Sabonis, Pacers hold off Blazers

Domantas Sabonis overcame early foul trouble to collect 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers recorded a 106-100 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday in Indianapolis. Sabonis, whose father, Arvydas, played for the Trail Blazers, posted his 45th double-double of the season after playing just eight minutes in the first half. Sabonis picked up his third foul early in the second quarter following a charge against forward Caleb Swanigan.

Indiana's Malcolm Brogdon had 17 points and Victor Oladipo added 15 in his return from a two-game absence due to a back injury. T.J. Warren also had 15 points for the Pacers, who have won four of their past five contests following a season-long six-game losing streak. CJ McCollum scored 28 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 20 and Hassan Whiteside collected 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who have dropped five of their last six overall and five in a row on the road.

Trevor Ariza's 3-pointer, Whiteside's emphatic dunk and McCollum's short jumper trimmed the Pacers' lead to 103-100 with 30 seconds left. Indiana's Myles Turner answered with a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to double the advantage with 9.1 seconds remaining. Sabonis worked the interior to convert on three straight possessions and Warren followed with a driving layup to push Indiana's lead to 94-82 with 6:58 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Whiteside's emphatic dunk gave Portland a 72-67 lead with 3:15 remaining in the third quarter before Indiana provided a swift response. Justin Holiday's brilliant pump-fake created space for a 3-pointer and Brogdon added a short jumper to cap a 13-3 surge as the Pacers seized a five-point lead at the end of the quarter. Indiana shot 61.9 percent from the floor to take a 30-24 lead after the first before mustering just 13 points in the second to tie a season low for a quarter. McCollum scored eight of his team's 25 points in the second quarter to give Portland a 49-43 lead at intermission.

The Trail Blazers pushed their advantage to 60-51 before the Pacers scored the next nine points to forge a tie, capped by Oladipo's 3-pointer. --Field Level Media

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