Haliburton, Obi Toppin lead 3-point flurry to help Pacers tame Timberwolves


At a glance

  • Tyrese Haliburton finished with 24 points and 11 assists, and Obi Toppin made six 3-pointers and added 20 points to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 119-103, on Monday night, March 24.


INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton finished with 24 points and 11 assists, and Obi Toppin made six 3-pointers and added 20 points to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 119-103, on Monday night, March 24.

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Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin (1) gestures after a three-point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Monday, March 24. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

The Pacers have won five straight and seven of eight to stay ahead of Milwaukee in the chase for the Eastern Conference’s No. 4 seed. Haliburton extended his career best streak to 11 straight games with double-doubles on a night six Pacers players scored at least 10 points.

Haliburton made three of Indiana’s 13 3s.

Naz Reid led the Timberwolves with 20 points and Anthony Edwards added 17 despite being a game-time decision with a hand injury. Rudy Gobert finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds as Minnesota lost for the third time in four games.

Indiana never trailed, using a flurry of nine 3s in the third quarter to build a 95-73 lead. Minnesota couldn’t get within single digits the rest of the game. Indiana has won eight straight home games.

Timberwolves: Minnesota is struggling at exactly the wrong time. They’ve won only once since having a seven-game winning streak snapped, and if they want to earn one of the top six spots in the West, they need to turn things around quickly.

Pacers: On the other hand, Indiana is playing perhaps its best basketball all season. They’ve won the first four of a five-game homestand and have done it by winning close games, crazy games and now pulling away in this one.

Meanwhile in Phoenix, Devin Booker made a mid-range jumper with 2.4 seconds remaining to lift the Phoenix Suns over the Milwaukee Bucks, 108-106, for their fourth straight win.

It’s a crucial victory for the Suns, who stayed in the final position for the Western Conference play-in tournament with 10 games remaining in the regular season. Kevin Durant scored 38 points, while Booker added 19, including the clutch 20-foot jumper after catching the in-bounds pass in the final moments.

Brook Lopez missed a turnaround jumper at the buzzer that could have tied it, ending a frantic final stretch. Milwaukee was led by Giannis Antetokoumpo, who scored 31 points. Lopez added 23.

Milwaukee’s Kyle Kuzma hit a corner 3-pointer with 1:22 left while being fouled by Durant and completed the 4-point play for a 105-103 lead. Durant responded with a 3 with 26.2 seconds left to put the Suns up 106-105.

In Sacramento, Jayson Tatum had 25 points, seven rebounds and eight assists before suffering a hard foul and leaving in the Boston Celtics’ 113-95 win over the Kings.

The six-time All-Star was hurt late in the third quarter of the Celtics’ sixth consecutive win. After making his fifth 3-pointer of the game, Tatum absorbed a Flagrant 1 foul by Kings 6-foot-11 center Domantas Sabonis. He remained down for several moments before making 1 of 2 free throws and being helped to Boston’s locker room.

Kristaps Porzingis had 16 points and seven rebounds after missing Sunday’s win in Portland, Payton Pritchard scored 20 points and Derrick White added 12 points and eight assists for the Celtics.

Sabonis made an earlier-than-expected return from an ankle injury and had 16 points and 17 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan added 20 points and 10 assists.

In Denver, Coby White scored 37 points to lead the streaking Chicago Bulls over the short-handed Nuggets, 129-119.

Josh Giddey had 26 points and nine assists for Chicago, which finished its season-long road trip 4-2.

In Orlando, Franz Wagner had 32 points and eight assists, Paolo Banchero added 30 points and seven rebounds and the Magic sent the Los Angeles Lakers to their third straight loss, 118-106.

Luka Doncic scored 32 points and LeBron James added 24 points and eight assists for the Lakers, who have lost seven of their last 10.

Earlier, Naji Marshall scored 22 points off the bench to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 120-101 rout of the Brooklyn Nets.

P.J. Washington and Spencer Dinwiddie finished with 16 each, Brandon Williams scored 15 and Kai Jones added 13. Anthony Davis, in his first game back after missing six weeks with a groin injury, had 12 points in 27 minutes.