NBA: Darius Garland's 41 points lead Cavs past Pacers

All-Star guard Darius Garland scored a career-high 41 points and dished out 13 assists to propel the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers to a hard-fought 127-124 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.

His two free throws with 14 seconds remaining handed the Cavs a 126-124 lead they never relinquished. He scored 21 points in the fourth quarter. Cleveland got a key block by Lamar Stevens and a steal by Dean Wade down the stretch.

Rookie Evan Mobley, making the start at center with Jarrett Allen sidelined with a fractured finger, added 22 points, 12 rebounds and five steals.

Forward Lauri Markkanen tallied 21 points for the Cavs, who have won two in a row and completed a four-game season sweep of the Pacers.

Guard Tyrese Haliburton fired in 25 points and had nine assists for the Pacers, who have lost 12 of their last 15 games. Indiana had eight players in double figures. Goga Bitadze added 15 points and nine rebounds, and Jalen Smith and Duane Washington Jr. also scored 15 points each.

Mobley's tip-in with 33 seconds left tied the score at 124.

Indiana closed the third quarter on a 14-6 run to grab a 98-90 advantage entering the fourth quarter. Haliburton had 23 points through three quarters. Garland had 20 points and 12 assists after the third quarter.

Cleveland authored an 11-0 run early in the fourth quarter to claw back in the game and assume a 99-98 lead after Garland's two free throws with 10:08 remaining.

Guard Duane Washington Jr. erupted for 14 of his game-high 15 points in the second quarter for Indiana, which outscored Cleveland, 39-31, in the period.

Haliburton's driving layup with 22.8 seconds remaining in the second quarter knotted the score at 63, which is the way the first half ended.

Seven-footers Mobley and Markkanen each had 14 points for the Cavs.

Love's layup with about 3 minutes left in the first quarter expanded the Cavs' lead to 24-12. That sparked a 10-2 run by the Pacers, capped by Bitadze's 3-pointer, to pull to within 26-22.

Cleveland recovered, though, and used Markkanen's 10 points for a 32-24 advantage after one quarter. Guard Chris Duarte had six points for the Pacers.

The Cavs were playing without Allen, who fractured his left middle finger and will be sidelined indefinitely. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said he's not sure Allen will return by the end of the season.

The Cavs welcomed back veteran point guard Rajon Rondo, who had missed five games with a sprained big toe. He tallied four assists and two rebounds in 11 minutes.

-reuters

NBA: Trae Young scores 41 to lead Hawks past Cavs

Trae Young scored 41 points -- his fifth game with 40-plus points this season -- to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 124-116 win over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.

Young was 13 of 22 from the floor, including 4 of 7 from long distance. He also went 11 of 13 from the foul line and had nine assists. 

It marked the second straight 30-plus-point effort for Young and the 23rd time this season to reach that milestone.

Atlanta also got a season-high 25 points from Danilo Gallinari, who started at forward in place of John Collins, the team's No. 2 scorer, who missed his second straight game with a foot injury.

Cleveland was led by Darius Garland, who scored 30 points and added eight assists. 

Garland has 20-plus points in nine of his past 11 games and remained on pace to become the second player in league history to average 20 points, eight-plus assists, shoot 46-plus percent from the field and 90-plus percent from the line.

Evan Mobley added 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Kevin Love came off the bench to score 21 for the Cavs, who have lost two in a row.

Atlanta, which ended a two-game skid, leads the season series, 2-1. The teams split two earlier games in Cleveland and will meet for the final time on March 31.

Both teams were hot from the field in the first quarter, with Cleveland shooting 56.5 percent -- including eight 3-pointers -- and Atlanta making 54.2 percent. 

The Cavs led, 36-34, and Love scored 14 points, putting him over 14,000 for his career.

Atlanta, led by Young's 11 second-quarter points, took a 66-61 lead into intermission. Garland had 18 points in the first half.

The Hawks led, 94-90, after three quarters and were able to squash any Cleveland attempt to regain the lead in the final period.

The Cavs got within 105-102 on a bucket by Love with 6:33 left, but Atlanta answered with an 8-2 run that included 3-pointers from Young and Hunter that established a nine-point lead. 

Cleveland never got closer than four thereafter.

-reuters