Pacers hit all right notes in 121-94 blowout over Jazz
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 points, Domantas Sabonis nearly had a triple-double and the Indiana Pacers beat the Utah Jazz 121-94 on Monday night.
Sabonis had 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as Indiana won its third straight — this one without All-Star guard Victor Oladipo, who sat out with a sore right knee.
Ricky Rubio matched his season high with 28 points to lead Utah, which has lost three of four and looked weary on the final night of a five-game trip. Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 11 rebounds in a game that wasn’t close after the first quarter.
Utah coach Quin Snyder pulled his starters midway through the fourth.
Indiana used an 11-2 spurt to take a 19-12 lead and scored the first seven points of the second quarter to make it 39-19.
When Rubio warmed up, the Jazz came back. The Spaniard scored 14 straight points for his team during one stretch, and Joe Ingles’ 3-pointer that cut the deficit to 47-41.
Indiana answered with four straight points, closed the half with a 57-47 lead and started the second half on a 9-0 run to make it 71-53.
Rubio responded again by scoring 10 of Utah’s 12 points during a four-minute stretch in the third quarter. That made it a 12-point game, but Utah never got closer.
Myles Turner had 12 points, six rebounds, and three blocks for the Pacers.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Went 2-3 on the trip. … Gobert has 15 double-doubles this season and went 5 of 8 from the field after starting the night with the top field-goal percentage (70.2) in the NBA. … Rubio was 10 of 13 from the field and 5 of 6 on 3-pointers. … Jae Crowder scored 14 points and was the only other Utah player in double figures. … Ingles played in his 239th consecutive games, the second-longest active streak. … The Jazz finished with 18 turnovers.
Pacers: Have won four of five and improved to 3-4 against Western Conference teams. … Tyreke Evans made his first start with Indiana and had eight points and five assists in place of Oladipo. … Bogdanovic went 3 of 4 on 3s. … Rookie Aaron Holiday scored 19 points while Thaddeus Young and Doug McDermott each had 12.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Plays its only home game in a 13-day stretch when Sacramento comes to town Wednesday.
Pacers: Will try to extend their winning streak Wednesday in Charlotte.