LOS ANGELES (AP) – Caris LeVert scored a franchise-record 22 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, Malcolm Brogdon added 19 and the Indiana Pacers increased the pressure on Lakers coach Frank Vogel with a 111-104 victory over Los Angeles yesterday.
Domantas Sabonis had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in his 17th career triple-double for the Pacers, who snapped a four-game losing streak with just their second victory in 12 games.
The Eastern Conference’s 13th-place team roared past the Lakers in the fourth, starting with a 14-2 run led by LeVert and concluding with his three consecutive buckets in the final two minutes.
LeVert topped Reggie Miller’s previous Pacers fourth-quarter record of 21 points. He went nine for 10 with three three-pointers in his brilliant final period.
“I knew I felt good,” said LeVert, limited to 15 minutes in the first three quarters by foul trouble.
“My teammates kept me in it. My body felt great, and I felt locked in. The fouls were definitely frustrating. I knew I had to have a big fourth with Malcolm sitting out in the fourth.”
Indiana won with a high degree of difficulty: Brogdon was on a minutes limit in his return from injury, while Sabonis played on a sprained ankle that’s “probably going to be significant, but he was not coming out of this game”, according to coach Rick Carlisle.
“It was something we desperately needed,” Carlisle said. “It’s been a while since we won a game. These are all great challenges. We’re finding out more about the team all the time.”
