Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
The Indiana Pacers have rallied from a 15-point deficit to snap NBA-leading Cleveland’s winning streak at 12 games, beating the misfiring Cavaliers 108-93 on their home court.
Andrew Nembhard led the way on Sunday night with 19 points, Pascal Siakam had 18 points and nine rebounds, Myles Turner added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Jarace Walker had eight points and 12 rebounds off the bench as the Pacers (22-18) won a sixth straight.
The teams will complete the home-and-home set on Tuesday night in Indianapolis.
Cleveland lost for the first time since December 8 at Miami. They are 33-5 overall and 20-2 at home.
Darius Garland had 20 points and seven assists for the Cavs. Donovan Mitchell scored 19 points and Evan Mobley had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Before the match Indiana coach Rick Carlisle raved about Cleveland’s depth and style under new coach Kenny Atkinson, saying, “They don’t have any weaknesses. I mean, you can’t find any. All of their guys can score and those guys play defence, too.”
Immediately after the Cavaliers built their largest lead at 60-45 in the third quarter, Indiana used a 32-7 run to seize a double-digit advantage.
Backup power forward Obi Toppin fueled the surge with 10 points in a five-minute span, including a steal-and-slam in the backcourt.
Australian rookie Johnny Furphy grabbed two rebounds in his three minutes of court time for the Pacers.
The Cavaliers, who are shooting a league-high 40.1 per cent on 3-pointers, made just 11 of 41.
They misfired on 15 of their first 16 attempts in the second half and finished with a season-low 26.8 per cent.
Australian point guard Josh Giddey produced a double-double but could not prevent the Chicago Bulls falling to a 124-119 home loss to the in-form Sacramento Kings.
Giddey had 12 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and a steal but the Kings (20-19) extended their season-high win streak to seven games.
Domantas Sabonis had 22 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Kings while De’Aaron Fox scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds and DeMar DeRozan got a warm reception in his return to Chicago as he finished with 21 points.
Zach LaVine led Chicago (18-21) with 36 points – his sixth straight 30-plus points game.
Ben Simmons flirted with a double-double as his Brooklyn Nets lost 112-111 to the also struggling Utah Jazz in overtime..
The Aussie had 14 points on 7-11 shooting along with nine assists, six rebounds and two blocks.
Phoenix won 120-113 at home to Charlotte, whose Australian guard Josh Green played 30 minutes for seven rebounds and two points.
And Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 38 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as defending champions Boston fended off the visiting New Orleans Pelicans 120-119.
– with AAP
