Pacers leap past Wizards; Raptors defeat Hornets

LOS ANGELES — Victor Oladipo scored 33 points and Bojan Bogdanovic tallied 20 as the Indiana Pacers moved up the crowded Eastern Conference standings with a 98-95 win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

The Pacers won despite nearly blowing a 17 point lead but they held on and the victory allowed them to jump over the Wizards by a half-game in the NBA standings.

Myles Turner added 12 points and 13 rebounds for visiting Indiana, which finished its four-game road trip 2-2 after beginning it with two losses.

Cory Joseph did double duty, scoring 16 points and also defending the Wizards top scorer, Bradley Beal, who finished with 22 points.

In Toronto, DeMar DeRozan had a team-high 19 points as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Charlotte Hornets, 103-98, at Air Canada Centre.

DeRozan added eight assists and four rebounds while Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 18 points and 13 rebounds. C.J. Miles and Fred Van Vleet came off the bench to each score 12 points.

Toronto improved to 45-17 on the season with the win. They have a twogame lead on Boston atop the Eastern Conference standings.

Kemba Walker had a game-high 27 points, six rebounds and four assists to lead the Hornets, who have now lost three straight.

Elsewhere, Taurean Prince rattled in the eventual game winning three pointer with seven seconds left as the Atlanta Hawks edged the Phoenix Suns, 113-112.

Prince drained a career high six three pointers and finished with 22 points for the Hawks who posted their 20th win of the season.

Prince’s clutch shot came off a perfect screen play by teammate Miles Plumlee.

Devin Booker’s potential winner for the Suns, a 15-foot shot from the right baseline, bounced off the rim as time expired.

“I got the shot I wanted,” Booker said. “I picked a point on the floor. I got to it. I just missed it.” —