Pacers bury Lakers with late surge

Jamaal Tinsley added 16 points and six assists for the Pacers, who have won two straight and five of six. Darrell Armstrong spearheaded a key 19-4 run, scoring eight of his 14 points during the surge, as Indiana more than doubled up the Lakers in the fourth quarter with 32 points.

Kobe Bryant had 22 points to lead the Lakers, who fell to 1-2 on their current eight-game road trip. Smush Parker added 20 points for Los Angeles, which scored just 14 points in the fourth quarter on its way to its fourth loss in five outings.

After the Lakers used a 9-0 run late in the third quarter to extend to a 70-61 lead, the Pacers answered with a 19-4 run that bridged the final two quarters. Armstrong’s bucket started the surge, drawing the team within 70-63 going into the fourth. He then hit a three-pointer with 6:53 left to give the Pacers the lead for good, 75-74, and Jeff Foster’s layup with 5:35 remaining ended the surge for an 80-74 cushion.

Ahead 82-76, seven straight points by the Pacers put the game out of reach. Danny Granger converted a breakaway layup with 1:29 left to end the burst for an 89-76 advantage.

Granger ended with 14 points for the Pacers, who led 26-18 after one quarter and 44-41 going into halftime.

Game Notes

The Pacers play at Memphis on Saturday night before returning home for Monday’s game against Golden State. That will mark the first game between the Warriors and Pacers since their eight-player trade on January 17...Mike Dunleavy Jr. had 10 points for Indiana...Vladimir Radmanovic had 11 points and seven boards for LA...Lamar Odom tallied just 10 points but had 12 boards for the Lakers...The home team has won nine straight in this series.