INDIANAPOLIS – Kevon Looney scored a go-ahead basket as Golden State Warriors escaped with a 102-100 triumph over Indiana Pacers in the 2021-2022 NBA Season on Monday night (Tuesday in the Philippines) at the Gainbridge FieldHouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
With the score tied at 100-all, Looney scored a marginal layup from a missed three-point try by Stephen Curry to surge the Warriors ahead at 102-100 with 13 seconds left. He finished the match with 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Warriors bounced back from their 102-93 defeat to Philadelphia 76ers last Saturday (Sunday in the Philippines) to improve to 22-5 slate, second in the West.
Curry led the Warriors with 26 points, including 5-of-15 from three-point area to move him two triples away from a new NBA record on triples made. He is expected to achieve the feat when the Warriors face New York Knicks today.
Draymond Green added 15 markers, nine rebounds and five assists, while Andrew Wiggins and Otto Porter Jr. also finished with double figures with 15 and 10, respectively.
The Warriors played catch up for most part of the match. They were down 91-96 with over four minutes left before Wiggins came up with back-to-back hits to make it 95-98.
The Pacers increased the lead to 100-98 after a conversion from Domantas Sabonis but a three-pointer and a layup by Curry allowed the Warriors to tie the score at 100-all.
Sabonis had double-double 30 points and 11 rebounds, while Malcolm Brogdon and Caris LeVert had 23 and 19 markers, respectively, as the Pacers dropped to 12-17.
Meanwhile, Houston Rockets (9-18) pulled off a stunning come-from-behind 132-126 triumph over Atlanta Hawks (13-14) over at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Down 114-106 after a triple by Hawks’ Trae Young, the Rockets banked on conversions from David Nwaba, K.J. Martin and D.J. Augustin to take a 121-119 advantage.
Eric Gordon drained five straight points to widen Houston’s lead to 126-121. Atlanta made its last push at 124-126 but free throws by Gordon and Augustin sealed the win for the Rockets.
Gordon finished the match with 32 points, including five three-point conversions, while Augustin drilled six trifectas to end up with season-high 22 markers for the Rockets./PN
