BOSTON - Victor Oladipo scored 27 points, then committed a dead-ball offensive foul with 1.5 seconds left that gave Boston a shot to win the game at the buzzer, but the Indiana Pacers held on to beat the depleted Celtics 99-97 on Sunday night.
Myles Turner scored 19 points, including the game-winning basket with 21 seconds to play, and added 10 rebounds for Indiana, who survived the crazy ending to win for the fifth time in six games.
Boston led by 10 at halftime before point guard Kyrie Irving left the game with a sore left knee, joining absent big man Al Horford, who was home sick, and Jaylen Brown, who is in the concussion protocol. Indiana went ahead by as many as nine, and had a 93-76 lead with 2:13 to play before Boston rallied to tie 95-all with 37 seconds left.
Turner gave the Pacers the lead again and, after Terry Rozier's miss, Indiana hit a pair of foul shots to take a four-point lead. With fans heading for the exits, Tatum hit a seemingly meaningless layup to cut the deficit to two points with only 1.5 seconds left.
But before the ball could be inbounded, Oladipo was whistled when his elbow caught Marcus Morris in the face. A review confirmed the call.
Boston inbounded the ball to Rozier, who took a long 2-pointer that bounced off the near side of the rim. As the buzzer sounded, Cory Joseph got tangled up with Morris and Marcus Smart, bringing all three to the floor; players milled around and officials kept them separated but tensions were quickly soothed (see full recap).
Hot Jazz spoil Anthony Davis' 1st triple-double
NEW ORLEANS - Ricky Rubio had 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Utah overcame Anthony Davis' first career triple-double for a 116-99 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday that extended the Jazz's winning streak to six.
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Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, including 15 during the last 3:08 of the third quarter to put Utah in front for good in what could be an important victory in a tightly packed race for one of the Western Conference's final five playoff spots. Rudy Gobert added 19 points and 16 rebounds, and Joe Ingles scored 20 for Utah, which has won 11 straight on the road.
Davis had 25 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 blocks in his return from a sprained left ankle that sidelined him for one game, but he had to spend the rest of his 25th birthday ruing New Orleans' second straight loss.
Jrue Holiday had 18 points and 10 assists for the Pelicans, but missed 12 of 19 shots, turned the ball over four times and struggled defensively against Utah's backcourt tandem of Rubio and Mitchell while guarding each at various points during the game (see full recap).
Towns, Wolves down Warriors to snap skid
MINNEAPOLIS - Karl-Anthony Towns helped Minnesota stop a season-longest three-game losing streak with 31 points and 16 rebounds, and the Timberwolves powered their way past Golden State down the stretch for a 109-103 victory on Sunday to hand the Warriors their second straight defeat without Stephen Curry.
Kevin Durant had 39 points and 12 rebounds for the Warriors, who left Curry at home from this road trip to rest an injured right ankle and lost 125-108 to Portland on Friday.
Andrew Wiggins added 23 points for the Timberwolves, who lost twice on the road to the defending champion Warriors earlier this season by a combined 37 points. Curry had a collective plus-36 rating over those two games.
With their spot in the ultra-competitive Western Conference standings slipping while All-Star Jimmy Butler recuperates from right knee surgery, the Wolves needed this win in the worst way in the thick of a daunting stretch of their schedule (see full recap).
