The Pacers (37-27) are making a move on Cleveland for the Central Division lead and they also have created some separation between themselves and the Milwaukee Bucks for second in the division. Indiana have won three straight and 13 of 18 overall after a 92-89 win over the Bucks on Monday night, their second win over them in a four-day span.
Bojan Bogdanovic hit five of seven from 3-point range and finished with 29 points as Indiana also moved one full game ahead of Washington for fourth in the Eastern Conference, which would carry home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Pacers hit ten of 17 from 3-point range and made the most of Milwaukee's 16 turnovers, creating 29 points off them.
If the Jazz (34-30) were in the Eastern Conference, they would be tied with Miami for seventh. Unfortunately, the Western Conference is nowhere near as forgiving and they enter this contest last in the Northwest Division and tenth in the conference, yet they are only four games off the division lead.
Utah have won 14 of their last 16 after stifling Orlando 94-80 on Monday night. Rudy Gobert had 21 points and 17 rebounds as the Jazz's starting five accounted for all but 12 of their points.
The Jazz have won eight straight on the road, their longest winning streak outside Utah since a nine-game run from February 14 to March 16, 1998, a season that ended with their most recent NBA Finals appearance. They have played well on both ends of the court during that run, limiting opponents to 97.5 points per game and 30.9 percent shooting from 3-point range while averaging 110.3 points.
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