Jan 10
2
Pacers beat Timberwolves easily
122 
111
Indianapolis – Roy Hibbert and Luther Head each scored 21 points and the Indiana Pacers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-111 on Saturday night to snap an eight-game losing streak.
Brandon Rush scored 16 points and Mike Dunleavy added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers.
Al Jefferson scored 23 points, Wayne Ellington had a career-high 16 and Kevin Love also scored 16 for the Timberwolves, who have lost four straight.
Indiana played without Troy Murphy, who is day-to-day with a sprained left ankle. Pacers coach Jim O’Brien shuffled his lineup after Wednesday’s loss to Memphis, giving Josh McRoberts his first career start and inserting Earl Watson at point guard in place of T.J. Ford, who did not play.
Indiana led by 29 points in the first half and by 13 at the end of the third quarter before barely holding on.
The Timberwolves cut Indiana’s lead to 115-111 on Love’s three-point play with 53 seconds to remaining. On Indiana’s next possession, Hibbert found a cutting Watson, who converted an acrobatic reverse layup and was fouled on the play. Watson made the free throw to extend Indiana’s lead to 118-111 with 33 seconds to play.
O’Brien said before the game that Ford wouldn’t play, and that Watson and rookie A.J. Prce would split those minutes because they gave the team the best opportunity to win. Ford had started 25 of Indiana’s first 31 games. Watson and Price combined for 22 points, nine assists and three turnovers, and the Pacers, one of the league’s worst teams in giveaways, committed only nine turnovers.
Indiana led 32-26 at the end of the first quarter then went on a 17-2 run over the first three minutes of the second to take control, making six of their first seven shots in the period.
The Pacers tied their season high for points in a half on a 3-pointer by Rush that put them up 69-40 with 1:51 left in the second quarter. Indiana shot 61 percent in the period and led 73-45 at halftime.
Minnesota scored 40 points in the third quarter to cut Indiana’s lead to 98-85 heading into the fourth.
But the Pacers hung on.
The Pacers improved to 10-22 and the Timberwolves fell to 7-28.
