Pacers plunder Bucks, Suns fail to shine against Timberwolves

LOS ANGELES: Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winning basket lifted the Indiana Pacers to a 121-118 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday as Minnesota put Phoenix on the verge of elimination in the NBA playoffs.

The Pacers let a 19-point lead get away, but finally thwarted the short-handed Bucks’ rally to gain a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first round series.

The Dallas Mavericks also won at home, cruising to a 101-90 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers for a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference set.

But a return to Phoenix provided no respite for Kevin Durant and the Suns, who were one defeat away from elimination after falling 126-109 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In Indianapolis, Haliburton delivered a tripledouble of 18 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists to help the Pacers withstand a 42-point performance from Milwaukee forward Khris Middleton, who drilled a three-pointer to tie it with 2.3 seconds left in regulation and made another trey to knot it at 118-118 with eight seconds left in overtime.

With 1.6 seconds remaining in overtime, ha li burton took an inbound pass and split the Bucks’ defense as he drove for a one-handed floater.

Fouled on the play, he made the free throw to cap the scoring. Middleton, playing through a sprained right ankle, was unable to work another three-point miracle as time expired.

The Pacers escaped with the win in a game they led by 19 points in the first quarter and by 17 in the third.

With two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo still sidelined by a calf injury, the Bucks couldn’t match Indiana’s early pace.

An early injury scare saw Damian Lillard limp off with a sore knee briefly in the first quarter. He returned to score 19 of his 28 points in the second half before aggravating an Achilles tendon injury in late in regulation.

The Bucks took the lead for the first time on Lillard’s three-pointer early in the fourth quarter, the lead changing hands six times in the fourth as they battled to overtime.

Myles Turner scored 29 points for the Pacers, who will try to stretch their lead when they host game four on Sunday. In Phoenix, Anthony Edwards scored 36 points to lead a comprehensive Timberwolves team effort that included 19 points and 14 rebounds from Rudy Gobert and 18 points and 13 rebounds from Karl-anthony Towns.