Obi Toppin scores 22 points and Pacers defeat reeling Nuggets 125-120 without Siakam

DENVER (AP) — Obi Toppin scored 22 points in his second start of the season and the Indiana Pacers overcame the absence of Pascal Siakam to hand the reeling Denver Nuggets their fourth consecutive loss Sunday, 125-120.

Myles Turner's 24 points led the Pacers, who overcame a 13-point first-half deficit and an off-night by Tyrese Haliburton, whose nine points on eight shots were less than half his scoring average.

The Nuggets lost their fourth straight despite Nikola Jokic's 41 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists and a career-high 30 points from Christian Braun.

Jokic was charged with a crucial backcourt turnover with the Nuggets trailing 122-120 with 15 seconds remaining but it was Braun who misread the dribble-handoff from Jokic and caused the turnover just as Jokic was passing to Russell Westbrook.

Jamal Murray missed his fifth consecutive game for Denver with a strained right hamstring and coach Michael Malone said “hopefully” his star point guard will be back for the start of the NBA playoffs.

The Pacers were without Siakam (right elbow) and trailed by 13 in the first half. Haliburton came in averaging 18.6 points per game but was held scoreless until his 3-pointer with 3:43 left in the third quarter tied it at 84-all, and his floater gave Indiana a 98-97 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Nuggets entered Sunday in fourth place in the bunched-up Western Conference, just a game ahead of the eighth-place Memphis Grizzlies.

Pacers: Indiana showed it can win without Siakam and that depth should prove beneficial in the playoffs. The Pacers are solidly in the fourth place in the East.

Nuggets: Denver is falling fast. The Nuggets were in second place not that long ago and now could be facing a play-in game just to make it into the playoffs.

Jokic's bad pass to Westbrook in the closing seconds was the Nuggets' third turnover in the final 2 minutes and sixth of the fourth quarter.

Malone successfully challenged two foul calls on Denver in the first half, one on Jokic and the other on Christian Braun.

The Pacers return home to play the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. The Nuggets visit the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, left, collects the ball as Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., right, defends in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, front, drives to the basket past Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner in the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., front, drives past Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard in the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard, center, holds onto the ball as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, and guard Jalen Pickett, right, defend in the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook, left, tries to steal the ball from Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin in the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., left, shoots for a basket as Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin, right, defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, drives past Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner, right, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive commission said Thursday it will put retaliation measures on hold for 90 days to match President Donald Trump’s pause on his sweeping new tariffs on global trading partners and leave room for a negotiated solution.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the commission, which handles trade for the bloc's 27 member countries, “took note of the announcement by President Trump.”

New tariffs on 20.9 billion euros ($23 billion) of US goods will be put on hold for 90 days because “we want to give negotiations a chance,” she said in a statement.

But she warned: “If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in.”

Trump imposed a 20% levy on goods from the EU as part of his onslaught of tariffs of 10% and upward against global trading partners but said Wednesday he will pause them for 90 days to give countries a chance to negotiate solutions to U.S. trade concerns.

Countries subject to the pause will face Trump's 10% baseline tariff.

Before Trump’s announcement, EU member countries voted to approve a set of retaliatory tariffs on $23 billion in goods in response to his 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminum that took effect in March. The EU, the largest trading partner of the U.S., described them as “unjustified and damaging.”

The EU tariffs were set to go into effect in stages, some on April 15 and others on May 15 and Dec. 1. The EU commission didn’t immediately provide a list of the goods.

Members of the EU — the world’s largest trading bloc — have said they prefer a negotiated deal to resolve a trade war that damages the economies on both sides. The bloc’s top trade official has shuttled between Brussels and Washington for weeks trying to head off a conflict.

The targeted goods are a tiny fraction of the 1.6 trillion euros ($1.8 trillion) in U.S.-EU annual trade. Some 4.4 billion euros in goods and services crosses the Atlantic each day in what the European Commission calls “the most important commercial relationship in the world.”

The EU has targeted smaller lists of goods in hopes of exerting political pressure and avoiding economic damage from a wider escalation of tit-for-tat tariffs.

The EU is also working on a further set of countermeasures in response to Trump’s blanket 20% tariff on all European goods, now suspended. That could include measures aimed at U.S. tech companies and the services sector as well as trade in goods.

Still, von der Leyen said that Europe intends to diversify its trade partnerships.

She said that the EU will continue “engaging with countries that account for 87% of global trade and share our commitment to a free and open exchange of goods, services, and ideas,” and to lift barriers to commerce inside its own single market.

“Together, Europeans will emerge stronger from this crisis,” von der Leyen said.

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McHugh reported from Frankfurt, Germany

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses journalists during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stands prior to a meeting with Iceland's Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

The NYK Meteor container ship is moored at the Port of Los Angeles, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)