Pascal Siakam scored 13 of his 19 points during a dominant second half that carried the Indiana Pacers to a season-high fourth straight win, a 122-95 road victory over the slumping Sacramento Kings on Sunday. 

The Pacers outscored Sacramento by a 70-43 margin over the final two quarters to break a 52-52 tie at half-time and extend their winning streak behind a balanced effort. Seven Indiana players scored in double figures, with Myles Turner contributing 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and former King Tyrese Haliburton chipping in 14 points and eight assists.

Playing for the second time in as many nights, the Kings couldn't keep up in the fourth quarter and were dealt a fourth straight loss, matching a season high.

De'Aaron Fox led Sacramento with 23 points but was held to two in the final quarter, a period in which the Pacers went 14 of 19 from the field and held the Kings to 25 per cent shooting to put the game out of reach.

Domantas Sabonis, traded by the Pacers as part of the blockbuster February 2022 deal that sent Haliburton to Indiana, racked up a season-high 21 rebounds along with 17 points for the Kings.

The Pacers took control with a 15-5 run, capped by a Haliburton 3-pointer, to open up a 69-59 lead midway through the third quarter. Indiana entered the fourth up 87-78, then began the period on a 17-5 spurt to build a commanding 104-83 advantage with under seven minutes to play.

fourth straight dub#PacersWin pic.twitter.com/GFdlONDQaH

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) December 23, 2024

That latter run was highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Ben Sheppard, who went 4 for 4 from beyond the arc and 5 of 5 overall while finishing with 14 points off the bench.

Nuggets rally in second half to edge Pelicans in overtime

The Denver Nuggets got another triple-double from Nikola Jokić and a fierce second-half rally to get back in the win column.

Jokic compiled 27 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to complement Jamal Murray's 27 points as the Nuggets overcame a 17-point deficit to come away with a 132-129 overtime win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Russell Westbrook also provided Denver with a big lift off the bench by scoring 13 of his 21 points in the second half. Murray went just 2 of 9 from 3-point range, but delivered a clutch shot late by hitting a step-back jumper with 9.4 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

The injury-plagued Pelicans suffered a seventh straight loss despite four players scoring more than 20 points, led by Jordan Hawkins' season-high 25 off the bench. CJ McCollum finished with 24 points and nine assists, Yves Missi added 21 points and nine rebounds and Dejounte Murray dished out 15 assists to go along with 17 points and six steals.

New Orleans also received 21 points from Trey Murphy, who missed the fourth quarter and overtime after injuring his left ankle late in the third quarter.

The Pelicans owned a 93-81 lead at the time of Murphy's departure after being up by as many as 17 points earlier in the period, but the Nuggets closed the gap by shooting 60 per cent in the fourth.

Jokic scored seven points during a 17-3 run that gave Denver a 115-110 edge with just over three minutes left in regulation, but New Orleans responded with a 9-2 surge capped by McCollum's go-ahead 3-pointer with 53.2 seconds remaining.

Jamal Murray then misfired on a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, but made good on a 20-footer after the Nuggets rebounded the miss to send the game into overtime knotted at 119-119.

Jokic registered his league-leading 11th triple-double by feeding Aaron Gordon for a dunk with 2:08 left in overtime that snapped a 125-125 tie. Jamal Murray then scored on Denver's next trip down the court to extend the lead to four, and the Nuggets held on from there to bounce back from Thursday's two-point loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Finished the job pic.twitter.com/hAaB8fYHFp

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 23, 2024

Brooks leads Rockets to first win in Toronto since 2019

Dillon Brooks recorded 27 points and helped the Houston Rockets overcome an early 16-point deficit to register a 114-110 victory over the Toronto Raptors, their first win in the Canadian city in more than five years.

Houston earned its fourth win in five games despite trailing 40-24 early in the second quarter. The Rockets had lost four straight in Toronto since a 119-109 win there on Dec. 5, 2019.

Brooks, an Ontario native, keyed the comeback by scoring 18 of his points in the second half. Alperen Sengun had 13 of his 17 points after half-time while adding 10 total rebounds, and the Rockets also received 22 points from Jalen Green.

Toronto was handed a seventh straight loss while playing without leading scorer R.J. Barrett due to an illness. Another of the Raptors' stars, Scottie Barnes, was held to six points on 2-of-15 shooting.

Ja'Kobe Walter went 6 of 11 from 3-point range and netted a career-high 27 points to lead the Raptors. The rookie had 14 of those points in the first quarter to spark Toronto to a 35-24 lead after one period.

The Rockets pulled within 57-51 at half-time and carried the momentum into the third quarter, with Brooks' putback at the buzzer sending Houston into the fourth with an 84-83 edge.

Houston then drew clear in the fourth, as Sengun had five points during a 13-3 run that extended the Rockets' advantage to 105-94 with five minutes remaining. 

A win in the Northpic.twitter.com/hPWXxlXc72

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 23, 2024