×

Pacers Hand Cavaliers 10th Straight Defeat

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indiana Pacers found plenty to be displeased about after a victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Pacers were upset that they had to make several plays in the closing minutes to hold off Cleveland 123-115 and send the Cavaliers to their 10th straight loss.

Indiana led 38-14 late in the first quarter and was ahead by 23 points in the third against the team with the worst record in the league. But the game got close down the stretch.

“We’ve got to be better than that — and we know it,” Pacers coach Nate McMillan. “We got off to a really good start, then in the second half, we played the scoreboard.”

Thaddeus Young scored 26 points and Bojan Bogdanovic had 23. The Pacers needed baskets by Young and Victor Oladipo, who had 17 points, to close out the win.

Cleveland (8-33) suffered another blow when forward Larry Nance Jr. hurt his right knee in the first quarter and didn’t return. Nance will travel with the team to New Orleans, where the Cavs begin a six-game trip Wednesday, and be re-evaluated.

Domantas Sabonis had 15 points for the Pacers, who have won seven of eight.

Jordan Clarkson scored 26 points for Cleveland, which trailed 87-64 in the third quarter before cutting the lead to five several times in the fourth.

Timberwolves 119

Thunder 117

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Andrew Wiggins had a season-high 40 points and 10 rebounds, and the Timberwolves beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in Ryan Saunders’ first game as Minnesota’s interim coach.

Nuggets 103, Heat 99

MIAMI (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth triple-double of the season, and his basket with 2.4 seconds left put the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets ahead to stay.

76ers 132, Wizards 115

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rookie Landry Shamet made eight 3-pointers and scored 29 points, both career-highs, and Joel Embiid had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a rout of the Washington Wizards.

Jimmy Butler added 20 points and Ben Simmons had 19 points, nine assists and five rebounds for the 76ers, who won their fourth straight and seventh of nine.

Bradley Beal scored 28 points for the Wizards.

Butler returned after missing the last two games with an upper respiratory infection. And the four-time All-Star was back on the court for the first time since a report stated that Butler was displeased with how he’s being used in Brett Brown’s offense and let the coach know in a film session exchange that was reportedly “disrespectful.” Brown and Butler denied the report.

Raptors 104, Hawks 101

TORONTO (AP) — Serge Ibaka scored the winning basket with 17 seconds remaining and the Toronto Raptors won their sixth straight home game.

Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points, Pascal Siakam had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Kyle Lowry scored 16 points as the Raptors earned their sixth consecutive win over the Hawks.

OG Anunoby scored 14 points and Ibaka had 13.

John Collins had 21 points and 14 rebounds, Jeremy Lin scored 20 points and Trae Young added 19 for the Hawks, who have lost four of five.

Starting at $2.99/week.

Subscribe Today