Select members of the Dallas Mavericks (led by Dirk Nowitzki and Vince Carter) were so desperate to get rid of their beards, which they vowed to not shave off until their team got back to 0.500, that they got OJ Mayo's barber on standby, just so they could get a shave as soon as they beat the Indiana Pacers and reach their goal.

Not so fast, says Paul George and the Pacers, who put up a second half clinic to run away with the game, 103-78. Did the Pacers feel disrespected? Maybe, but I think at this stage of the season, with Danny Granger ruled out until next training camp, they are just focused on the task at hand -- that is, clinch the second seed and head into the playoffs on a high note.

Paul George simply toyed with the Mavs defense at times en route to a game high 24 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals on 10-17 shooting. Roy Hibbert continued his strong play of late and had 16 and 11, shutting down the Mavs from the defensive end in the second half along with former Mav Ian Mahinmi. 

David West was back in action after missing 6 games with a back injury, and the rust was definitely there, as evident from the 7-point night and 1-4 shooting from the free throw line. He seemed a little winded out there, actually. Fortunately, Tyler Hansbrough was there to pick up the slack with an energized 13 points and 9 rebounds in 20 minutes of action.

George Hill had a much better game and finished with a solid 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists and Orland Johnson was the key man off the bench with 12 points (seriously, this guy has to be the second round steal of the last draft!).

I must say I was surprised the Pacers got both this win and the won against the Rockets the night before, which enabled them to hold on to the second seed over the Knicks -- for now.

The get another supposedly "easy" game against the Suns next, but after that it's the Clippers and Oklahoma City. The team's final four games of the season are against Brooklyn, New York, Boston and Philly. The Knicks have won 7-straight despite injury woes and play Charlotte next, so they will be hard to hold off.

Danny Granger's 2012-2013 NBA season is over. Despite speculation that Granger would return tonight against the Rockets, the Pacers have announced that Granger will have season-ending knee surgery on the knee that has bothered him since the end of last season.

In the end, the Pacers' captain and leading team scorer for the last 5 seasons, played only 5 games and averaged just 5.4 points off the bench. Sad, but can't say we didn't see it coming. Granger played a few games in the preseason before undergoing a platelet-rich plasma procedure. He came back and went through that 5-game stretch in late February before being shelved again.

Th truth is, Granger sitting out until next season won't have much of an effect on the Pacers this season. They've been without him all season and have done well enough to likely end the regular season as a top 3 seed. And even had they had Granger (at 5%, 50% or 100%), they were not going to beat the Miami Heat (let's be honest). So why not let this team see how far they can go with Paul George and David West? Why not let Paul George try and take his game to the next level this offseason?

Does this mean Granger is done in Indiana? Pacers' brass say he is a part of the team's future, and I suppose as long as his injury status is uncertain, is is unlikely they'll get fair value for him. But if he can be traded for a few decent bench pieces, will the Pacers consider it?

With David West to become a free agent, this is turning out to be a very interesting offseason coming up for Indiana.

It wouldn't have surprised me had the Indiana Pacers lost this one, but they showed that even without David West the can win against some pretty good teams. Versus the Rockets in Houston, the Pacers racked up a big lead in the first quarter and managed to hold off a few Houston runs to finish with a 100-91 victory.

Roy Hibbert is really rounding into form at the right time of the year, putting up a season high 28 points to go with 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. Definitely one of his top 3 games of the season, and it's good to see him dominate for once even if it was against the Rockets' weak front line.

The All-Star matchup between James Harden and Paul George turned out to be a bit of a dud. PG had 16 points on 4-17 shooting, while Harden had 22 points on 6-24 shots.

George Hill and Lance Stephenson both returned from injury, with the former having an awful outing (1-11 shooting, 2 points), and the latter having a great one (9-14 shooting, 21 points). Stephenson was just killing the Rockets on transition baskets and drives, and the Pacers will need him to keep this going with a tough patch in the schedule coming up.

Next, a showdown with the Mavs in Dallas.

Come again? Did I really see that? Did Gerald Green, of all people, rescue the Pacers from an embarrassing collapse against the Atlanta Hawks. Yes and yes.

The Indiana Pacers were probably the most short-handed they've been all season tonight against the Atlanta Hawks. David West missed another game with his lower back strain, while Danny Granger is still out with that knee problem that refuses to go away. On top of that, starting point guard George Hill was out with a left groin problem, and starting shooting guard Lance Stephenson sat out with a right hip-flexor injury. So that's three of the Pacers' ordinary starters.

Never fear. Jeff Pendergraph and Orlando Johnson went absolutely nuts in the first half as the Pacers refused to miss en route to a 15-point lead at the break (that really should have been 20+). The dynamic duo finished with 14 and 15, respectively.

Big Roy Hibbert had another solid game with 17, 13 and 3 blocks, while Paul George had 13, 6 and 4 but had 6 turnovers. Even though he seemingly toyed with the Hawks' defense at times, PG24's turnover problem is getting really really bad. Careless passes and a lot of overdribbling by a guy who's not really that great at handling the ball (despite his offseason improvement). He needs to rein that in before the playoffs.

Oh yes, the hero, Gerald Green, who had a relatively quiet game up until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Green started tonight and didn't do a whole lot except for a alley-oop lay-up off a ridiculous pass that should have sailed into the stands but for Green's inhuman jumping ability.

Anyway, the Pacers had a 22-point lead heading into the fourth and appeared to be coasting to another blowout victory, but they got complacent and the Hawks fought back with a furious rally, closing within 4 points with just over a minute to go.

Green would then make a huge three pointer to pull the lead back out to 7, and then hit 3 of 4 free throws to seal the deal. The biggest play was probably when he stole the ball from Ivan Johnson with just 11 seconds to go. He finished with a team-high 19 points on 6-10 shooting and had 6 rebounds. Nice one.

With the victory, the Pacers edge back in front of the Knicks for second place in the East, though I must say things are not looking great with the injury bug biting at the wrong time of the year. I am hoping that Frank Vogel and the team staff are just being cautious.

A huge stretch coming up, starting with road games against the Rockets, Dallas, Phoenix and the Clippers, then home against Oklahoma City before going on the road against the Wizards, who are rejuvenated by the return of John Wall, who just put up 47 on the Grizzlies tonight. Is 3 out of 6 during this stretch too much to ask?

Don't get me wrong, Tyler Hansbrough had been a beast in the last three games while David West has been out with a back injury, but tonight's 87-84 loss against the Bulls shows why the Pacers still need their rock.

Hansbrough only had 7 points and 6 rebounds tonight, snapping his double-double streak at 3 games, and looked foolish at times on the defensive end against, yikes, Carlos Boozer and his newly replenished hairline.

Paul George had that look in his eye tonight like he was going to go nuts, and he did have 23 points and 11 rebounds, but he missed a couple of threes in the dying seconds that could have sent the game into overtime. That said, the Pacers didn't even deserve to be in that position because they wouldn't have been had George Hill not made a couple of huge three pointers (including a four-point play) when the game appeared to have been out of reach already.

Roy Hibbert had 18 and 12 because Joakim Noah was out, and Lance Stephenson had 10 (including a couple of nice coast-to-coasts) but was clobbered badly on a flagrant 2 by Nate Robinson on a fast break.

It's not going to be easy for the Pacers to hold on to the number 2 spot, or finish with 50 wins for the season. Taking a look at their remaining schedule, they still have matches left against Oklahoma City and the Clippers, plus games against Brooklyn, New York and Boston. The seedings might not be set until the final day of the regular season.

Next up, a must-win against the Hawks at home before the final extended West coast road trip of the season.