Duarte, Turner lead Pacers over Knicks
Pacers 122, Knicks 102: Chris Duarte scored 23 points, Myles Turner had 22 and the Pacers beat the visting Knicks on Wednesday night.
Duarte, a rookie shooting guard, eclipsed his 13.1-point scoring average with 14 in the first quarter, when the Pacers seized control with a 15-2 run. Indiana outscored New York in each of the first three quarters to lead 96-76 and mainatined a double-digit lead from midway through the second quarter until the final buzzer.
The Pacers shot 60% (27 of 45) in the first half. The Knicks shot 47.7% (21 of 44).
Each of the Pacers starters scored in double figures, with Malcolm Brogdon getting 16 points and Caris LeVert 15. Duarte and LeVert each had six assists.
Domantas Sabonis had 21 points and 11 rebounds.
His league-leading 20 double-doubles is one more than Jonas Valanciunas of New Orleans.
RJ Barrett led the Knicks with 19 points. Julius Randle had 18 points and eight rebounds. Alec Burks scored 15 and Obi Toppin 13.
Cavaliers 115, Bulls 92: Darius Garland scored 24 points and rookie power forward Evan Mobley had 16 points and nine rebounds to lift Cleveland at home.
Garland also had six assists as Cleveland won for the fifth time in seven games, earning its most lopsided home victory of the season. Mobley, the third overall draft pick, shot 8 of 11 from the field and had a season-high five blocked shots and two steals.
Zach LaVine scored 23 points with nine assists for Chicago, which had its four-game win streak snapped. Lonzo Ball added 19 points and Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bulls played their second game since leading scorer DeMar DeRozan was placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocol for COVID-19. Chicago guards Coby White, Matt Thomas and Javonte Green are sidelined for the same reason.
76ers 110, Hornets 106: Joel Embiid had 32 points, Seth Curry added 23 points and eight assists, and the visiting
76ers beat the Hornets for the second time in three nights.
Tobias Harris added 18 points in a rematch of a game the 76ers won 127-124 in overtime Monday night on the same court.
Gordon Hayward had a season-high 31 points and seven assists for the Hornets, who played without five rotational players, including last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball due to NBA health and safety protocols.
Kelly Oubre Jr., who had 35 points in Charlotte’s loss Monday night, finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds but finished just 3 of 12 from beyond the arc and missed a free throw that would have made it a one-possession game with 7 seconds left.
The Hornets have lost five of their last six.
Wizards 119, Pistons 116 (OT): Kyle Kuzma hit a 3 with 0.6 seconds left in overtime and the visiting Wizards handed the Pistons their 10th straight loss.
Kuzma scored 26 points and Bradley Beal added 25 for the Wizards, who blew a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Jeremi Grant scored 28 points for the
Pistons, who haven’t won since beating the Indiana Pacers 97-89 on Nov. 17. The 10-game skid matches Detroit’s longest since a 13-game slide from Nov. 15-Dec. 9, 2014.
Thunder 110, Raptors 109: Mike Muscala made a go-ahead 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining, Shai GilgeousAlexander scored 16 of his 26 points in the third quarter, and the visitingThunder held on late to win their second straight game, rallying from a 13-point deficit to beat the shorthanded Raptors.
Toronto’s Justin Champagnie thought he had tipped in Fred VanVleet’s missed shot at the buzzer to give the Raptors the win but, after a wild celebration at center court, the referees ruled Champagnie’s shot had come too late.
Hawks lose veteran wing Solomon Hill for remainder of season
ATLANTA – Atlanta Hawks forward Solomon Hill is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury, adding to the team’s growing lack of depth on the wing.
The Hawks said Wednesday that Hill needs surgery to repair a torn right hamstring tendon. Hill suffered the injury when he slipped and did a split in Sunday’s loss to Charlotte.
The Hawks already are playing without starting small forward De’Andre Hunter, who is recovering from surgery on his right wrist. Another top small forward, Cam Reddish, is out with a sprained left wrist and shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic is recovering from a sprained right ankle.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot has been the fill-in starter at small forward while Hill has played both forward spots and shooting guard.
Hill averaged 4.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in 71 games, including 16 starts, for Atlanta last season. He played in 13 games, with one start, while averaging only 0.6 points this season.
For his career, Hill has averaged 5.5 points in 10 seasons with Indiana, New Orleans, Memphis, Miami and Atlanta.
Blazers’ McCollum has collapsed lung, out indefinitely
PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum has been diagnosed with a collapsed right lung and will be sidelined indefinitely, the team said Tuesday.
McCollum was injured in the final quarter of the Blazers’ 145-117 loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday. He was listed as probable with a rib contusion for Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, but did not play in the 102-90 loss.
McCollum’s condition was revealed by a CT scan, the team said.
He is averaging 20.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists this season.
McCollum’s injury is one of several to befall the struggling Blazers. All-Star Damian Lillard has missed four games with lower abdominal tendinopathy. Backup point guard Anfernee Simons is out with a right ankle sprain, while forward Nassir Little has missed four games with a left ankle sprain.
Guard Ben McLemore left the game against the Clippers with a bruised hip. Center Cody Zeller has a bruised right quad.