Pacers rout Spurs to snap 4-game skid

INDIANAPOLIS – Domantas Sabonis had 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Myles Turner added 19 points to lead the Indiana Pacers past struggling San Antonio 131-118 Monday night.

It was a welcome change for the Pacers, who snapped a four-game losing streak and won for just the second time in eight games under new coach Rick Carlisle.

Dejounte Murray finished with 16 points and Derrick White had 13 to lead San Antonio. The Spurs have lost four of their last five with the only win coming Saturday at defending NBA champion Milwaukee.

But after the opening minutes in Indianapolis, the Spurs never had a chance.

Indiana opened the game by going 8 of 10 from 3-point range and taking a 43-31 lead after one quarter. Then, unlike their previous games, the Pacers continued accelerating. By halftime, the Pacers extended the margin to 78-56 and had five players in double figures.

San Antonio couldn’t get closer than 18 until the final minutes in its most lopsided loss this season.

76ers 113, Trail Blazers 103: Seth Curry stepped up in Joel Embiid’s absence on Monday night, scoring 23 points – including several key buckets late – to lead the short-handed 76ers to a victory over the Trail Blazers.

Embiid, the team’s leading scorer and fourtime All-Star, was out due to rest – his first missed game of the season. The 76ers also were without Tobias Harris (health and safety protocols), who was a late scratch, and lost starter Danny Green in the third quarter due to hamstring tightness but not before he scored 11 points. It was the first of three games in four nights for Philadelphia, which has won three straight. Georges Niang added 21 points for the 76ers.

Norman Powell led the Trail Blazers with 22 points. Damian Lillard had 20 points and 10 assists and C.J. McCollum also had 20 points.

Cavaliers 113, Hornets 110: Jarrett Allen had 24 points and 16 rebounds as the Cavaliers held off a frantic fourth-quarter rally by the Hornets to win on Monday night and close out a five-game trip on a positive note.

Lauri Markkanen scored 21 points, Evan Mobley added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Darius Garland had 16 points – including two clutch free throws with 14.9 seconds left – as the Cavaliers went 3-2 on the road.

LaMelo Ball finished with 30 points and Terry Rozier added 23 for Charlotte, which overcame a sloppy first half to cut a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to two before falling short.

The Cavaliers took advantage of eight Charlotte turnovers in the first quarter to jump out to a 40-21 lead. By halftime, the Hornets had turned it over 13 times, leading to 22 Cleveland points and trailed by 16. But Charlotte didn’t quit.

The Hornets trailed 101-84 with seven minutes remaining before Rozier and Ball ignited a 10-0 run. After Miles Bridges made two free throws, Rozier scored on a drive and a corner 3 and Ball connected from the left wing to cut the lead to seven with 4:39 left.

Raptors 113, Knicks 104: OG Anunoby scored a career-high 36 points and the Raptors won their fourth straight by beating the Knicks on Monday night in the 75th anniversary of the NBA’s first game.

Gary Trent Jr. added 26 points for the Raptors, who surged into the lead by outscoring the Knicks 38-22 in the third quarter. Fred VanVleet finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

The Raptors took the lead for good during the period when Svi Mykhailiuk’s 3-pointer made it 68-66 – the same score by which the Knicks beat the Toronto Huskies on Nov. 1, 1946, at Maple Leaf Gardens.