INDIANAPOLIS — Thaddeus Young scored 19 points and Domantas Sabonis added 18 points and 12 rebounds Monday night to help the Indiana Pacers snap a three-game losing streak with a 111-102 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
It was a crucial win for the Pacers, who had lost seven of their previous eight and their grip on potentially having home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Myles Turner chipped in with 17 points and five blocks.
Wayne Ellington scored a season-high 26 points and Andre Drummond had 18 points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons. Detroit started the night in the No. 6 spot with a 1 ½-game lead over Orlando for the final playoff spot in the East.
But after a sluggish start, the struggling and short-handed Pacers finally got the spark they needed from their two big men, Sabonis and Turner.
Sabonis made his first five shots as Indiana charged back from an early 10-point deficit, and Turner made the big plays in the second half, including a 3-pointer and two free throws late in the third to give the Pacers an 87-80 edge.
The combination was just enough for the Pacers to slip past the Pistons, who were firing on all cylinders early to take a 33-23 lead.
Sabonis spurred a 12-5 second-quarter charge that got the Pacers within 43-41 and Indiana closed out the half on a 7-2 run to take a 59-55 lead.
When the recharged Pistons rallied in the third quarter with runs of 9-0 and 7-0 to retake a 77-74 lead, Sabonis answered with a short hook shot, Bojan Bogdanovic scored on a fast break and Turner scored seven points in the decisive 13-3 run that gave Indiana an 87-80 lead after the third quarter.
Sabonis also started the game-sealing 9-0 run with a 9-footer early in the fourth.
BUCKS 131, NETS 121: Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points and 11 rebounds in his return to the lineup, Eric Bledsoe added 29 points and Milwaukee beat Brooklyn in New York.
Reserve guard George Hill chipped in 22 points while Brook Lopez and Sterling Brown each scored 14 for the Bucks, who played without All-Star forward Khris Middleton because of soreness in his left groin.
Milwaukee was unable to clinch the best record in the Eastern Conference because Toronto won earlier Monday.
D’Angelo Russell had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who remained seventh in the East after losses by Detroit and Miami. Caris LeVert had 24 points off the bench.
Milwaukee got off to a quick start and led 35-13 lead with 1:39 left to play in the first quarter. But Brooklyn stormed back with a 28-6 spurt to go up 42-41 on DeMarre Carroll’s layup with 5:53 remaining in the half.
There were 18 lead changes in the third before Milwaukee took a 101-91 lead on a three-point play from Antetokounmpo with 10:21 to go in the fourth.
RAPTORS 121, MAGIC 109: Danny Green scored a season-high 29 points, Kawhi Leonard and Serge Ibaka each had 15 and Toronto clinched its sixth Atlantic Division title by beating Orlando in Toronto.
The win also means Toronto can finish no lower than second in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors began the day three games behind Milwaukee for first.
Marc Gasol scored 13 points and Kyle Lowry had 12 as the Raptors snapped a two-game losing streak against the Magic.
Green connected on 11 of 15 attempts, going 7 of 10 from 3-point range, before sitting out the final quarter.
The Raptors trailed by 11 points early in the second before turning the game around with a 31-10 rally before halftime. Toronto pulled away after the break, leading by as many as 24.
Nikola Vucevic had 13 points and 13 rebounds, but the Magic lost for the second time in three games after winning their previous six. Evan Fournier scored 21 points.
Orlando remained a half-game behind Miami for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.
Toronto won its fourth straight and improved to 31-9 at home. Only Milwaukee (32) has more home wins this season.
Green’s previous high this season was 24, set against Memphis on Jan. 19, when he made a career-high eight 3-pointers. He scored a career-high 33 against Phoenix on April 11, 2014.
Green made his first five shots of the game and scored 16 points in the first, going 4 of 5 from long range, but Orlando led 36-29 after one. Fournier scored seven points for the Magic and Vucevic had five points and five rebounds.
Orlando led 42-31 after Fournier’s basket at 10:22 of the second before Toronto responded. The Raptors took their first the lead on a four-point play by Gasol at 1:49 and were up 62-52 at halftime.
The Raptors took a 95-75 lead into the fourth.
TRAIL BLAZERS 132, TIMBERWOLVES 122: Evan Turner had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists off the bench, and Portland moved into a tie for third place in the Western Conference with a victory over host Minnesota.
Rodney Hood led Portland with 21 points. Enes Kanter added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers, who joined the idle Houston Rockets at 49-28.
Portland led by as many as 19 in the first half after going 10 of 16 from 3-point range before halftime.
Andrew Wiggins had 21 points for Minnesota, while Gorgui Dieng scored 18 on 7-of-8 shooting.
KNICKS 113, BULLS 105: Luke Kornet scored a career-high 24 points and New York snapped a six-game losing streak with a win at home.
Kevin Knox added 19 points, Damyean Dotson had 18 and Emmanuel Mudiay scored 17 for New York.
Robin Lopez led the Bulls with a season-high 29 points. JaKarr Sampson scored 22 and fellow reserve Ryan Arcidiacono had 14.
Chicago has lost five straight.
With the score tied at 15, the Knicks ended the first quarter on a 22-4 run and led 37-19 after the period.
New York took its largest lead at 59-31 on Mitchell Robinson’s free throws with 6:04 left in the second quarter.
NOTES
MAVERICKS: A New York City police official has confirmed that there is an investigation into a rape allegation against NBA star Kristaps Porzingis.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said on Monday that the department has an ongoing probe. He declined to give further details.
An attorney for Porzingis had acknowledged last week that a woman had accused the Dallas Mavericks forward of raping her in his Manhattan apartment last year while he was playing for the Knicks.
GRIZZLIES: Cnter Jonas Valanciunas will miss the rest of the season after spraining his right ankle in a loss to the Clippers.
The Grizzlies announced that Valanciunas suffered a grade II sprain Sunday night, though the center will not need surgery.
The 7-foot Valanciunas had started 17 of 19 games since Memphis acquired him from Toronto in a trade Feb. 7. Valanciunas, 26, averaged 19.9 points and 10.7 rebounds with Memphis and had a career-high 34 points along with 20 reboundsin a win over Phoenix on Saturday night.
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