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NBA roundup: Host Raptors rout Pacers in fire-delayed game – Reuters

2022-03-27 06:34:57 GMT+00:00 – Following the evacuation of the audience and a delay of more than an hour, the Toronto Raptors completed a 131-91 rout of the visiting Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.

An issue with an arena speaker resulted in a small electrical fire beginning in the first quarter in the game at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto Fire Service officials called for the evacuation of the capacity crowd, and the teams left the court with 4:05 left in the second quarter and the Raptors leading 66-38.

Toronto’s dominance continued after a delay of 65 minutes and with no fans in the seats. Pascal Siakam led a balanced scoring attack with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Scottie Barnes added 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting and matched Siakam’s seven assists. Chris Boucher came off the bench to grab a game-high 10 rebounds and chipped in 15 points.

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Precious Achiuwa shot 4-of-5 from 3-point range off the bench en route to 18 points, while OG Anunoby shot 3-of-5 from deep and finished with 16 points.

Oshae Brissett led Indiana with 21 points, Justin Anderson scored 18 and Jalen Smith added 15. Tyrese Haliburton dished out a game-high 12 assists.

Grizzlies 127, Bucks 102

De’Anthony Melton scored a season-high 24 points as Memphis defeated visiting Milwaukee to run its home winning streak to seven games.

The 6-foot-2 guard came off the bench and shot 8-of-11 from the field, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range, to lead the Grizzlies to a split of their season series with Milwaukee. Desmond Bane scored 20 points for the Grizzlies and Dillon Brooks chipped in 19.

Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the Bucks with 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting to go with 11 rebounds and four blocks. Milwaukee struggled with its ball security, committing 13 total turnovers. It also had its worst 3-point shooting performance (21.9 percent) from beyond the arc since Jan. 21 and second-worst of the season.

Bulls 98, Cavaliers 94

Chicago used 25 points from Zach LaVine and 20 from DeMar DeRozan to hold off host Cleveland.

The Cavaliers had a chance to move into a tie with Chicago for fifth place in the Eastern Conference, but instead dropped to seventh, the first position in the play-in tournament. No. 6 Toronto moved past Cleveland after its dominating win over Indiana.

Cleveland has lost three in a row and six of its last nine. The Bulls entered the contest having lost five of six.

Nets 110, Heat 95

Kevin Durant scored 23 points in just 31 minutes as Brooklyn handed slumping host Miami its season-high fourth straight loss.

The Nets, who led by as many as 37 points, have won seven of their past nine games. They also got a double-double from Andre Drummond (13 points, 11 rebounds) and 17 points from Seth Curry, who returned after missing the previous game due to a sore left ankle.

The Heat fell percentage points behind the idle Philadelphia 76ers in the battle for first place in the Eastern Conference. Bam Adebayo led Miami with 14 points, and Tyler Herro returned from a two-game knee-injury absence and had 13 points.

Spurs 107, Pelicans 103

Dejounte Murray recorded a triple-double and Keldon Johnson scored 21 points to lead seven San Antonio scorers in double figures en route to a win over host New Orleans.

Murray finished with 15 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, and Jakob Poeltl added 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Spurs pulled within one game of the Pelicans for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.

CJ McCollum scored 32 points, Jose Alvarado added a career-best 23 points, and Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Pelicans.

Kings 114, Magic 110 (OT)

Harrison Barnes hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining in overtime and rookie Davion Mitchell finished with 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds as Sacramento defeated host Orlando.

Mitchell (10-for-23 shooting) reached double figures for the seventh consecutive game as Sacramento started 2-0 on its current five-game road trip. The Kings had seven players finish in double figures, as Barnes had 19 points and seven rebounds. Trey Lyles scored 11 points to go with a career-high 18 rebounds.

Orlando squandered a 105-97 lead in the final two minutes of regulation. Franz Wagner paced the Magic with 19 points and nine rebounds. Mo Bamba totaled 18 points and 13 rebounds and Markelle Fultz contributed a season-high 16 points off the bench for Orlando.

Nuggets 113, Thunder 107

Nikola Jokic had 35 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, Aaron Gordon added 20 points and nine rebounds and host Denver beat Oklahoma City.

Will Barton scored 18 points for the Nuggets, who earned a split of the four-game season series with Oklahoma City. Theo Maledon had 20 points, one of six double-figures scorers for the Thunder.

Oklahoma City tied it at 97 on Maledon’s bank shot midway through the fourth and went ahead 105-103 on a goaltending call. Jokic’s floater and two Gordon free throws put Denver back in front, and Monte Morris hit a 3-pointer with 47.8 seconds left to help seal the win.

Rockets 115, Trail Blazers 98

Alperen Sengun scored 16 of his career-high 27 points in the fourth quarter as visiting Houston completed a two-game sweep of short-handed Portland.

Jalen Green made six 3-pointers and finished with 25 points for Houston, which beat the Blazers 125-106 in the front end of the back-to-back on Friday. Christian Wood scored 13 points and Kevin Porter Jr. added 10 points and 11 assists.

Trendon Watford led Portland with 15 points and 10 rebounds before exiting in the fourth quarter with a left leg injury. Brandon Williams also scored 15 points and Drew Eubanks added 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for the Blazers, who have lost 13 of 15 games since the All-Star break.

-Field Level Media

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