Victor Oladipo powers Pacers up standings

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WASHINGTON — Victor Oladipo scored 33 points, Bojan Bogdanovic added 20 and the Indiana Pacers defeated Washington 98-95 on Sunday night to overtake the Wizards by a half-game in the crowded Eastern Conference standings.

Myles Turner added 12 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, which almost gave away a 17-point lead but never trailed in a victory that vaulted it into fourth place in the East. The Pacers finished their four-game road trip 2-2 after beginning it with two losses.

Bradley Beal scored 22 points and had a career-high 11 assists for Washington, which lost its third straight for the first time this season.

Beal, the Wizards' leading scorer this season, shot just 8 of 27 from the floor, missing three potential tying or go-ahead shots inside the final 19 seconds. And as Washington fell to 10-6 without All-Star point guard John Wall (knee surgery), Beal also committed two of his five turnovers on late possessions when the Wizards could have tied or taken the lead.

Otto Porter Jr. added 17 points for Wizards, who sank to fifth place, a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers, who played later Sunday.

Down 17, Washington climbed back into the game with a 12-0 run that began late in the third quarter and stretched into the fourth. Beal scored seven in that span, and then found Jodie Meeks for a 3-pointer that cut it to 80-75 with 9:44 left.

The Wizards eventually got within one before Beal missed a transition layup with Oladipo and Cory Joseph contesting to keep the score 96-95 with 19 seconds left.

From there, Oladipo and Joseph each hit one of two free throws, and Beal missed a game-tying jumper attempt on one possession before his look at a game-tying 3 fell short near the buzzer (see full recap).

Raptors capture 11th win in last 12
TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and 13 rebounds and the Raptors beat the Charlotte Hornets 103-98 on Sunday night, Toronto's 11th win in 12 games.

Serge Ibaka scored 17 points and Kyle Lowry had 14 as the Eastern Conference-leading Raptors completed their first season sweep of Charlotte since 2006-07. Both DeRozan and Lowry made key 3-pointers down the stretch as Toronto improved to 26-5 at Air Canada Centre, the best home record in the NBA.

Fred VanVleet and C.J. Miles each scored 12 points for the Raptors, who have won four straight since an overtime loss to Milwaukee on Feb. 23.

Kemba Walker scored 27 points and Dwight Howard had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who lost their third straight, all on the road. Charlotte is 10-21 away from home.

Jeremy Lamb scored 16 points, Frank Kaminsky had 15 and Nicolas Batum added 10.

Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored the game's opening basket but the Hornets never led again.

The Hornets cut the deficit to two, 88-86, on a three-point play by Lamb with 5:11 left in the fourth quarter. Lowry answered with a 3 for Toronto and, after Walker split a pair at the line, DeRozan added a corner 3, giving Toronto a 93-87 lead with 3:22 remaining.

This was the first time in four meetings with Charlotte this season that the Raptors failed to score at least 120 points (see full recap).

Holiday leads Pels to 8th-straight win
DALLAS — Jrue Holiday scored 30 points, Nikola Mirotic added 24 in a rare start and the New Orleans Pelicans won their eighth in a row, 126-109 over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night.

On a night when his jumper wasn't falling, Anthony Davis had 23 points and 13 rebounds, scoring most of his points from inside 5 feet.

Holiday scored 19 in the first half as the Pelicans held a double-digit lead for most of the last three quarters, save for one fleeting Dallas run at the start of the fourth.

New Orleans has averaged 127 points during its streak and cleared 118 in all eight games.

Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 23 points for the Mavericks, passing Elvin Hayes for eighth all-time in field goals with 10,980.

Dallas opened the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to get within 91-87, with Kyle Collinsworth scoring on a three-point play and Nowitzki and J.J. Barea hitting 3-pointers. After calling timeout, New Orleans answered with 10 straight points, including 3s by Holiday and Mirotic.

Dennis Smith Jr. also scored 23 for Dallas, which has lost three straight and 17 of 21.

Nowitzki scored 11 points in the first quarter, including a 3 at the buzzer, but New Orleans led 33-25 after one.

Holiday took advantage of the smaller Dallas guards to get inside, scoring 19 in the first half. Mirotic hit three 3s in a 19-8 run to start the second quarter, which gave the Pelicans their biggest lead at 19.

Dallas got within 10 in the third quarter and had the ball, but Smith threw away an outlet pass, and Davis and Ian Clark scored all of the Pelicans' points in a subsequent 12-4 run (see full recap).

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