Pacers recover from blown lead, close out the Rockets

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton scored 28 points and matched a season high with 15 assists, and the Indiana Pacers recovered after blowing a 17-point third-quarter lead to beat the Houston Rockets 115-102 on Tuesday night.

Pascal Siakam scored 18 points and Myles Turner added 16 for the Pacers, who have won six of eight.

Alperen Sengun scored 25 points and Tari Eason had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets, who dropped their third in a row.

Indiana led 90-73 with three minutes left in the third quarter but immediately allowed a 15-0 run by Houston. The Rockets pushed ahead 96-95 on a layup by Amen Thompson with 8:45 left in the fourth, but Aaron Nesmith responded with a three-point play that kicked off an 18-3 run by the Pacers.

RAPTORS 114, MAGIC 113

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Ja’Kobe Walter swished a contested 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds remaining and Toronto edged Orlando after blowing a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Paolo Banchero rallied the Magic, scoring 22 of his 41 points in the final period on 8-for-8 shooting. He made two free throws with 5 seconds left to give Orlando a 113-111 lead.

Banchero, who finished with eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals, also scored 41 in a loss to Golden State last Thursday. The Magic have dropped four straight and five of six — all at home.

Walter, a rookie from Baylor, had 17 points for the Raptors, who improved to 7-23 on the road. They won 104-102 at Orlando on Sunday night.

BUCKS 127, HAWKS 121

ATLANTA (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season, and surging Milwaukee beat Atlanta.

Damian Lillard scored 23 points for the Bucks, who have won three straight and seven of eight. Milwaukee remained in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, with the same record as fifth-place Indiana (35-25).

Trae Young led Atlanta with 28 points and 13 assists. Caris LeVert — who made the game-winning layup at the buzzer in Atlanta’s 132-130 victory at Memphis on Monday night — scored 21 points.

Neither team led by more than eight points. Following the final tie at 121, the Bucks scored the final six.

WARRIORS 114, KNICKS 102

NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Curry had 28 points and nine assists while running his personal record to 12-1 at Madison Square Garden, and Golden State beat New York.

Jimmy Butler and Brandin Podziemski added 19 points apiece for the Warriors, who improved to 3-1 on their five-game trip. It feels like home for them on the Knicks’ floor, where they have won 12 of the last 14 times.

Draymond Green finished with eight points, nine rebounds and eight assists on his 35th birthday.

OG Anunoby scored 29 points and Jalen Brunson had 25 for the Knicks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. They played without All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, who was out for personal reasons. Coach Tom Thibodeau said before the game he didn’t know if Towns would be with the team when it left for a five-game trip that starts Thursday against the Lakers.

TIMBERWOLVES 126, 76ERS 112

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 18 points, Naz Reid added 23 and Minnesota pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat short-handed Philadelphia.

Julius Randle had 16 points for Minnesota in his second game back after missing 13 games with a groin strain. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 20 points off the bench. The Timberwolves used a 25-9 run at the start of the fourth to take control.

Paul George returned after missing one game with groin soreness, but Philadelphia was without guard Tyrese Maxey (lower back strain) and played its third game since announcing Joel Embiid will miss the rest of the season for left knee injury management. George finished with just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting.

Quentin Grimes led the 76ers with 30 points, and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 24 for Philadelphia, which has lost 13 of 15 and was playing the second game of a back-to-back after losing 119-102 at home to Portland a night earlier.

CAVALIERS 139, BULLS 117

CHICAGO (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points, Jarrett Allen added 25 points and 17 rebounds, and NBA-best Cleveland won their 11th straight game, over Chicago.

Darius Garland added 19 points on 7-of-22 shooting for the Cavs, who rested forward Evan Mobley and fell behind by 15 points in the first half but still found a way to extend their third double-digit winning streak of the season. Cleveland began the season 15-0 and had a 12-game run in December and January.

Coby White led the Bulls with 25 points. Talen Horton-Tucker scored a season-high 22 and Zach Collins had 20.

SPURS 127, NETS 113

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Devin Vassell had a career-high 37 points along with 10 rebounds, and San Antonio rolled to a victory over Brooklyn.

Brooklyn (21-40) lost its fifth straight, dropping 2 1/2 games out of 10th place in the Eastern Conference.

Cam Thomas had 24 points to lead the Nets, and Cameron Johnson added 17.

Stephon Castle scored 17 points, and De’Aaron Fox and Keldon Johnson added 15 each for San Antonio. Bismack Biyombo, who signed a contract for the rest of the season hours earlier, had 13 points and 14 rebounds.

Vassell was 8 for 11 on 3-pointers and also had five assists.

SUNS 119, CLIPPERS 117

PHOENIX (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 34 points, Devin Booker added 17 and Phoenix rallied from a 23-point deficit late in the third quarter to beat Los Angeles.

The Suns trailed by 19 entering the fourth but came all the way back thanks to big buckets from Durant and backup guard Collin Gillespie. Phoenix had a 43-22 advantage in the fourth, reviving its playoff hopes.

Gillespie scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2 for 3 from 3-point range, to give the Suns a much-needed spark in the second half. Nick Richards added 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

The Clippers lost despite Ivica Zubac’s 35 points — a career high. He added 10 rebounds and shot 15 of 19 from the field. Kawhi Leonard and James Harden both scored 21.

LAKERS 136, PELICANS 115

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James finished with 34 points and became the first player to score 50,000 combined points in the regular season and playoffs, and Los Angeles extended their longest winning streak in four years to seven games with a victory over New Orleans.

Luka Doncic had 30 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds for the Lakers, who have won 17 of 20 to move into second place in the Western Conference at 39-21. Jaxson Hayes had a season-high 19 points and 10 rebounds as Los Angeles won its second straight without injured starters Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.

Zion Williamson scored 37 points for the 14th-place Pelicans, who went 2-2 on an encouraging road trip. Trey Murphy III added 19 points.

James surpassed his latest milestone with a 3-pointer early in the first quarter. Lakers fans gave a standing ovation moments later to James, who acknowledged it with a wave of his hand.