Pacers power past Hornets, Celtics win
LOS ANGELES – Agence France-Presse
Victor Oladipo and Myles Turner combined for 47 points as the Indiana Pacers won their second straight with a 105-96 win over the struggling Charlotte Hornets on Jan. 29.
The teams battled back and forth for the first three quarters before the Pacers pulled away late in the fourth with a 13-4 run.
Oladipo sparked the surge with a 19-footer and by the time the run was over, the Pacers had boosted their lead to 94-86 with six minutes remaining. They took over after that.
Oladipo scored a team-high 25 points for the Pacers, who have won two in a row and four of five.
Six players scored in double figures, including Thaddeus Young with 16 points and Darren Collison with 13. Domantas Sabonis had his 12th double-double this season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Kemba Walker finished with 23 points and three three-pointers to lead the Hornets, who have lost two straight games and four of six.
In Denver, Kyrie Irving delivered 27 points and Jaylen Brown rattled in a clutch three pointer with 34 seconds left as the Boston Celtics edged the Denver Nuggets 11-110.
Irving scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and shot 11-of-17 from the field overall for the Celtics, who won their second game in their last seven.
Jayson Tatum added 20 points and Marcus Morris came off the bench to score 14.
Nikola Jokic finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Barton scored 19, Gary Harris 15 and Jamal Murray 14.
Mason Plumlee had 16 points and eight rebounds before he left with a leg injury in the fourth.
The Celtics beat Denver for the second time this season, also winning 124-118 on December 13.
Elsewhere, Kent Bazemore scored 22 points, including a tiebreaking three-pointer with 2:09 remaining, and the Atlanta Hawks rallied after trailing by 11 in the third quarter to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 105-100.
