Aussies Abroad: Furphy's heroics not enough for Pacers

Boston have stormed home in the fourth quarter to avoid a shock NBA loss to Johnny Furphy's Indiana at TD Garden, claiming a 103-95 win.

Pascal Siakam (25 points) and Andrew Nembhard (20) gave the battling visitors hope but ultimately failed to stop the Pacers falling to a fifth-straight defeat.

Australian shooting guard Furphy played 23 minutes and compiled three points, five rebounds and two assists as the Celtics won the second half 60-34 to secure the home victory on Monday night (local time).

In Ohio, fellow 21-year-old Australian Tyrese Proctor scored one bucket in his two-and-half minutes of game time in Cleveland's 139-132 triumph over Charlotte.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, De'Andre Hunter had 15 of his 27 in the second half and Darius Garland added 27 points and 10 assists to help the Cavaliers (16-14) snap a three-game losing streak.

LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 23 points and nine assists, making six shots from outside the arc.

Rookie Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller each had 20 points, while Boomers guard and Tokyo bronze medallist Josh Green contributed 10 points, one rebound and one assist for the struggling Hornets (9-20).

Two days after Furphy showed off his talent with a career-high 18 points and two rebounds in a loss to New Orleans, the Melburnian didn't have the same impact off the bench in Boston.

He was selected 35th overall by San Antonio in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft and was subsequently traded to the Pacers (6-23), who remain 14th out of the 15-team Eastern Conference.

In Boston, Jaylen Brown scored 14 of his game-high 31 points in the final quarter, Derrick White finished with 19 points and Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons each had 11 for Boston (18-11), whose third win in a row consolidates third place in the East.

Elsewhere on Monday night, the Pelicans defeated Dallas 119-113.