Sports
Pacers, facing Nets, chase N.Y. sweep after wild win over Knicks
Feb 10, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) drives to the basket against New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) and guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images The Indiana Pacers are experiencing a trying season while Tyrese Haliburton recovers from a torn Achilles tendon, yet they are occasionally showing traits of the team that reached Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
One instance occurred on Tuesday when the Pacers played one of the wilder games in the NBA this season and outlasted the host New York Knicks for a 137-134 overtime victory.
The Pacers hope they can possess enough energy on the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday when they visit the Brooklyn Nets, who are seeking to match their season-best run, a three-game winning streak.
Indiana is 8-9 over its past 17 games since enduring a 13-game losing streak Dec. 12-Jan 6 that left the team with a 6-31 record. Five of the wins in the recent stretch were decided by three points or fewer, and against the Knicks, the Pacers earned a victory in a game that featured an NBA season-high 39 lead changes and 16 ties.
Indiana, which posted its highest point total of the season, was led by Pascal Siakam’s 30 points. The Pacers also received key contributions from Quenton Jackson, who scored seven of his 19 in overtime. He was one of eight Indiana players who scored in double figures.
“This was a really important game for us,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “The season that we’ve had, this environment, the opponent, our guys had a great collective spirit and collective will tonight.”
The Pacers also saw a return to form from Andrew Nembhard, who scored 24 on 9-of-16 shooting after he went a combined 10-for-35 in the previous two games, at Milwaukee and at Toronto.
Brooklyn earned a 112-103 win at Indiana on Nov. 5 and is seeking three straight wins for the first time since Dec. 21-27. Those victories were part of a 7-3 stretch, and the Nets are 5-18 since Dec. 29.
Brooklyn has scored at least 120 in consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 25-27, 2024. The Nets earned a 123-115 home win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday, two days after leading by as many as 34 in a 14-point win over the Washington Wizards.
The Nets improved to 2-9 without leading scorer Michael Porter Jr. and the forward will sit again Wednesday due to right knee tendinitis. Brooklyn may also be without Nic Claxton, who is questionable because of a sore right hip after scoring a career-high 28 points Monday night.
“We executed. The ball was popping,” Claxton said. “We were missing Mike, but everybody stepped up and we were able to create some good looks and I knocked down some shots.
Regardless of who plays, the Nets are hoping to see more promising results from Nolan Traore, who collected 13 points and a career-high 13 assists against Chicago. Traore has scored 49 points on 18-of-31 shooting in his past three games. He will start in the backcourt on Wednesday alongside fellow rookie Egor Demin, who was rested on Monday.
“Nolan was making the right play to start, whether that was getting downhill, spraying it, scoring, hitting the pocket,” Brooklyn forward Noah Clowney said. “He was giving us an advantage and letting us play off that. When you play like that, it’s really easy.”
Traore and Demin will be in a starting lineup that also includes Danny Wolf, another rookie. Wolf started for Porter on Monday and set a career high by reaching double figures for the third straight game. He finished with 13 points and a career-best three blocked shots.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Strong fourth quarter elevates Rockets past Clippers
Feb 10, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) drives with the ball as Los Angeles Clippers forward John Collins (20) defends during the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun combined for 48 points as the Houston Rockets turned a rally to start the fourth quarter into a 102-95 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.
Durant scored 26 points and hit three 3-pointers while Sengun tallied 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Amen Thompson added 16 points and six rebounds for the Rockets, and his transition dunk with 11:20 remaining gave the Rockets their first double-digit lead at 83-72.
Kawhi Leonard totaled 24 points and eight rebounds for his 32nd consecutive 20-point game, while John Collins had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Clippers. Leonard and Collins were the lone double-digit scorers for the Clippers, who emptied their bench down 15 with 5:28 left.
Reed Sheppard scored 16 points off the bench for Houston. His running layup pushed the Rockets to an 89-74 lead with 9:15 to play, and his two fourth-quarter 3s kept the Clippers at bay. The Rockets did not allow a field goal in the final period until Bennedict Mathurin scored through a foul at the 7:45 mark, with his subsequent free throw cutting the deficit to 89-77.
The Rockets finished 14 of 28 from behind the arc, helping offset 18 turnovers the Clippers converted into 17 points. Jabari Smith Jr. (13 points, 10 rebounds) added a double-double for the Rockets, who have won seven of their last 10.
The Clippers’ early prowess in the paint allowed them to overcome a quiet start from Leonard, who scored two points in the opening period. The Clippers trailed 27-26 entering the second after scoring 16 paint points in the first and converting four Houston turnovers into five points.
After Sengun and Smith scored in the paint to lift the Rockets to a 35-31 lead, the Clippers responded with consecutive 3-pointers from Brook Lopez and Derrick Jones Jr. They ignited a seesaw stretch that continued through the remainder of the half, with the teams combining for seven lead changes and six ties in the second quarter alone.
Behind a combined 24 points from Collins and Leonard, the Clippers led 52-51 at the break.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Quenton Jackson sparks overtime burst as Pacers outlast Knicks
Feb 10, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) drives to the basket against New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) and guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Quenton Jackson scored seven points in overtime Tuesday night for the visiting Indiana Pacers, who outlasted the New York Knicks 137-134 in a back-and-forth clash between the Eastern Conference rivals.
The two teams combined for 39 lead changes, the most in the NBA this season.
Jackson opened overtime with a driving layup to put the Pacers ahead for good at 126-124 and spark a 9-0 run for Indiana, which opened another nine-point lead at 135-126 before surviving a furious rally in the final 20 seconds by the Knicks.
Jalen Brunson and Landry Shamet combined for eight straight points before Jackson sank two free throws with four seconds remaining. Shamet was fouled by Aaron Nesmith with one second left but missed both free throws.
Jackson finished with 19 points and was one of eight players to score in double figures for the Pacers, who snapped a four-game losing streak as they improved their Eastern Conference-worst record to 14-40. Indiana is 4-22 on the road.
Andrew Nembhard (24 points, 10 assists) posted a double-double while Pascal Siakam had a team-high 30 points. Nesmith had 11 points and Micah Potter scored 10 points while T.J. McConnell (13 points), Jay Huff (10 points) and Ben Sheppard (10 points) all got into double figures off the bench.
Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 40 points while Josh Hart (15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) recorded a triple-double for the Knicks, who have lost two of three following an eight-game winning streak.
Karl-Anthony Towns, who forced overtime by draining two free throws with 0.2 seconds left, had 22 points and 14 rebounds but fouled out when he was called for a moving screen on Jackson with 2:14 left in OT.
Mikal Bridges had 22 points while Shamet added 17.
The teams combined to shoot 53.5% (23-for-43) in the fourth quarter and were never separated by more than four points. The Pacers didn’t trail after Nesmith’s jumper with 3:38 remaining, which put them ahead 115-114.
Siakam had a chance to give Indiana a three-point lead with five seconds left but missed one of his free throws. Shamet missed an open 3-pointer before Towns was fouled on the rebound by Nesmith.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Led by Nick Boyd, Wisconsin stuns No. 8 Illinois in OT
Feb 10, 2026; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Will Garlock (23) screens Illinois Fighting Illini forward Ben Humrichhous (3) as guard Nick Boyd (2) drives the ball during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images Nick Boyd scored 19 of his 25 points after halftime and John Blackwell added 24 points to lead Wisconsin to a 92-90 overtime victory over No. 8 Illinois on Tuesday night in Big Ten play at Champaign, Ill.
Austin Rapp had 18 points off the bench as the Badgers (17-7, 9-4 Big Ten) won for the eighth time in their past 10 games. Wisconsin committed just four turnovers and recovered from a 12-point, second-half deficit to record its second huge road victory of the season. The Badgers notched a 91-88 win over then-No. 2 Michigan on Jan. 10.
Keaton Wagler scored 34 points and Tomislav Ivisic added 19 points and 11 rebounds for Illinois (20-5, 11-3), which lost its second straight contest following a 12-game winning streak.
David Mirkovic added 12 points, Jake Davis chipped in 11 and Ben Humrichous had 10 for the Fighting Illini, who played without Andrej Stojakovic (ankle).
Boyd converted a three-point play for the first points of overtime and Blackwell knocked down a trey to make it 87-81 with 3:24 left. Boyd added a driving hoop for an eight-point lead with 2:36 remaining.
Ivisic scored in the interior and Wagler buried a trey to bring the Illini within 89-86 with 1:30 left. Mirkovic split two free throws with 44 seconds left as Illinois moved within two.
Braeden Carrington made two free throws with 14.2 seconds left to give the Badgers a four-point lead. Humrichous then sank a trey to move Illinois within one with 6.3 seconds left.
Blackwell split two free throws with 5.7 seconds left, but Wagler’s running 3-pointer bounced off the rim as time expired.
The Illini shot 53.3% from the field, including 15 of 33 from 3-point range.
The Badgers made 43.4% of their attempts and hit 16 of 36 from behind the arc. Wisconsin beat the Illini for the second straight time after losing the previous nine.
Rapp buried a 3-pointer to give Wisconsin an 81-80 lead with 56.3 seconds remaining in regulation. Wagler was fouled and made the first free throw with 35.3 seconds left but missed the second to leave the game tied.
Blackwell made two 3-pointers as the Badgers opened the second half with an 11-2 spurt. His second trey gave Wisconsin a 49-46 lead.
The Badgers later led 51-49 before Illinois went on a 14-1 burst to take a 63-52 lead with 11:21 left.
Wagler’s 3-pointer gave Illinois a 68-56 advantage with 8:58 remaining. Illinois led by seven with under five minutes left before Blackwell and Boyd scored on layups and Rapp drained a 3-pointer to tie it at 76 with 2:19 left.
Ivisic scored 17 first-half points as the Illini led 44-38 at the break. Blackwell had 10 points in the half for the Badgers.
–Field Level Media
Strong fourth quarter elevates Rockets past Clippers
Quenton Jackson sparks overtime burst as Pacers outlast Knicks
