AUBURN HILLS, Mich. www.buccaneersjerseyforsale.com/Akeem-Spence-Jersey-For-Sale/ . -- The Indiana Pacers lost six of their first nine games last season -- and they seem intent on making up for that in 2013. "We just want play well and get out of the gates," centre Roy Hibbert said. "Were an experienced team and we know every wins important." Paul George scored 31 points, and the Pacers remained the NBAs only unbeaten team with a 99-91 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. Indiana matched its best start in franchise history. The Pacers are 4-0 for the first time since the 2004-05 season. Indiana blew a 15-point lead in the first half but took control again with a strong third quarter. C.J. Watson had 15 points and David West finished with 12 for the Pacers. Hibbert had eight points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks. Indiana will try to extend its unbeaten run Wednesday night against Chicago. "It would be a big win, a huge confidence booster," George said. "But its no statement. The seasons still early." Brandon Jennings scored 17 points for the Pistons, who were done in by their 5-for-25 shooting from 3-point range. Detroit led 44-40 early in the third quarter before the Pacers went on a 15-2 run capped by an alley-oop to George. He scored 14 points in the quarter, and Indiana led 74-63 entering the fourth. "Our starters disposition and attitude and energy took the game back over," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "We were able to ride it out." Detroit cut the deficit to four early in the final period, but Indiana responded with six straight points to lead 82-72. The Pacers stretched the lead to 19 at 94-75 before the Pistons rallied in the final minutes to make the final score more respectable. It was 96-91 after Detroits Kyle Singler made two free throws with 32.6 seconds left, but the Pacers broke Detroits pressure and the Pistons didnt foul. West made a layup with 16.6 seconds left. The Pacers have won six straight over the Pistons, and the previous three wins had been lopsided, by 19, 32 and 18 points. The Pacers were without George Hill (sore left hip) for a second straight game, and Danny Granger is still out with a strained left calf, but they havent allowed an opponent to shoot better than 40 per cent from the field. Detroit finished at 38 per cent and could not overcome its poor showing from the perimeter. "They were aggressive, and we didnt respond," Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. "The paint was packed in, but we still have to attack the basket and either make shots or get to the line. Its a lot easier to do that when you are hitting shots from the perimeter, but you still have to do it." Greg Monroe had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons. "They have monster size and great guards -- very proud of the effort," Vogel said. "Paul George did everything I asked him to do -- everything you could possibly ask a player to do tonight." George made his first five shots and finished the first quarter with 12 points, helping the Pacers to a 29-14 lead. Then they were outscored 27-9 in the second. "We had to just get back to sharing the ball," George said. "We were making a lot of one-on-one plays. We were getting really pressured out up top and just not getting into our offence." Jennings, acquired in an off-season trade, made his first start for the Pistons in his second game with his new team. He was injured for the first two games of the season, and Detroit looked out of sorts offensively Tuesday. Josh Smith, another new acquisition this season for Detroit, scored 16 points but shot 5 of 16. He went 1 of 6 from beyond the arc. "Thats a team that has been together for a number of years, and were still getting to know each other," Smith said. "Thats important, but we still have to do a better job than we did." NOTES: Indiana also started 4-0 in 1989-90, according to STATS. ... Detroits starting backcourt of Jennings and Chauncey Billups went 8 for 25, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range. www.buccaneersjerseyforsale.com/Mike-James-Jersey-For-Sale/ . The 18-year-old forward has scored two goals and 10 points in four games this week and now has 26 goals and 61 points in 51 contests, which leads his club in both categories. www.buccaneersjerseyforsale.com/Mike-Williams-Jersey-For-Sale/ . The extra work sure paid off for Weeks, who broke out with a three-run homer and five RBIs to lead Milwaukee over the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-8. Weeks, who began the night batting .OKLAHOMA CITY - Tom Zbikowskis manager said Tuesday the Baltimore Ravens safety is appealing a positive drug test administered after a weekend boxing match in Oklahoma. Zbikowski took another test Tuesday at a Chicago lab that came back negative, said his manager, Mike Joyce, who hopes the Chickasaw Nation Gaming Commission overturns a 45-day suspension levelled against his client. "We pray that they act in an expedited manner," Joyce told The Associated Press. "We are going to try to keep fighting, to see if we can get the deal overturned." Zbikowski fought Saturday at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville in far southern Oklahoma, knocking out Blake Warner of Oklahoma City in the first round and improving his pro record to 4-0. The casino is owned by an American Indian tribe, the Chickasaw Nation. After the second boxing card ever held at the casino, 16 fighters underwent drug tests and five of them came back positive. Haskell Alexander, the deputy commissioner of the Chickasaw Nation Gaming Commission, suspended those fighters for 45 days. Joyce said hes been told Zbikowski tested positive for traces of THC, a substance found in marijuana. That test result caught those connected with Zbikowski off guard, including Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, the CEO of Top Rank Boxing, which promotes Zbikowski. "Anybody could have a trace (of THC)," Arum said. "If youre in a railroad station or an airport and somebody is smoking a joint and you walk by, you can have a trace. Boxing commissions, knowing that, have elevated the level (of testing) for marijuana so that it doesnt pick up the traces. "But thiis one did. www.buccaneersjerseyforsale.com/Lavonte-David-Jersey-For-Sale/. I know Tommy doesnt smoke." Zbikowski has undergone numerous tests for banned substances through the years and has never before tested positive, Joyce said. Jeff Keel, the general counsel for the tribes Office of the Gaming Commissioner, told Top Rank officials in an email sent Tuesday morning that if the five fighters who tested positive Saturday "will submit to us a clean drug test in the next couple of days we will lift their suspensions." Thats what Zbikowski did Tuesday, Joyce said. "We sent it back to the tribal commission, so they can restore the license," Joyce said. Chickasaw Nation Gaming Commissioner Matthew Morgan said all boxers who fight in tribal facilities are told "they are subject to random drug testing during events in our jurisdiction." He said the tribes policies and procedures "mirror those of the Oklahoma Professional Boxing Commission and our third-party inspectors perform the same testing functions" as they do for the state commission. Morgan said fighters "may submit subsequent drug test results" to the tribal commission and that he will make the final determination. Lee Samuels, a publicist for Top Rank, said Zbikowskis next fight is scheduled for June 4 in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Zbikowski, a former Notre Dame star, went 75-15 as an amateur boxer. He turned pro before his senior season at Notre Dame and won his first pro bout at Madison Square Garden in New York in June 2006. He soon decided to focus on the NFL and the Ravens picked him in the third round of the 2008 draft. Hes made 10 starts in 39 NFL games. ' ' '
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