KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS recorded 40 points and 12 rebounds, Josh Hart added a season-high 30 points, and the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 128-115 on Tuesday in Indianapolis.
Hart also had 10 rebounds and five assists while shooting 12 of 16 from the field. Miles McBride added 15 points for New York, which drew clear in the fourth quarter to win the season series against Indiana 2-1.
New York led by eight early in the fourth quarter before using a 13-5 run to go up 116-100 with 5:41 remaining on a layup by Hart. The Knicks remained in control to win for the eighth time in their past 10 games.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 24 points. Bennedict Mathurin scored 18 off the bench, Thomas Bryant had 18 points and nine rebounds, Tyrese Haliburton added 16 points and eight assists, and Ben Sheppard had 12 points.
Bryant started in place of center Myles Turner, who missed his second straight game with a cervical strain. Indiana shot 29% (9 of 31) from 3-point range and lost for the third time in its past four games.
New York led 27-26 after one period and used a 15-3 run late in the second quarter to move ahead 61-50.
Towns scored 24 points in the first half for the Knicks, who led 68-60 at intermission after holding the Pacers to 30% shooting (6 of 20) from beyond the arc.
New York’s Jalen Brunson was limited to six points in the first half and picked up his fifth foul with 8:42 left in the third quarter and the Knicks leading 74-65.
With Brunson on the bench for the rest of the period, New York maintained its lead and held a 98-88 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
Precious Achiuwa finished with nine points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, while Brunson had eight points on 4-of-11 shooting.
New York played without forward OG Anunoby, who missed his fourth straight game with a sprained right foot.
RAPTORS NOTCH RARE ROAD WIN VS 76ERS
Scottie Barnes collected 33 points and 10 rebounds and Immanuel Quickley added 23 points, lifting the visiting Toronto Raptors to a 106-103 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.
Barnes made 10 of 16 shots from the floor and Quickley sank 7 of 11 attempts for the Raptors, who snapped a four-game losing skid. The win was just Toronto’s fifth in 26 road games this season.
Gradey Dick had 17 points and three steals, including one on Joel Embiid in the late stages, for the Raptors. He added a free throw with 5.3 seconds to play to cap the scoring.
Embiid recorded 27 points and 12 rebounds for the struggling 76ers, who have lost four in a row and 13 of their last 18 games.
Jared Butler scored 15 points, Paul George had 14, Quentin Grimes chipped in 13 and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 12 for Philadelphia.
Tyrese Maxey, however, was limited to just five points on 1-of-9 shooting from the floor — including 1-of-7 from 3-point range. That performance came on the heels of a 39-point effort in Philadelphia’s 135-127 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
Maxey sank a 3-pointer to forge a tie at 103 with 1:49 remaining before Toronto regained the lead on its next possession, courtesy of a layup by Ochai Agbaji.
Dick stole the ball from Embiid with eight seconds left before splitting a pair of free throws, and Maxey was off on his tying 3-point attempt to end the game.
Toronto erased a modest two-point deficit by scoring 14 of the first 20 points of the third quarter to take a 64-58 lead. Quickley drained a pair of 3-pointers and Barnes and Agbaji each added four points during the run. — Reuters
