Pacers defeat surging Spurs

Indiana dampens Popovich’s party

Tyrese Haliburton had 19 points and 10 assists and the Indiana Pacers snapped a three-game skid, beating the San Antonio Spurs, 119-108, Saturday night.

San Antonio opted to sit Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson, and Jakob Poeltl one night after coach Gregg Popovich became the winningest coach in NBA history.

The Spurs rallied to beat the Utah Jazz, 104-102, on Friday night, giving Popovich his 1,336th regular-season victory to break a tie with his friend and mentor, Don Nelson.

The Pacers also were short-handed, with Malcolm Brogdan and T.J. McConnell out along with Myles Turner, Ricky Rubio and T.J. Warren.

Indiana had lost 12 of 15 entering the game but responded with a balanced scoring effort.

Pacers guard Duane Washington Jr. had 19 points, all in the first half, Buddy Hield added 17.

Spurs rookie center Jock Landale had a season-high 26 points. Lonnie Walker IV added 20.

Other games

Bulls 101, Cavaliers 91: DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and Nikola Vucevic added 20 points with 14 rebounds as Chicago beat visiting Cleveland. Ayo Dosunmu made three 3-pointers and finished with 17 points for the Bulls, who came away with their second win after losing five in a row even though they were missing Zach LaVine. The two-time All-Star was sidelined because of lingering soreness in his left knee.

Timberwolves 113, Heat 104: Jaylen Nowell scored 16 points and Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards each added 15 as visiting Minnesota beat Miami. The Timberwolves have won seven of eight games. Tyler Herro scored 30 points for the Eastern Conferenceleading Heat. They had 37 points in the second half after scoring 42 in the second quarter. Miami has lost two of three.

Warriors 122, Bucks 109: Klay Thompson scored a season-best 38 points, raising his right arm in triumph to spark the home crowd and leading host Golden State past defending NBA champion Milwaukee. Jordan Poole added 30 in the win.