|
 "I was trying for 20 points and 20 rebounds, but the most
important thing was that I wanted to play my hardest," said the
former University of Texas standout, who achieved most of his
objectives for this night.
Turner celebrated with 24 points and 16 rebounds, and the Pacers
defeated the injury-plagued Pelicans 92-84 at Bankers Life
Fieldhouse.
The Pacers (38-33) earned their 10th consecutive victory over the
Pelicans (26-45).
New Orleans, which had eight of its 16 players available, closed
within 88-84 on Toney Douglas' 3-pointer with 1:03 left.
"We knew they were short-handed, but we also knew we would have to
match their intensity," said Turner, noting that several Pelicans
were looking to showcase their skills with minutes they don't
normally receive.
C.J. Miles made two free throws with 46.6 seconds remaining,
increasing the Indiana lead to 90-84. Monta Ellis made two more free
throws with 40.1 seconds to play to push the Pacers ahead 92-84.
 "Turner is becoming a big-time threat," Indiana coach Frank Vogel
said. "He is improving every night and is especially getting better
defensively. We are asking him to guard a lot of different people."
Miles added 19 for Indiana, which lost leading scorer Paul George to
a lower right leg injury in the third quarter. George did not
return, finishing with 15 points.
"The most important thing about what I did tonight is that I helped
us win," Miles said. "I tried to take good shots."
When George went out, the Pacers really needed Miles, according to
Vogel.
"All we know at this point is that Paul is day-to-day, but we got a
big lift off the bench from C.J, when Paul went out," Vogel said.
"C.J. filled in with that next-guy-up mentality. C.J. plays just as
hard against New Orleans as he does against Oklahoma City.
"I was happy at times tonight, but not really overall. Turner and
Miles were huge for us." Alexis Ajinca led the Pelicans with 22
points, Tim Frazier added 18 and Alonzo Gee scored 17. New Orleans
was guilty of 16 turnovers.
[to top of second column] |
Frazier's 3-pointer cut the Indiana lead to 79-73 with 7:32
remaining, but thanks in large part to Turner's strong play, Indiana
hung on.
"I really appreciate everything that they did and how hard they
played," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said of his makeshift
lineup. "I thought we kept trying to battle our way back into the
game. We just couldn't quite get over the hump. I would say the only
negative was at the end when we had some miscommunication on a
couple of things. I would not take anything away from this group."
Miles' 3-pointer just ahead of the third-quarter buzzer gave Indiana
a 70-61 lead through 36 minutes. A Miles basket with 11:07 remaining
in the fourth quarter extended the advantage to 75-63 and prompted a
New Orleans timeout.
The Pacers finished the first half on a 17-6 run to take a 49-39
lead through 24 minutes, getting 16 points from Turner and 13 from
George.
Turner and George were a combined 12-for-16 from the field during a
half when Indiana shot 48.8 percent.
Ajinca had 12 points and five rebounds for the Pelicans in the first
two quarters, and Gee added eight. New Orleans shot 37 percent.
For the night, Indiana outshot New Orleans 45.6 percent to 41.2
percent.
"With Turner, it's just like every other team with a young kid, he
was good because he was able to make shots," Ajinca said. "He played
a good game tonight, but it's not like he was unguardable. For us,
we were without a lot of guys, but we were right there in the game.
It was a good game for us."
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
