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Pacers' rare winning spree to be tested by Rockets

NBA: Atlanta Hawks at Indiana PacersJan 31, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard/forward Andrew Nembhard (2) shoots the ball while Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers continue a four-game homestand on Monday looking to extend a rare winning streak to three games with the Houston Rockets visiting Indianapolis.

Indiana opened its current home stretch Wednesday with a 113-110 defeat of Chicago, then followed up on Saturday by beating Atlanta, 129-124.

Coupled with a 117-114 road upset of Oklahoma City on Jan. 23 in a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals, the Pacers head into Monday’s contest having won three of four. They are also 7-5 over their last 12, the best stretch in a trying campaign for the reigning Eastern Conference champions.

“Remaining poised and keeping aggression,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle credited for his team’s recent reversal in fortunes after winning just six of the first 37. “The game is a fast game, and you’ve got to keep force, speed, tempo offensively. And then defensively, it’s a challenge because the other team is trying to do the same thing.”

Indiana also has enjoyed more stability in its lineup since the beginning of 2026. While the Pacers have known since June they wouldn’t have the services of All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton this season, they have been without Obi Toppin since Oct. 26.

They also have played 22 games without Bennedict Mathurin, 21 without Aaron Nesmith and 10 without Andrew Nembhard. When Mathurin returned to the floor on Jan. 26, it marked the first time since Jan. 2 that all three were in the lineup.

The trio represents Indiana’s top scorers after Pascal Siakam, whose 23.8 points and 6.9 rebounds in 47 contests have been the Pacers’ most consistent production.

Siakam finished with 25 points in Saturday’s win over Atlanta. Nembhard went for 26 points and 10 assists, Nesmith provided 23 points and Mathurin added 14.

Houston, meanwhile, arrives having won two in a row and four of five following a 111-107 defeat of Dallas on Saturday. The Rockets weathered a 34-point, 12-rebound performance from Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg and uncharacteristic 6-of-17 and 6-of-20 shooting nights from Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun.

Amen Thompson led Houston with 21 points, picking up the slack as Durant and Sengun scored 13 and 14 points — 13.2 and seven fewer than their respective season averages.

“We’re not relying on one or two guys,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Your main guys have some off nights, and others pick up the slack there. So (we) encourage to be confident and aggressive and understanding they’re going to get some open shots with (Durant and Sengun commanding attention).”

While Durant and Sengun are setting the scoring pace, Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason are contributing between 12.1 and 18.2 points per game.

The Rockets have paired this offensive balance with one of the NBA’s stingiest defenses. They enter Monday’s contest holding opponents to 109.9 points per game — third-fewest in the league.

Houston limits foes to 34.5% shooting from 3-point distance — fourth-lowest in the NBA — and an overall field goal percentage of 46.0% to rank fifth. In each of their last four wins, the Rockets held opponents to 107 points or fewer.

–Field Level Media

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Michael Lorenzen, double plays help Rockies top Mets

MLB: Colorado Rockies at New York MetsApr 24, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Michael Lorenzen (24) delivers a pitch during the third inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Michael Lorenzen tossed a season-high seven innings and earned the win Friday night for the visiting Colorado Rockies, who beat the New York Mets 4-3 in the opener of a three-game series.

Jake McCarthy laced the tiebreaking RBI double in the sixth while Troy Johnston had what proved to be the decisive two-run single an inning later for the Rockies, who improved to 11-16. Colorado didn’t win its 11th game last season until June 3, when it was 11-50.

TJ Rumfield hit into a run-scoring groundout in the fifth while Ezequiel Tovar finished with two hits.

Marcus Semien hit into a run-scoring double play in the second and Brett Baty delivered a two-run single in the eighth for the Mets, who had won two straight following a 12-game losing streak.

Baty, Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio had two hits apiece.

Lorenzen (2-2), who entered Friday with a 7.48 ERA and pitched beyond the fifth just once in his first five starts this season, gave up one run on seven hits and no walks while striking out three. He induced three double plays in his longest outing since last Sept. 19, when the right-hander tossed 7 2/3 innings for the Kansas City Royals in a 20-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Mets immediately rallied in the eighth against Jaden Hill, who gave up four singles, including Baty’s hit, while recording one out. But Antonio Senzatela entered and got Vientos to line into a double play.

The four double plays were the most for the Mets since they hit into four against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sept. 9, 2019.

Senzatela threw a perfect ninth to close out his second save.

Freddy Peralta (1-3) took the loss for the Mets after allowing two runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out eight over 5 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

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Junior Caminero, Jonathan Aranda each homer twice as Rays beat Twins

MLB: Minnesota Twins at Tampa Bay RaysApr 24, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays infielder Jonathan Aranda (8) celebrates a home run during the fourth inning against Minnesota Twins at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Pablo Robles-Imagn Images

Junior Caminero hit a pair of tape-measure home runs and drove in three runs and Jonathan Aranda also homered twice to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a 6-2 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night.

It was the fifth career multi-homer game for Caminero, who has hit six home runs during a nine-game hitting streak.

Drew Rasmussen (2-0) picked up the win, allowing one run on five hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out six. Bryan Baker retired all three batters he faced in the ninth for his fifth save.

Brooks Lee homered and doubled in a 3-for-4 game and Royce Lewis also homered for Minnesota, which took its seventh loss in the last eight games

Taj Bradley (3-1), traded by Tampa Bay to Minnesota at the last year’s trade deadline for reliever Griffin Jax, allowed six runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings in his first start against the team that drafted him in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB Draft.

Bradley, who came into the contest third in the American League with a 1.63 ERA, allowed four homers after giving up none in his first five starts of the season.

Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a 450-foot blast over the batter’s eye in center field by Caminero, the longest home run of his career.

The Rays extended the lead to 2-0 in the third inning when Nick Fortes led off with a double, was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Taylor Walls and scored on a groundout to first by Chandler Simpson.

Aranda led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run down the right field line to make it 3-0, but the Twins cut the lead to 3-1 in the fifth on Lee’s fourth home run.

Aranda led off the sixth with his second homer of the game and sixth of the season, a 414-foot drive deep into the bleachers in right to make it 4-1. Tampa Bay then broke the game open in the seventh when Caminero clubbed a two-run homer, this one a 435-foot drive off the batter’s eye in center, to extend the lead to 6-1.

Lewis ended the scoring with a leadoff homer down the left field line in the ninth off reliever Trevor Martin.

–Field Level Media

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Celtics eke out Game 3 win vs. Sixers, regain series lead

NBA: Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ersApr 24, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) during the first half at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Jayson Tatum scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as the visiting Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 108-100 on Friday in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

Jaylen Brown matched Tatum with 25 points, while Payton Pritchard added 15 points for the second-seeded Celtics, who lead the best-of-seven series 2-1. Derrick White and Nikola Vucevic each chipped in 11 points for Boston.

Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points on 12-of-31 shooting for the seventh-seeded Sixers, who will attempt to even the series Sunday night when the teams reconvene back in South Philly.

Paul George (18 points) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (17) also made key contributions for the hosts, while VJ Edgecombe pitched in with 10 points but shot just 5 of 17, including 0 of 7 from long range. Edgecombe grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

Early in the third quarter, the Sixers embarked on a 12-0 run to turn a 64-55 deficit into a three-point lead. The Celtics regained the advantage shortly thereafter and went on to lead 79-74 after three quarters, thanks to two 3-pointers by Pritchard late in the session.

Philadelphia trailed 84-80 early in the fourth before Maxey made a tough fadeaway and a 3-pointer to put the Sixers ahead by a point.

However, the visitors responded with eight straight points. Brown found White for a layup before scoring the final four points of the burst, guiding Boston to a 92-85 edge with 5:39 remaining.

George and Andre Drummond helped bring the Sixers within 97-96 with 2:19 left, but Tatum answered with a 3-pointer. Following another Philadelphia bucket, Pritchard drained a 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer to make it 103-98 with 1:17 to go.

Philadelphia again made it a one-possession game, but Tatum swished a long 3-pointer with 26.6 seconds left to punctuate his dynamic performance.

Boston made seven 3-pointers in the first quarter en route to a 29-24 lead after 12 minutes.

The Celtics went ahead by double digits early in the second quarter as Baylor Scheierman’s 3-pointer made it 41-31. The Sixers chipped away and got within 47-45 with two minutes left in the half before Boston made a mini-push to bring a 54-47 lead into the locker room.

–Field Level Media

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