NBA: Collison, Pacers hold on to edge depleted Pelicans

Darren Collison scored 22 points to lead a balance scoring attack as the visiting Indiana Pacers held off the New Orleans Pelicans 109-107 on Monday night.

Collison was joined in double figures by Domantas Sabonis (16 points and 13 rebounds), Myles Turner (15 points, nine rebounds), Thaddeus Young (14 points) and Bojan Bogdanovich (14 points) as the Pacers won their second straight game to finish a 2-2 road trip.

Jahlil Okafor had 25 points and 13 rebounds and Jrue Holiday added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and fell one assist shy of a triple-double to lead the injury-riddled Pelicans, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Ian Clark had 18 points, Darius Miller scored 16 and Cheick Diallo had 12 points and 14 rebounds for New Orleans, which lost its third straight as it played its fourth straight game without five of its top six scorers due to injuries.

Kenrich Williams' 3-pointer started the third-quarter scoring and pulled New Orleans even before Indiana opened a 10-point lead midway through the quarter.

The Pelicans closed the gap to three points before the Pacers rebuilt it to 83-74 after the third quarter.

Indiana extended the lead to 11 before New Orleans cut it to four on a 3-pointer by Miller.

Collison answered with a 3-pointer and Bogdanovich added a technical free throw, but the Pelicans came back again. Clark made a 3-pointer and assisted on an Okafor basket to get them within one with 2:30 left.

New Orleans had a chance to take the lead, but Miller missed a 3-pointer, and Collison's 3-pointer gave the Pacers a 106-102 lead with 1:54 to play.

Okafor's layup got the Pelicans within two, but they again missed an opportunity to take the lead when Williams missed a 3-pointer.

Collison's jumper pushed Indiana's lead to 108-104 with 27 seconds left, and after Miller missed another 3-pointer, Collison added a free throw with 10 seconds left.

Clark made a layup to trim the deficit back to three, and the Pacers turned the ball over with five seconds left.

Indiana fouled Holiday before he could attempt a tying 3-pointer. He made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, but New Orleans knocked the rebound out of bounds.

The Pacers inbounded the ball and the clock expired.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Pacers kick off 5-game trip with rout of Suns

Indiana guard Darren Collison scored 19 points to lead seven Pacers in double figures in a 120-97 rout of the Phoenix Suns at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix on Sunday.

Victor Oladipo had 17 points and Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 for the Pacers (23-20), who overcame a 22-point deficit to beat Cleveland on Friday but were never in danger against the slumping Suns.

Reserve guard Cory Joseph scored 16 points and center Domantas Sabonis had 14 rebounds for the Pacers, who led by 33 points late in the third period and turned to the bench the rest of the way.

Collison played 27 minutes and forward Thaddeus Young played 25, the only starters to play as much as the half the game in the first of the Pacers' five-game road trip that includes two sets of back-to-back games, including one Monday in Utah.

Forward Josh Jackson lead the Suns (16-28) with 21 points in his first game back after missing two with a hip injury. The Suns have lost four of five.

Devin Booker, who averages 24.4 points per game, had 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting. Reserves Troy Daniels and Isaiah Canaan had 13 points apiece and Alex Len had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

   
Indiana committed only six turnovers and shot 54.5 percent from the floor while making 11-of-23 3-pointers. Oladipo, Young, Bogdanovic and Joseph made two apiece.

The Suns did not lead after the first three minutes, and reserve forward T.J. Leaf's dunk with 8:20 remaining in the first half enabled the Pacers to double the Suns, 42-21.

Indiana led by 20 at halftime, and Leaf's 3-pointer with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter gave the Pacers a 33-point lead, 92-59.

The Suns shot 41.2 percent from the floor and made 9-of-37 3-point attempts.

Suns forward Dragan Bender, who had 34 points and made 9-of-14 3-point attempts in the past two games, did not score in 30 minutes. He was 0-for-7 from the field, 0-for-6 on threes. He started for the second straight game in place of injured Marquese Chriss.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Lakers lose by 48 to Clippers

The Los Angeles Lakers hit a new low when they lost by 48 points to the Clippers, 94-142.

It was the biggest loss ever for the Lakers franchise.

It was also the biggest margin in the history of meetings between the two Los Angeles teams, eclipsing the previous record 46-point victory by the Lakers over the Clippers in 1979.

The Clippers had eight players score in double figures. Guard Darren Collison notched 24 points as the Clippers (43-20) won their sixth straight game and dropped the Lakers (21-41) to their ninth loss in the past 12 games.

Forward Blake Griffin finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers removed all of his starters before the end of the third quarter. (Editing by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina)

Suns 128, Thunder 122

Gerald Green scored a career-high 41 points and Goran Dragic had seven of his 22 points in the final 2 1/2 minutes to help the Phoenix Suns beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Green also had a career-high eight three-pointers, six in the third quarter, when he scored 25 points.

Russell Westbrook had 36 points, nine assists and nine rebounds and Kevin Durant scored 34 points for the Thunder, who had an 11-game winning streak against the Suns snapped.

Durant has scored at least 25 points in 27 straight games, tying Allen Iverson for the second-longest streak in the NBA in the last 25 years. Iverson did it in 2000-01. Durant has the longest streak, 29, achieved in 2009-10.

Oklahoma City (46-16) had a three-game winning streak halted and dropped one-half game behind Indiana for the best record in the league.

The Suns (36-25) are seventh in the Western Conference.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com