CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Doug McDermott had 28 points, Damontas Sabonis had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Charlotte Hornets 116-106 on Wednesday night.
Sabonis, who was questionable coming into the game with a bruised knee, started and finished 9 of 10 from the field.
Malcom Brogdon had 25 points and Justin Holiday chipped in 19 points for the Pacers, who have won three of four.
Terry Rozier had 20 points for the Hornets, who have dropped six of seven.
Indiana limited the red-hot Gordon Hayward to 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the floor.
The Pacers (11-7) pushed their coverage to Hayward, who came in averaging 30.5 points over his past four contests and having made 58.1% of his shots from the floor, including 61.5% from 3-point range.
Sabonis bruised his knee during a collision with Toronto’s Kyle Lowry on Monday night and had an MRI on Tuesday that showed no damage.
The Pacers moved the ball well on offense, finishing with 34 assists.
They led by 17, but the Hornets battled back to cut the lead to four to start the fourth quarter. The Pacers quickly pushed their advantage back to double digits behind Brogdon and Sabonis.
TIP INS
Pacers: Outscored Charlotte 50-42 in the paint. … Holiday fouled out with 48 seconds left.
Hornets: Cody Zeller returned to the starting lineup and had 10 points and 14 rebounds. Zeller missed four weeks with a broken hand. … Charlotte opened a stretch with 12 of 14 games at home. … Rookie LaMelo Ball had eight points and five assists in 22 minutes and continues to come off the bench for the Hornets.
UP NEXT
The Hornets host the Pacers again Friday night.
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