18,165. That's how many people were on their feet inside the Bankers Life Fieldhouse when Indiana Pacers swingman Paul George went to the scorer's table to check in at the 5:34 mark of the first quarter against the Miami Heat.

"The welcoming back to the game was probably the greatest moment that I've had. It was so hard not to get caught up in the moment," George said of the ovation he got before playing in his first game since breaking his leg last August.

George made the first shot he took, and went on to score 13 points in just under 15 minutes as the Pacers routed the Heat 112-89. The win put the Pacers at ninth place in the Eastern Conference and just one game behind the eight place Boston Celtics with five games left in the regular season.

"Whether we were going to make the playoffs or not, this was the perfect opportunity to come back and gain some confidence and build off of it," George told reporters after the game.

"You can see how much we miss him on the defensive end. How he impacts so many different plays with deflections and his instincts. Solid first game for him," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said while admitting that his ward will only begin to get back his explosiveness some time next year.

George went 5-12 from the field, and made half of his six three point attempts. The former All-Star also added two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

"Right now, he's working himself in, trying to get his confidence. His vision is to be as good as he can be next year, but he looked pretty good tonight," said Dwyane Wade.

The Pacers will continue their playoff push when they visit the New York Knicks on Wednesday.