Bennedict Mathurin made two free throws with 0.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Indiana Pacers a 133–131 victory over the Boston Celtics on Monday night in Indianapolis.
The game was tied with two seconds to play when Indiana inbounded the ball to Mathurin, and he was fouled by Kristaps Porzingis during a 3-point attempt. After making two free throws, Mathurin—who led the Pacers with 26 points—intentionally missed the third. Boston rebounded the miss and called timeout with 0.3 seconds to play. Luke Kornet’s tip-in at the buzzer would have tied the game, but the ball hit the rim and bounced out.
It may have been a costly victory for Indiana, however. Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton slipped during a drive to the basket in the second quarter and had to be helped off the court with a hamstring injury. He did not return to the game. Haliburton had seven points, two rebounds, and six assists in 13 minutes before he was injured.
Bulls 119, Hornets 112 (OT)
Playing in his home state, Coby White scored 27 points, and Chicago recovered after a shaky late stretch to defeat host Charlotte.The Bulls scored the first eight points of overtime, with two baskets coming from Nikola Vucevic.
Jazz 132, Bucks 116
Jordan Clarkson and Lauri Markkanen each scored 21 points and Utah won for the 11th time in 15 games by beating host Milwaukee.
The Jazz led by as many as 33 points in the first half—and held a 77–46 halftime lead—before Milwaukee rallied to within seven just over 6 1/2 minutes into the fourth quarter. But the Jazz quickly went on a 9–0 run to pull away for good.
Thunder 136, Wizards 128
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points while rookie Chet Holmgren added 31 to lift Oklahoma over host Washington.The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Thunder while Washington’s losing streak stretched to five.
Heat 120, Rockets 113
Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo combined for 50 points as host Miami defeated Houston.Adebayo scored 22 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds as the Heat returned home after a five-game road trip. Herro added 28 points on 10-for-20 shooting. It was a bounce-back game for Herro, who shot 4-for-17 in his previous game at Phoenix on Friday.
Clippers 138, Suns 111
Paul George scored 25 points, James Harden added 19 points with 10 assists and Los Angeles got back on track with a victory over visiting Phoenix.Ivica Zubac scored 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting as the Clippers used a sharp-shooting first half to get off to a quick start. Los Angeles shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the first half and finished a season-high 62.4 percent for the game.
Kevin Durant scored 30 points and Devin Booker added 20 as the Suns lost for the third time in four games after a four-game winning streak. The Clippers ran away with the victory by outscoring Phoenix 37–20 in the fourth quarter.
