Pacers take series lead beating Bucks 121-118 in OT

Pacers take series lead beating Bucks 121-118 in OT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton completed a three-point play with 1.6 seconds left, capping his first postseason triple-double in his first home playoff game to give the Indiana Pacers a 121-118 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

Indiana leads the best-of-seven series 2-1, with Game 4 on Sunday in Indianapolis. Two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo again sat out for Milwaukee because of a strained left calf.

Haliburton had 18 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds. Myles Turner added 29 points and nine rebounds, both playoff career highs, to help give Indiana its first back-to-back postseason wins since taking three straight in the 2014 Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Pacers also have their first lead in the playoffs since Game 3 of a first-round matchup against Cleveland in 2018. Indiana hasn’t won a series since reaching the 2014 Eastern Conference finals.

MAVERICKS 101, CLIPPERS 90

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and suddenly defensive-minded Dallas took a chippy victory over the Los Angeles Clippers for a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.

The Mavs rode the same defense that gave them home-court advantage with a Game 2 victory in LA, and won in Dallas three years after losing all three first-round games on their floor in a seven-game s loss to the Clippers. Game 4 is Sunday in Dallas.

Rookie Dereck Lively II scored all 13 of his points in the first half and Daniel Gafford, his tag-team partner as a dunker and rim protector, had an emphatic block of a dunk attempt by Paul George early in the fourth quarter while Dallas was taking control for good in a game with five technical fouls, a flagrant foul and two ejections.

James Harden scored 21 points for the Clippers, but just seven after halftime, while fellow stars George and Kawhi Leonard had little impact. Normal Powell also had 21.

TIMBERWOLVES 126, SUNS 109

PHOENIX (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 36 points, Rudy Gobert added 19 points and 14 rebounds and Minnesota used a hot-shooting third quarter to beat Phoenix and take a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.

Minnesota goes for the sweep in Game 4 on Sunday in Phoenix.

It was the third straight game the Wolves used a big third to turn a tight game into a comfortable victory. Minnesota hit 7 of 11 3-pointers during the surge, including four from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, to take a 22-point lead into the fourth.

Bradley Beal led the Suns with 28 points while Kevin Durant had 25 and Devin Booker 23.

The Associated Press