NBA: Indiana Pacers rally past Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors beat Bucks

Indiana Pacers' Darren Collison dribbles the ball while Cleveland Cavaliers' Jose Calderon defends in the second half of the match at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Jan 12. PHOTO: REUTERS/USA TODAY SPORTS

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Darren Collison scored 22 points and Victor Oladipo tallied 19 as the Indiana Pacers rallied from a 22-point deficit to edge the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers 97-95 in the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Friday (Jan 12).

Lance Stephenson finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers who improved to 22-20 on the season in front of a crowd of 17,900 at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse arena.

The loss was the third straight for the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions Cavaliers.

Cleveland (26-16) would need a monumental effort from LeBron James in order to halt their losing streak. But it was not enough as the four-time MVP (Most Valuable Player) finished with 27 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds while Kevin Love had 21 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

Elsewhere, Kevin Durant scored 26 points, Draymond Green added 21 and the Golden State Warriors defeated the hosts Milwaukee 108-94.

The Warriors (34-9), who were without injured star Stephen Curry, clamped down on defence against the Bucks.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 23 points to lead the Bucks (22-19).

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