Obi Toppin scored a season-high 34 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left in overtime to give a short-handed Indiana Pacers team a thrilling 132-130 win over the red-hot Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.

The Pacers ended Minnesota's season-high eight-game winning streak despite holding out four starters in Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner and Aaron Nesmith. Toppin helped overcome their absences by going 7 of 10 from 3-point range, with four of those makes coming in overtime.

Indiana also got 22 points from Bennedict Mathurin and 11 points and 13 assists off the bench from T.J. McConnell to earn its third win in four games.

Anthony Edwards had 21 of his 38 points in the second half to help the Timberwolves force overtime despite trailing by 14 points at half-time. The All-Star guard was just 1 of 11 on 3-point attempts, however.

Naz Reid added 21 points and Donte DiVincenzo had 19 for Minnesota, which couldn't force a second overtime after Julius Randle's jumper just before the buzzer fell off the mark.

Toppin had 13 first-half points as Indiana built a 60-46 lead at the break, but the Timberwolves got back into it by outscoring the Pacers by a 41-29 margin in the third quarter. Edwards recorded 15 points for the period.

Edwards' two free throws with 30.1 seconds left in regulation snapped a 115-115 tie, but McConnell drove the lane and scored with 4.6 seconds remaining to send the contest into overtime.

Toppin then took over in extra time, as he drained two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds, the last coming after Edwards had given Minnesota a 130-129 lead by making two free throws with 18.5 seconds left.

Obi Toppin dropped a season-high 34 points in these kickspic.twitter.com/jQLZlt1cYu

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) March 18, 2025

Gordon, Westbrook come up big as Nuggets end Warriors' winning streak

The Denver Nuggets also put an end to an opponent's long winning streak despite missing a few core players, as they snapped the Golden State Warriors' seven-game unbeaten run with a 114-105 victory led by Aaron Gordon's season-high 38 points. 

Russell Westbrook also provided a lift on a night in which Denver was without three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić and standout guard Jamal Murray due to injuries. Westbrook stepped up in Murray's absence by notching a 12-point, 12-rebound, 16-assist triple-double to complement Gordon's big game and Michael Porter Jr.'s 21 points and 10 rebounds.

The Warriors received 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists from Jimmy Butler, but an off night from Stephen Curry contributed to their first defeat since March 1. Curry finished with 20 points but missed 10 of 14 shots from 3-point range and was 6 of 21 overall from the field.

Denver never trailed after closing out the first quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 29-22 lead into the second. The Nuggets expanded the margin by scoring 11 consecutive points in the next quarter to open up a 44-29 advantage with six minutes to go before half-time.

The Warriors did make a late bid, as an 8-0 spurt in the fourth quarter trimmed Denver's lead to 97-94 with under seven minutes to play. The Nuggets answered with a 9-2 run, however, which Westbrook capped with a 3-pointer to put his team up 106-96 with 4:10 left to go.

Russ being Russ en route to the W pic.twitter.com/PG8ol2amZp

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 18, 2025

Knicks use big third quarter to extend Heat's struggles

Mikal Bridges scored 15 of his 28 points during a dominant third quarter that propelled the New York Knicks to a 116-95 win over the sputtering Miami Heat.

The Knicks handed the Heat an eighth consecutive loss behind big performances from Bridges, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns. Hart amassed 12 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists to tie a franchise record with his eighth triple-double of the season, while Towns scored 15 straight points in the second quarter and finished with 23.

Miami's skid is its longest since it also lost eight in a row from March 2-16, 2008.

Duncan Robinson paced the Heat with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Tyler Herro recorded 20 points in Miami's latest frustrating defeat.

The Heat began the contest on fire, scoring the first 12 points and building a 31-18 lead one minute into the second quarter.

Towns then single-handedly reversed the game's momentum by making six consecutive baskets - including a trio of 3-pointers - over a stretch of just over three minutes to help New York pull to within 49-47 at half-time.

icymi… @KarlTowns has 17 points and countingpic.twitter.com/9dMwLX7u2f

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 18, 2025

The Knicks then overwhelmed Miami in the third quarter, shooting nearly 70 per cent while outscoring the Heat by a 41-15 margin for the period.

Bridges capped a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer that gave New York a 64-54 advantage with 8:24 to go in the third. The Knicks later closed out the quarter on a 19-2 spurt that sent them into the fourth owning a commanding 88-64 lead.