He made sure that prediction came true Sunday.

Following the best season of his three-year career, George opened the playoffs by producing the first postseason triple-double of his career — 23 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists — and led the Pacers out of their late-season funk and past Atlanta 107-90 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Suddenly, all those problems ailing the Pacers have been forgotten.

“I know what the team will expect from me now,” George said. “But, again, I like the pressure.”

He can expect to be dealing with even more of it in the best-of-seven series.

There were plenty of questions after Indiana coach Frank Vogel gave four of his starters — George, George Hill, Roy Hibbert and David West — a three-day break this week. The move meant those four came into the opening game without playing a minute since last Sunday’s loss at New York sealed Indiana’s fate as the East’s No. 3 seed.

Outsiders wondered whether those off-days would rejuvenate the Central Division champs, who looked so good from mid-December through early April, or whether would be rusty after stumbling to five losses in their last seven regular-season games.

Those inside the locker room said that the extra rest would be beneficial. Sunday’s performance left no doubt as fans repeatedly waved the gold towels the Pacers handed out before the game.

While George went 3 of 13 from the field, he made his first 17 free throws, tying Reggie Miller’s single-game playoff mark for best percentage. George missed his 18th and final attempt with 2:35 to go. It was about the only thing that went wrong for the All-Star forward who had Indiana’s first triple-double in the playoffs since Mark Jackson on May 13, 1998, against New York.

Indiana also has a 1-0 lead for the first time since beating the New Jersey Nets 90-88 in 2006.

“It was huge for our confidence,” George said. “We got back to playing our style of basketball.”

George had plenty of help, too.

Hill, who sat out parts of practice Friday and Saturday with an injured left groin, made his first six shots and finished 7 of 10 from the field with three 3-pointers and 18 points. And Hibbert added 16 points and 11 rebounds on a day the Pacers outrebounded Atlanta 48-32 and limited the Hawks to 14 fast-break points.

Vogel couldn’t have designed a better script.

“You have to stick to who you are and play your style of play, which I think we did,” Vogel said. “We have to play with passion. When we play with passion and energy on both ends of the court we’re pretty good. ”

Atlanta found out the hard way.

Indy native Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 21 points and seven assists, while Josh Smith had 15 points and eight rebounds. The only other Atlanta player to reach double figures was Al Horford with 14 points.

Most of the Hawks’ players were upset about the wide free throw discrepancy.

Indiana was nearly flawless from the line (30 of 34), while the Hawks spent most of the second half in foul trouble and made seven of the 14 free throws they got.

“I felt we like earned the opportunity to shoot a little bit more free throws than what we did, but it is what it is,” Smith said. “We have to make sure next game that just one player on the opposing team doesn’t shoot more than the whole entire team.”

Coach Larry Drew had bigger concerns.

He was disappointed with how the team responded to the calls and with the effort, too. He hopes both will be fixed when the series resumes Wednesday in Indy.

“We didn’t come up with the big plays, we didn’t come up with the hustle plays, the energy plays,” he said. “I thought right when we were, I believe it was a nine-point game, them shooting a free throw, they come up with the offensive rebound off the free throw, kick it out, swing it around, they get a 3. That’s just getting outworked. They just clearly outworked us.”

It wasn’t a perfect game for Indiana.

Again, the Pacers got off to another rocky start by giving up the first six points. But unlike the previous six games when they dug themselves into 20-point deficits in each game, Indiana wasted no time charging back.

The Pacers used a 9-0 first-quarter run to take a 19-13 lead, extended it to 34-26 after one and never trailed again.

While the Hawks tried valiantly to rally, cutting the deficit to four late in the second quarter and trimming Indiana’s 15-point lead to eight with 7:23 to go, Indiana never let the Hawks get any closer and eventually pulled away.

Just like they were doing in the middle of the season.

“We got back to playing our style of basketball,” George said. “They came out and hit shots, but what we did a great job of was not letting them string some of those baskets together. We kind of ended their momentum and that’s what it’s going to take.”

Game notes

The Hawks dropped to 0-3 this season at Indiana but have won 11 straight in Atlanta over the Pacers. … This is only the fourth time these teams have met in the playoffs. Atlanta holds a 2-1 advantage and won the last postseason matchup 3-2 in 1996. … Hibbert played with the phrase “B Strong” written on his white shoe Sunday, a message to the people of Boston from the bombings earlier this week. … The Hawks went home after the game and will practice there Monday and Tuesday before returning to Indy on Wednesday.

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Tony Parker scored 24 points and the San Antonio Spurs handed the slumping Lakers their fifth straight loss with a 108-105 victory Wednesday night.

Manu Ginobili added 19 points and Tiago Splitter and Stephen Jackson had 14 each for San Antonio (28-10), which has won 11 straight at home. Splitter also had a career-high 14 rebounds.

Kobe Bryant had 27 points, Metta World Peace added 23 and Earl Clark 22 for Los Angeles (15-20). Bryant was 10 for 24 from the field, missing a 3-pointer on his final attempt that would have tied the game. Clark missed a follow-up 3 off a long rebound.

What can the Lakers take from such a battle?

“We lost five in a row,” Bryant said. “It’s pretty self-explanatory.”

Coming off a 125-112 loss at Houston on Tuesday, the Lakers fought until the final buzzer.

Bryant’s 3-pointer pulled Los Angeles to 105-99 with 3:32 remaining. The 3 led to dueling cries of support between a large contingent of Lakers fans seated near the Los Angeles bench and Spurs fans.

Did the effort give Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni reason to smile?

“No, not really,” he said. “I’m proud of their effort. They fought. They fought last night against Houston. You can see the team getting some traction, but we’re a long ways away from a smile.”

Antawn Jamison’s layup pulled the Lakers to 105-102 following a timeout, but Artest missed a layup and 3-pointer on consecutive possessions.

Ginobili hit a 3-pointer that gave the Spurs a six-point lead, but Clark responded with his own 3 to close to 108-105, setting up Bryant’s final attempt.

The Spurs missed five shots and had four turnovers in the final 5 minutes, turning a 10-point lead into a nail-biting finish for the sell-out crowd.

“We kind of stopped,” Ginobili said. “We need rhythm this year. We are getting used to playing faster and we just didn’t do it. We were playing one-on-one instead of doing what we do best and that’s to penetrate, kick and pass the ball.”

Even with Lakers big men Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill out with injuries, the Spurs managed only a 48-40 rebounding advantage. Los Angeles forced 19 turnovers to keep the game close throughout.

Parker’s 17-foot jumper gave the Spurs their largest lead at 83-66, but the Lakers quickly pared the 17-point deficit. Artest hit a 3, Bryant made a pair of jumpers and Clark had a 21-foot jumper to pull the Lakers to 83-75 with 49.3 seconds left in the third.

“The closer it gets, the easier it is to focus and be ready,” Ginobili said. “Of course, you worry because we were up by 16 and we just messed up the whole game. Like I said before, it was disappointing to see the team play like that, but at least we got the win.”

Bryant had a sluggish start offensively and the Lakers fell behind 54-45 at the half.

His first basket came with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter and he closed the half 2 for 6 from the field. Bryant credited his poor shooting to Spurs second-year player Kawhi Leonard.

“It was Kawhi’s defense,” Bryant said. “He did a good job.”

Leonard finished with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot in 33 minutes while primarily guarding Bryant and World Peace.

“Kawhi Leonard was the start of the show as far as I’m concerned,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He had a great night and is getting better and better defensively and starting to find his way offensively. I thought that was great.”

Game notes

Lakers G Steve Blake (abdominal surgery) missed his 28th game of the season. Howard (shoulder), Gasol (concussion) and Hill (hip) also sat out the game. The Spurs had every player on their current roster active. … The Lakers haven’t lost five in a row since April 3-10, 2011. … The Lakers are 1-12 when trailing after the first quarter this season. … The Spurs evened their overall record against the Lakers at 74-all. San Antonio has a 46-29 advantage at home. … Bryant holds the Spurs opponent record for most field goal attempts — 41 on Feb. 14, 2004.

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