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Stuckey helps Pacers upset Curry-less Warriors

Ron Hoskins / National Basketball Association / Getty

The Indiana Pacers are doing their best to overcome adversity and sneak into the Eastern Conference playoffs, and their effort against the NBA-best Golden State Warriors proved the team's up for the task. 

Indiana upset the Warriors with a 104-98 victory to extend its winning streak to three games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday.

Rodney Stuckey fought through an ankle injury to turn in his second consecutive 30-plus point game to lead the charge for the Pacers. Stuckey was questionable leading up to the contest, but suited up for 28 minutes off the bench and shot an efficient 11-of-17 from the field while adding five assists and four rebounds. 

Indiana's stingy defense held the league's highest-scoring team under the century mark, and snapped the Warriors' four-game winning streak. The Pacers moved within a half-game of the Brooklyn Nets for the eighth seed in the East. Despite playing their entire season to date without superstar Paul George, the Pacers appear poised to stay in the thick of a very tight playoff race.

If Indiana can secure the final spot, its defense - among the most efficient in the conference - coupled with George's potential return could make the team a scarier opponent than what its sub-.500 record would indicate. 

Klay Thompson did his best to help the Warriors escape with a victory sans their best player, scoring 39 points fueled by five 3-pointers and by going a perfect 10-of-10 from the line, but the Pacers fended them off down the stretch and overcame a 12-point first-quarter deficit. 

All-Star point guard Stephen Curry missed the game with a sore right foot, but insists he'll be fine. Golden State plays again Tuesday against the Washington Wizards

The Pacers close out the month with a pair of tough assignments versus the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers

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