Edwards soars for T’wolves

Block preserves victory vs. Pacers

Anthony Edwards matched his season high with 44 points, made a tiebreaking 3pointer with 1:11 remaining and came up with a spectacular block at the buzzer to give the Minnesota Timberwolves a 113-111 victory over the Indiana Pacers Thursday night in Indianapolis.

Edwards soared to reject a last-second layup by the Pacers’ Aaron Nesmith, hitting his head on the rim as the buzzer sounded. He yelled, flexed his muscles and chestbumped Rudy Gobert in celebration.

Gobert added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Minnesota moved into the top spot in the Western Conference, one-half game ahead of Oklahoma City.

Neither team led by more than five points over the final 20 minutes, and Edwards scored the final eight points for the Wolves.

Other games

Mavericks 114, Heat 108: Luka Doncic had 35 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to become the second NBA player to record five consecutive 30-point triple-doubles and Dallas won at home. Doncic matched Russell Westbrook, who had five consecutive 30-point triple-doubles in 2017 for Oklahoma City. The All-Star, who leads the league in scoring, also became the first player in history with four straight 35-point tripledoubles. Kyrie Irving added 23 points for Dallas.

Pistons 118, Nets 112: Jaden Ivey scored 34 points and Cade Cunningham had 32 points and 11 assists to lead Detroit to its first home win since January. Detroit (1052) hadn’t won a home game since a 120- 104 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 28. Dennis Schroder had a season-high 31 points for Brooklyn.

Notes

Brooklyn’s Ben Simmons will miss the remainder of the season, the third year in a row the former All-Star’s season has ended early because of back problems. Simmons has been limited to 15 games this season.

• Minnesota All-Star KarlAnthony Towns was held out of the Timberwolves game at Indiana because of left knee soreness. The Athletic and ESPN reported that Towns has a torn meniscus and was mulling options for treatment.

•The Phoenix Suns will host the 2027 All- Star Game, giving owner Mat Ishbia a marquee event for the city roughly one year after he purchased the franchise.