NOT AGAIN!
Rockets’ late push falls short as struggles continue in third straight loss
Mar 4, 2025, 11:06 pm
Pacers defeat the Rockets, 115-102. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 28 points and matched a season high with 15 assists, and the Indiana Pacers recovered after blowing a 17-point third-quarter lead to beat the Houston Rockets 115-102 on Tuesday night.
Pascal Siakam scored 18 points and Myles Turner added 16 for the Pacers, who have won six of eight.
Alperen Sengun scored 25 points and Tari Eason had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets, who dropped their third in a row.
Indiana led 90-73 with three minutes left in the third quarter but immediately allowed a 15-0 run by Houston. The Rockets pushed ahead 96-95 on a layup by Amen Thompson with 8:45 left in the fourth, but Aaron Nesmith responded with a three-point play that kicked off an 18-3 run by the Pacers.
Takeaways
Rockets: They were 32-14 on Jan. 28 but have lost 11 of their past 16 games.
Pacers: Six of their next seven games are on the road. The stretch includes home and away meetings with Milwaukee, which beat Atlanta Tuesday night to remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, with the same record as fifth-place Indiana (35-25).
Key moment
Ben Sheppard made a 3-pointer — his first basket of the game — early in the fourth quarter to stop Houston's 15-0 run and give Indiana a five-point advantage.
Key stat
Haliburton reached double digits in assists for the sixth straight game, his longest such streak this season. He entered averaging 8.8 assists per game after leading the league in that category last season at 10.9.
Up next
Rockets: At New Orleans on Thursday night.
Pacers: At Atlanta on Thursday night.
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Nolan Jones scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error by pitcher Steven Okert in the seventh inning, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Houston Astros 4-2 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.
Steven Kwan followed with a sacrifice fly, plating Bo Naylor, as Okert (1-2) allowed two runs in his lone inning. Houston had tied the game at 2-all in the top of the seventh on Cam Smith’s two-run double against Tanner Bibee.
Cade Smith (2-2) retired all five batters he faced, striking out three. Emmanuel Clase worked the ninth for his 14th save.
Naylor matched his season high with three hits, including a two-run homer in the second off Brandon Walter. The Guardians had lost eight of their previous 12 games.
Walter, who was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land earlier in the day, allowed two runs in six innings. Jake Meyers matched a career high with four hits for the Astros, who went 4-2 on a six-game trip and have won 10 of their last 14.
Bibee, who carried a two-hit shutout into the seventh, struck out six without a walk over 6 1/3 innings.
Key moment
Okert cleanly fielded Will Wilson’s sacrifice bunt in the seventh, but flung the ball past first baseman Christian Walker, allowing Jones to race home from second. Naylor also advanced to third on the error.
Key stat
Guardians third baseman José Ramírez extended his on-base streak to 34 games with a single. It’s the longest for the franchise since Jason Kipnis’ 36-gamer in 2013.
Up next
Astros: RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (1-1, 4.44 ERA) opens a three-game series and a six-game homestand Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox.
Guardians: RHP Luis Ortiz (3-6, 4.02) starts Monday as longtime Cleveland manager Terry Francona returns to town with the Cincinnati Reds.