NBA: Myles Turner leads Pacers past Hornets

Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second quarter at the Wells Fargo Center on January 4, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Pacers 129-126 in overtime. Mitchell Leff/Getty Images/AFP

Myles Turner scored 29 points, Buddy Hield added 21 points — including a free throw that proved to be the difference — and the Indiana Pacers rallied past the visiting Charlotte Hornets 116-111 on Sunday in Indianapolis.

With less than a minute remaining and the score tied at 107, Hield blocked a desperation 3-point attempt by LaMelo Ball. Ball, who was limited to 24:31 of playing time due to early foul trouble, was whistled for his sixth and disqualifying foul when he kicked out on Hield’s block in the hope of drawing foul shots.

Instead, Hield went to the line and gave Indiana the lead for good. The Pacers spent much of the game playing catch-up, falling behind by 14 points in the first half.

WHAT A BLOCK BY MYLES TURNER TO SEAL THE PACERS W ???? pic.twitter.com/cH5iK0o8tB

— NBA (@NBA) January 9, 2023

They battled back to take a lead into intermission, but Charlotte regained control in the third quarter with a 10-0 run as the period ended. Jalen McDaniels scored five straight of his 17 points during the Hornets burst.

Indiana tied the score four times on the final 3:03 mark — once on a Turner 3-pointer and later on Turner’s three-point play with 1:11 remaining that tied it at 107 score — but did not retake the lead until the final 53.3 seconds.

Turner’s layup-and-free throw that knotted the game opened a pivotal 6-0 run and the foul shot was part of a 10-of-11 finish at the foul line for the Pacers.

a monster night from Myles Turner.????

29 PTS | 9 REB | 4 BLK

vote to make him an #NBAAllStar at https://t.co/T6jmxAXvtp. pic.twitter.com/9gIxLZPaqX

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) January 9, 2023

All five Indiana starters scored in double figures, which was necessary with the typically explosive Bennedict Mathurin held to four points on 1-of-9 shooting from the floor. The Pacers bench tallied just 16 points.

But with Andrew Nembhard shooting 7-of-11 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range en route to 19 points, Tyrese Haliburtion scoring 16 points and dishing 13 assists, and Aaron Nesmith adding 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, Indiana did enough to pick up its sixth win in the last seven games.

For Charlotte, Sunday’s loss marked its fourth in the last five games.

P.J. Washington led the Hornets with 22 points, Terry Rozier added 19 despite shooting just 2 of 9 from 3-point range, and Mason Plumlee added 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Ball’s streak of consecutive 20-point-plus games ended at 13, as he finished with 13 points.

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