Oladipo, Pacers cruise by Hornets

Victor Oladipo scored 21 points, and the host Indiana Pacers rolled to a 120-95 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night. The Pacers jumped out to a 16-point lead in the first quarter, led by 15 at halftime, and stayed in control the rest of the game. Charlotte got as close as five briefly in the third quarter, and then the Pacers pulled back out to lead by as many as 27 down the stretch.

The Pacers won their second straight and avenged a 127-109 loss at Charlotte in November. The Pacers have now won 18 of their last 23 games and continue to have the third-best record (31-15) in the Eastern Conference. The Hornets had a three-game winning streak snapped. They were looking for their first four-game winning streak of the season.

Oladipo, the Pacers' leading scorer, had his first 20-point performance in the past two weeks. The Pacers also got 19 points from Darren Collison, 16 apiece from Bojan Bogdanovic and Domantas Sabonis, and 14 from Tyreke Evans. Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 23 points and seven assists. Malik Monk scored 11, Bismack Biyombo had 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Jeremy Lamb also scored 10. The Hornets struggled offensively all night, finishing at 40.2 percent from the field.

Indiana went on a 10-0 run early in the first quarter for a 20-11 lead, then pushed the lead all the way to 32-16 before settling for a 34-26 edge after one quarter. The lead grew to 56-39 late in the second quarter before the Pacers settled for a 56-41 halftime lead. Indiana then led 83-71 after three quarters. Both teams were playing the second game of a back-to-back. The Pacers beat Dallas 111-99 on Saturday, while the Hornets cruised to a 135-115 home win over Phoenix.

The Pacers were playing the fourth game of a five-game homestand. They will host Toronto on Wednesday. The Hornets were opening a three-game road trip. They will play at Memphis on Wednesday.

--Field Level Media

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