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NEW YORK -- Lance Stephenson gave the home fans something to cheer, and that hasnt happened often in Brooklyn this season. And the way the Nets are going, it may not happen many more times. "I think its getting very close to just accepting losing," coach Jason Kidd said. Stephenson scored a career-high 26 points in his hometown, Paul George also had 26, and the Indiana Pacers went on to their third straight easy victory, 103-86 over the Nets on Monday night. Stephenson, who recorded his NBA-leading third triple-double of the season Sunday in a rout of Boston, did most of his damage as a scorer, back where he did plenty of it in high school. He became the career scoring leader in New York state, with nearly 3,000 points at Abraham Lincoln High School. Dozens of fans saluted him as he exited the court through the tunnel, and Stephenson, unable to hide his grin afterward, figures he knew most of them. "I just was very motivated and hyped for this game. I couldnt sleep at night. Im just happy we got the W," said Stephenson, who coach Frank Vogel said should be the leading choice for the Most Improved Player award that George won last season. David West finished with 13 points for the Pacers, who pulled away in the third period, when Paul Pierce was ejected for a flagrant foul in only the second scoreless game of his career. Indiana followed its only losing streak of the season by beating Houston and Boston by a combined 60 points, then blew this one open after a competitive first half. "Lance Stephenson and Paul George just keep putting in special performances and theyre really giving us a big lift," Vogel said. Joe Johnson scored 17 points for the Nets, who lost their third straight. Kevin Garnett, moving to the centre spot after Brook Lopez was lost to a broken right foot, had 12. Lopez was the Nets leading scorer, and his loss -- and watching how easily the Pacers dominated the third quarter -- make it hard to believe the Nets can turn around their 9-18 record and reach their lofty expectations. "Were kind of getting comfortable with losing and weve got to make a stand with that because when things get tough, do we just give in?" Kidd said. "And most of the time right now we do." The Nets host Chicago on Christmas. Deron Williams, who shot 3 of 9 in an admittedly poor performance, disagreed with Kidds statement about accepting losing. "Im not comfortable with losing. Its not fun," he said. "Its not fun not only when were losing during the game, but when you go home sitting and thinking about it." Neither team managed a double-digit lead in the first half. The Pacers went ahead by eight late in the second quarter on Stephensons 3-pointer, and they took a 45-39 advantage into halftime. George hit a 3-pointer to open the third and it was all Indiana from there, highlighted by a 20-4 run that turned an eight-point lead into a 71-47 bulge. Pierce was ejected during the blitz. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up, but his arm ended up going around Hills neck for a clothesline tackle. Referees ruled it a flagrant 2 after review, an automatic ejection, though even Hill wasnt sure it warranted that. "It was a basketball play. I think back in the day, hard fouls was good," he said. "So, it was a hard foul, but at the end of the day, dont let it rattle you and thats what I thought about." Pierce finished 0 for 7. His only other scoreless night in a 15-year career came in a 10-minute outing against the Charlotte Hornets on March 9, 1999, during his rookie season, according to STATS. Nets reserve Jason Terry had 11 points in his first appearance since Nov. 20 after he missed the last 15 games with a bruised left knee. Andray Blatche also scored 11. Notes: The teams meet again Saturday at Indiana, the start of punishing three-game trip for the Nets that follows with visits to San Antonio and Oklahoma City. ... The Pacers, who had 29 and 28 assists in their last two games, finished with 16. ... Danny Granger was 0 for 7 in 14 scoreless minutes. Fake Hockey Jerseys . Case in point: LeBron James vs. Ben McLemore. James was driving to the rim in the first quarter and McLemore decided to try to take the charge, which was quite admirable and predictably futile. Fake Baseball Jerseys . The deals were announced on Friday. Beckham will receive $4.175 million in base salary, while De Aza will receive $4.25 million. Beckham hit .267 with five home runs and 24 RBIs over 103 games last season, his fifth with the White Sox. https://www.fakejerseys.us.com/ . With the players association in the midst of meetings in Las Vegas, a vote will be held on Friday to decide the CFLPAs presidency and other executive positions. Fake NHL Jerseys . Now Arizonas new manager is hoping Yasmany Tomas can have the same effect on the Diamondbacks. Fake Jerseys For Sale . 4 jersey of former defenseman Rob Blake this coming season. The ceremony will take place prior to the Kings January 17 game against Anaheim.Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves for his second shutout of the season to lead the Colorado Avalanche in a 5-0 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. Varlamov had been out of action since Dec. 5 because of a nagging groin injury, yet recovered well enough to claim the 15th shutout of his career. We played a real solid game the whole 60 minutes, said Varlamov. It is much easier to play when the guys score lots of goals. Alex Tanguay and Ryan OReilly each had one goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who have won three in a row. Jarome Iginla, Zach Redmond and Erik Johnson also lit the lamp. Jake Allen gave up five goals on 31 shots over two periods for the Blues, who have dropped three straight. Martin Brodeur made 10 saves in the third. They beat us tonight, said Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. They flat- out beat us. The Avs offense got going at the 15:02 mark of the first period. Johnsons shoot from the left point beat traffic in front and got past Allen.dddddddddddd Colorado took a 2-0 lead on a power-play goal at 18:45. OReillys pass through the crease found the stick of Redmond for his fourth of the season. Tanguay made it 3-0 at 5:49 of the middle stanza. Iginlas shot from the bottom of the right circle hit off Tanguays chest before crossing the goal line and the score was confirmed via video review. OReilly then lit the lamp on the power play at 16:47 when he went top shelf from the side of the net. Allen failed to stop Iginlas one-timer at the 17:27 mark, and Varlamov made the lead hold up with 12 stops in the third period. Game Notes St. Louis had won the first two meetings with Colorado this season ... Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo had a seven-game point streak snapped ... Avs forward Patrick Bordeleau will miss 8-to-10 weeks with a fractured kneecap. ' ' '