did a pretty good job of keeping it close into the fourth quarter," Bucks rookie guard Nate Wolters said. "But then just like the other night we let it slip away. It wasnt real hard to get up for these guys tonight." Indianas George Hill took a nasty spill along the baseline late in the game. Vogel said the starting guard was day-to-day with a bruised left shoulder. The Bucks, an NBA-worst 11-46, tied it at 50 at the half and built a six-point lead in the third quarter. Brandon Knight had 23 points for Milwaukee, Khris Middleton added 22, O.J. Mayo had 14, and Ramon Sessions 13. Ersan Ilysova had 11 rebounds and nine points. "Were still a team thats pretty much trying to find something to hang our hat on," Mayo said. "Were a young team that is still learning and we just have to keep getting better every day. This was definitely a winnable game, but we made too many mistakes on the road against the best team in the Eastern Conference." Indiana led 32-15 early in the second quarter after going 13 of 19 from the field in the first 12 minutes. The Pacers were 8 of 19 in the second quarter, while the Bucks shot 13 of 21 after going 7 of 22 in the first. "I dont think our guys let down at all," Vogel said. "They understand a 15-point lead in the first quarter means nothing." Stephensons layup put the Pacers up 50-38 with 2:10 to play in the first half. But Middleton scored seven straight points, and Knight had the last five points of the half as the Bucks used a 12-0 run to tie it. Knight opened the second half with a 3-pointer for Milwaukees first lead, 53-50. The Bucks extended the lead to six at 60-54 before George and Stephenson hit 3-pointers to tie it. "Theyve got a lot of great shot-makers over there, thats why theyve been staying in games here lately," Hill said. The Bucks took a 64-60 lead on consecutive baskets by Nate Wolters and Zaza Pachulia, but the Pacers scored seven of the next nine points to regain the lead at 67-66. The Bucks got no closer than two points the rest of the way. "I think we got a couple stops down the stretch that we really needed, and we capitalized on the offensive end when we did get those stops," Hill said. "Youve got to tip your hat to Milwaukee; no matter what their record says, thats a good team over there." NOTES: Before the game, the Bucks waived forward Caron Butler after agreeing to a contract buyout. The 33-year-old Butler made 13 starts and appeared in 34 games this season, averaging 11.0 points and 4.6 rebounds. ... On Saturday night, Indiana is at Boston, and Milwaukee will be home against Brooklyn. . This was one of them. Omar Infante homered and tied a career high with six RBIs to carry the Kansas City Royals over the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 on Sunday. . His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves. . -- The Green Bay Packers have signed quarterback Graham Harrell to the active roster from the practice squad and placed tight end Andrew Quarless on injured reserve. . -- Arizona came out of its last meeting with California a bit discombobulated, hurting from its first loss and the loss of forward Brandon Ashley for the rest of the season. . -- Mississippis Andrew Ritter said his game-winning, 41-yard field goal felt good off his foot.PITTSBURGH -- Less than seven weeks after sustaining a stroke, Kris Letang was cleared to practice with the Pittsburgh Penguins and will join the team for practice Monday. Letang, who has not played since a Jan. 29 stroke and resulting discovery of a small hole in his heart, has been taken off blood thinner medication. The defenceman has missed the past 14 games. "He still has some other things to go through (before returning to game action)," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said, "but we kneww that this was the six-week mark (since the stroke diagnosis) and there was a chance.dddddddddddd Hes been working out, hes been skating and doing quite a bit on his own." A Norris Trophy finalist as the leagues top defenceman last season, Letang signed an eight-year, $58 million contract extension last summer. He has 10 goals and eight assists in 34 games this season. Letang did not skate at all for more than four weeks after the stroke and was not skating vigorously until this past week. ' ' '
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