Pacers end NBA-best Lakers’ streak
AD ET E R MI N E D I nd i a n a f ightback and last-minute heroics by Malcolm Brogdon a nd Domantas Sabonis led t he Pacers to a dra matic 105-102 upset of the NBA-best Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
LeBron James produced 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for t he L a kers, who played w it hout injured star for ward Anthony Davis a nd saw t hei r road w i n st re a k snapped at 14 games, t wo shy of the NBA record.
Pacers for ward Sabonis, son of Lithuanian legend Arv ydas Sabonis, scored 26 poi nts a nd g rabbed 10 rebounds while Brodgon added 14 poi nts a nd si x assists a nd sa nk a reverse lay up to put Indiana ahead to stay with 36 seconds remaining.
“Definitely a big win for us,” Brogdon said. “We rea lly wanted to send a message to the elite teams in the league and get some respect. We’ve had some big wins but t his is t he biggest one.”
The La kers (24-4) fel l level wit h Milwaukee for the NBA’s best record just t wo days before t hey v isit t he Easter n Conference leaders i n a potential NBA Finals showdown.
“The difference between winning and losing was made shots versus missed shots,” James said. “Sometimes the ball happens that way.”
The Lakers hit 43-of-91 shots (47.3 per cent) from t he f loor while Indiana made 41-of-85 (48.2 per cent).
Dav i s – t he L a ker s’ leader i n points, rebounds and blocked shots – was absent due to a r ig ht a nk le sprain suffered in a Sunday v ictor y over At la nta.
Dwight Howard had 20 points on 10-of-10 shooting for t he Lakers.
“Our g uys competed t hei r ta i ls off,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “I’m ver y proud of them.”
L A, which led by as many as 10 points, was ahead only 52-50 at halftime wit h James hitting 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the f irst half.
Af ter Brogdon’s lay up gave Indiana a 104-102 lead, James missed a t hree-pointer and a v ideo reversa l on an out-of-bounds ca ll gave t he Pacers the ball. Sabonis made a free throw but missed the second to give the Lakers a final chance but Rajon
Rondo missed a la st t hree-poi nt shot a nd L A’s seven-ga me overa l l win strea k was over.
“We just had to execute down the st retch, get some stops a nd make good shots,” Sabonis said.
“We played a whole 48 minutes.
We got the stops out there. That was key for us.”
The Pacers improved to 19-9 overa ll and 12-3 at home with their 12th overa ll win in 15 games.
Ayton returns for Suns
Paul George scored 24 points and Kawhi Leonard added 20 to spark t he Los Angeles Clippers over t he v isiting Phoenix Suns 120-99.
Ba ha mia n 21-y e a r- old c ent r e Deandre Ay ton, the 2018 NBA Draft top pick, returned to t he Suns after a 25-ga me suspension for test i ng positive for a banned diuret ic follow ing the season opener.
Ay ton scored 18 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the f loor and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
“It was the biggest mistake in my life, an unintentional mistake,” he said of his doping ban. “I did not know what I put in my body. I was guilty of it. [I’m] closing the circle much tighter and cooking my own food.
“I have an organisation t hat loves me. They helped me a lot on t his journey so I could come back and play.”
Spencer Dinwiddie scored si x of his game-high 31 points in overtime to lead the Brook ly n Nets past host New Orleans 108-101.
C r o a t i a n f o r w a r d B o j a n Bogdanovic and Donovan Mitchell each scored 30 points, while Frenchma n Rudy G ober t g r abbe d 19 rebou nds to spa rk t he Uta h Ja z z over v isiting Orlando 109-102.
New York’s RJ Barrett scored 27 points to lead the New York Knicks over v isiting At lanta 143-120, while Charlotte reserve guard Malik Monk had 23 points and 10 rebounds to power the Hornets over visiting Sacramento 110-102.