Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner fell just short of a double-double on Saturday, finishing a 111-94 win over the Pelicans with 11 points and nine rebounds. He swatted away two shots and had one assist and one steal while shooting 5-for-7 from the field and 1-for-3 from three-point range. Turner had managed only 13 total points and 11 rebounds in three games prior to Saturday. This should provide the 25-year-old with a nice boost ahead of some tough games that are coming up against the Bulls and the Lakers. Turner will be carrying a big defense load in both matchups and we shouldn't expect him to have much of an effect in attack, although both teams have had their struggles against bigs this season, and the Lakers are even allowing centers to shoot 62.2 percent from the field against them.

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner erupted for a career-high seven threes during a 111-98 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday. The 25-year-old scored 25 points to go along with 13 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and three blocks. The two-time block champ shot 7-for-10 from three-point range and 9-for-14 overall from the field on the night. In eight of nine games, Turner has posted two or more blocks to start the young season, continuing his run as an elite option for the category. Combined with a 53.6% from the field and 7.5 rebounds, Turner has expanded his game to new levels through the first two weeks of the 2021/2022 campaign.

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner enjoyed one of the best games of his career in Friday's overtime loss to the Wizards. Turner poured in a career-high 40 points while matching his career-best mark with five triples- chipping in 10 rebounds, three blocks, and a steal in 44 minutes. Known primarily as a defense-first player, the big man was looking for his shot early and often in this one, as he entered the locker room at halftime with 24 points on 90 percent shooting. While fantasy managers shouldn't expect big scoring nights like this from Turner often, his seven blocks and six three-pointers in two games make him a rare big man in the land of fantasy basketball.

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (toe) reported that he's "doing great" while also adding that he is ramping up his activity level on the court. Turner suffered a partial tear of the plantar plate in his right great toe that cost him the final 18 games of the regular season. While the 25-year-old averaged 12.6 points, 6.5 boards, and a career-high 3.4 blocks during the 2020-21 campaign, his inability to remain healthy over the years has significantly lowered his fantasy value. However, if he can stay on the floor, Turner possesses obvious upside, regardless of where he is playing when the season begins in October.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Rick Carlisle chose the Indiana Pacers for many reasons. He enjoyed his first two stints in Indianapolis, already had strong relationships with team owner Herb Simon and president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard and thought the roster was a good fit for his coaching style. The Pacers appreciated something else — Carlisle's championship resume. On Wednesday, nearly a full week after Pritchard hired him, Carlisle mapped out his vision for the Pacers. “This is my kind of team. As I look at the roster and as I’ve talked to all these guys, I have an even greater feeling that it’s a group of guys I will have a blast working with," he said. “I like the way they’re talking. We’re going to find a way to play better defense and we’ve got to get back to the playoffs and win in the playoffs." For the 61-year-old Carlisle, it's essentially a homecoming. Before spending 13 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, going 555-478 and winning the NBA championship in 2010-11, Carlisle... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Pritchard hired Nate Bjorkgren to take the Indiana Pacers in a new direction. They went the wrong way. A season filled with defensive struggles, missed chances and locker room drama resulted Wednesday in the firing of Bjorkgren after only one season as coach. “This was my decision," said Pritchard, the Pacers' president of basketball operations. “This was a really tough decision, one that had a lot of thought behind it. I brought in my management team, something we didn’t do lightly.” Pritchard expected the 45-year-old coach, who spent the previous two seasons as Nick Nurse's top assistant in Toronto, to make an impact with his new-age approach and his creativity. When the hiring was announced in October, Pritchard acknowledged he was betting big on a young coach. It just didn't pay off. Indiana went 34-38 before finishing the season with an embarrassing 142-115 loss to Washington in the play-in tournament — a fitting end to an abysmal season. The Wizards averaged... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Pritchard hired Nate Bjorkgren to take the Indiana Pacers in a new direction. They wound up going the wrong way. After struggling defensively, missing the playoffs for the first time in six seasons and amid reports of locker room drama, the Pacers pulled the plug Wednesday when Pritchard, their president of basketball operations, fired Bjorkgren as coach after just one season. “The 2020-21 season was not what any of us hoped or anticipated it would be, and our results on the court certainly did not meet the standards for what our organization and our fans have come to expect,” Pritchard said in a statement. Indiana went 34-38, finishing the season with an embarrassing 142-115 loss to Washington in the play-in tournament. The Pacers also produced their first losing season at home in 32 years, and at times the effort didn't appear to be there, either. A rash of injuries was part of the problem. Indiana's top scorer in 2019-20, T.J. Warren, suffered a season-ending... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard intends to stand pat — for now. He'd rather not break up the big-man tandem of Myles Turner, the NBA's blocks champion, and two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis. He hopes free agents Doug McDermott and NBA steals champ T.J. McConnell return. And he's not pulling the plug on coach Nate Bjorkgren. At least not yet. After missing the playoffs for the first time in six years and amid a tumultuous final month, Pritchard used a 45-minute, season-ending video call to explain why he's still evaluating the first-year coach's fate. “You don’t win 34 games with a decimated roster without doing some good things, too," Pritchard said. “But there are some things that we need to do better, he needs to do better. Right now, no decisions have been made. We’re not making a decision today We don’t make decisions in a vacuum, we take our time and to be honest with you, I’m being evaluated. I’m being evaluated every day." Pritchard's... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Now that the Indiana Pacers' long, injury-riddled season is over, the hard part begins. President of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard is embarking on yet another offseason filled with questions, the first being whether to keep coach Nate Bjorkgren. Pritchard hired the 45-year-old former Raptors assistant in October, hopeful he could forge tight bonds with players and implement a new philosophy to keep his team fresh for a long postseason run. It didn't work. Rumors of internal strife surfaced late in the season, which culminated with an embarrassing 142-115 season-ending loss at Washington. “Coach really did his best this year," guard Malcolm Brogdon said afterward. “Regardless of the reports, regardless of all the distractions and the noise, he continued to communicate with his players. He continued to work extremely hard for us and coach us the best he could, and we appreciated that. That’s what I just told him in the locker room: I appreciate him. I appreciate... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The short-handed Indiana Pacers will be down at least one more player for Tuesday night's play-in game against the Charlotte Hornets after forward Caris LeVert entered the league's health and safety protocol. Team officials made the announcement about five hours before tipoff and a day after coach Nate Bjorkgren said LeVert was feeling better and was expected to play after missing the second half of Sunday's victory over Toronto with a migraine headache. Bjorkgren found out Tuesday morning. “When I said he felt bad, I meant he felt bad about not being able to play," Bjorkgren said. “He sounded fine on the phone." It's the latest twist for the Pacers in an injury-filled season. Starting forward T.J. Warren hasn't played since late December because of a stress fracture in his left foot. Center Myles Turner hasn't played since mid-April because of a right foot injury. LeVert had surgery earlier this year to remove a cancerous growth in his kidney after being acquired in... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Upon further review, Indiana’s Myles Turner is the NBA’s blocked-shot champion for this season. The NBA said Tuesday that Turner will be recognized as the winner in that category, even though he did not play in the required 70% of games that are typically needed for someone to qualify as a statistical leader. Turner averaged 3.4 blocks per game in 47 games. Utah’s Rudy Gobert averaged 2.7 blocks per game in 71 games. By NBA rule, Turner would have needed to appear in 51 games to qualify for the award, so he fell four games short. But if Turner he had played in those four additional games to reach the minimum and didn’t even block a single shot, his average would have been 3.1 per game — still well ahead of Gobert. The exception to that rule has been established for years. The NBA allows someone to be recognized as a stat champion if, at the end of the season, “the player would have led the league in the category had he played the required number of games with his current category total.” ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The short-handed Indiana Pacers will be down at least one more player for Tuesday night's play-in game against the Charlotte Hornets after forward Caris LeVert entered the league's health and safety protocol. Team officials made the announcement about five hours before tipoff and a day after coach Nate Bjorkgren said LeVert was feeling better and was expected to play after missing the second half of Sunday's victory over Toronto with a migraine headache. It's the latest twist for the Pacers in an injury-plagued season. Starting forward T.J. Warren hasn't played since late December because of a stress fracture in his left foot. Center Myles Turner hasn't played since mid-April because of a right foot injury. And now LeVert, who had surgery earlier this year to remove a cancerous growth in his kidney after being acquired in a January trade with Brooklyn, can't return for 10 to 14 days — if the Pacers are still playing. Backup guard Jeremy Lamb also has been ruled out Tuesday... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday they are suspending assistant coach Greg Foster for one game and fining center Goga Bitadze an undisclosed for an argument they had during a loss to Sacramento. A statement from the team called it an “internal matter" and no additional details will be released. The third-quarter incident Wednesday began after Bitadze allowed Maurice Harkless to grab a rebound and score on a dunk, which prompted Foster to scold Bitadze for his effort. When Bitadze answered by making a 3-pointer, he appeared to curse at Foster. Finally, when play stopped with 2:26 to go, a heated exchange between the two occurred and another player intervened to prevent it from escalating. Indiana's defense has struggled all season and is currently allowing 115.0 points per game, 25th in the league. The Pacers have given up at least 109 points in 17 of their last 19 games and have now fallen into the 10th and final spot in the East to make the play-in round. Bitadze,... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Gordon Hayward will miss at least a month after spraining his right foot during the Charlotte Hornets’ win Friday night over the Indiana Pacers. The team said in a statement Saturday that Hayward will be reevaluated in roughly four weeks. He was injured when he stepped on Myles Turner’s foot while driving to the basket in the second quarter and immediately crumpled. The 31-year-old forward is averaging 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game in his first season with the Hornets on a $120 million, four-year deal. Charlotte is already without rookie guard LaMelo Ball, out indefinitely with a broken right wrist. This injury is on the opposite side of the gruesome broken left ankle Hayward suffered in his first game with the Boston Celtics in 2017. He was an All-Star in 2016-17 with the Utah Jazz. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Gordon Hayward will miss at least a month after spraining his right foot during the Charlotte Hornets’ win Friday night over the Indiana Pacers. The team said in a statement Saturday that Hayward will be reevaluated in roughly four weeks. He was injured when he stepped on Myles Turner’s foot while driving to the basket in the second quarter and immediately crumpled. The 31-year-old forward is averaging 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game in his first season with the Hornets on a $128 million, four-year deal. Charlotte is already without rookie guard LaMelo Ball, out indefinitely with a broken right wrist. This injury is on the opposite side of the gruesome broken left ankle Hayward suffered in his first game with the Boston Celtics in 2017. He was an All-Star in 2016-17 with the Utah Jazz. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MIAMI (AP) — Justin Holiday scored 15 points and hit consecutive 3-pointers in overtime to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 109-106 victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday. Myles Turner finished with 16 points and five blocks, Doug McDermott scored 15 points and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who swept their two-game series in Miami. “We showed ourselves that we’re a good team and can win,” Holiday said. The Pacers erased a 103-98 Heat lead on Holiday’s conversions from beyond the arc. Malcolm Brogdon added another 3-pointer, increasing Indiana’s lead to 107-103. “There was still a lot of game left,” Holiday said of Indiana’s early overtime deficit. “This team has no quit.” Miami rallied from a 94-87 deficit in the final 4:26 of regulation and tied it at 98 on Jimmy Butler's first of two free with throws with 15 seconds remaining. Butler missed the second attempt. Caris LeVert missed on his go-ahead jumper with 2 seconds remaining in regulation for the Pacers.... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Justin Holiday scored 15 points and hit consecutive 3-pointers in overtime to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 109-106 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday. Myles Turner finished with 16 points and five blocks, Doug McDermott scored 15 points and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who swept their two-game series in Miami. The Pacers erased a 103-98 Heat lead on Holiday’s conversions from beyond the arc. Malcolm Brogdon added another 3-pointer, increasing Indiana’s lead to 107-103. Miami rallied from a 94-87 deficit in the final 4:26 of regulation and tied it at 98 on Jimmy Butler's first of two free with throws with 15 seconds remaining. Butler missed the second attempt. Caris Levert missed on his go-ahead jumper with 2 seconds remaining in regulation for the Pacers. Bam Adebayo scored 29 points and Butler finished with 21 points for Miami, which has lost three straight. TIP-INS Pacers: Turner limped to the locker room late in the first quarter favoring... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Pacers guard Caris LeVert will be out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to treat a cancerous growth on his left kidney. Team officials made the announcement Tuesday and said the 26-year-old LeVert is expected to make a full recovery. The Pacers said no additional treatment is needed. Doctors found the small mass during a routine, post-trade physical and immediately conducted additional tests. LeVert was part of the blockbuster deal that sent James Harden from Houston to Brooklyn then was dealt by the Rockets to Indiana for Victor Oladipo. The Pacers said LeVert was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma and had surgery Monday at a local hospital. “It’s definitely been some trying times for myself and my family," LeVert said during his introductory news conference last week. “I'm just very grateful for the support I’ve received not only from the players but from the front office and the fans. It’s going to be a crazy recovery as well, but I think myself and the... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caris LeVert arrived in Indianapolis last week feeling perfectly fine. He was eager to meet his new teammates, join the starting lineup and make his Pacers debut. Then came the shocking news from Indiana's team doctors: They found a small mass on LeVert's left kidney. Suddenly everything went on hold and now, as LeVert awaits test results to find out if the growth is cancerous, the 6-foot-6 guard realizes just how fortunate he was to be included in last week's blockbuster trade. “I hadn't missed any games this season yet. I was 100% healthy," he said during a video call Tuesday. “In a way this trade showed and revealed what was going on in my body. So I’m definitely looking at it from that side and definitely humbled to know that that this trade could have saved me in the long run." If he hadn't gone from Brooklyn to Houston in the James Harden deal, then from the Rockets to Indiana in exchange for Victor Oladipo last Wednesday, it's unclear when — or if — the mass would... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caris LeVert said Tuesday he was awaiting additional test results on a small mass in his left kidney before establishing a treatment plan or a timeline for his Indiana Pacers debut. Team doctors found the growth during a routine post-trade physical late last week. LeVert said he doesn't yet know if the mass is cancerous. Indiana acquired LeVert as part of a four-team, blockbuster trade that sent All-Star James Harden from Houston to Brooklyn. The Rockets sent the 6-foot-6 guard to the Pacers in exchange for Victor Oladipo. Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard announced the results of the physical Saturday. LeVert, who hadn't missed any games with the Nets this season prior to the trade, said he never felt any lower back pain and had no indication anything even might be wrong. “I haven’t gotten anything removed yet, we're waiting for more results," he said. LeVert was expected to replace Oladipo in the starting lineup and was also supposed to help... [More]