Myles Turner, Pacers beat up well-worn Wizards
Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) works the ball toward the basket against the defense of Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris (5) during an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)
INDIANAPOLIS — Even well-rested opponents haven’t had much chance against Myles Turner recently.
The night after a marathon victory, the Washington Wizards didn’t have the legs to keep up.
Turner had 18 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers beat sluggish Washington 105-89 on Sunday.
The Wizards were coming off a triple-overtime win over Phoenix in Washington the previous night. They shot a season-low 36.8 percent.
“We knew they were fatigued, but it’s an NBA team, so they’re going to go out there and give us their best shot,” Turner said.
Turner has a double-double in four straight games after never stringing together more than two straight in his career.
“He’s been playing well on both ends of the floor,” guard Victor Oladipo said. “Defensively, he’s been amazing for us.”
Turner said he is being more aggressive on his rebounding.
“Just going to go get the ball as opposed to just kind of waiting for it to come to me,” he said. “I think that’s the big difference.”
The Pacers had seven players in double-figure scoring. Domantas Sabonis came off the bench to contribute 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Bojan Bogdanovic scored 13 of his 14 points in the first half.
Markieff Morris led the Wizards with 16 points off the bench. Thomas Bryant added 11 points, hitting 3 of 6 shots a night after making all 14 attempts.
Bryant said fatigue was a pretty big factor.
“We had some open looks at the beginning of the second half that just didn’t fall for us and a little fatigue set it,” he said. “But I felt we pushed through.”
Turner was 3-of-10 shooting in the first half, but finished 8 of 17.
“In the second half, he starting knocking down shots and rotating the ball,” Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. “That’s the read he and (Sabonis) have to make.”
Indiana stretched its seven-point halftime lead to 84-64 in the third quarter. The Wizards were 8-of-30 shooting in the period.
“Our defense towards the end of the third quarter, we locked down and we got three or four stops in a row,” Turner said.
The Wizards had 13 first-half turnovers, eight more than the Pacers.
The Wizards finished with 22 turnovers while the Pacers had 17, including nine in fourth quarter.
“We are still turning the ball over too many times,” McMillan said. “We just got careless in the fourth quarter. You have to play the game for 48 minutes.”
Turnovers frustrated Wizards coach Scott Brooks as well.
“When you play against a good team, you have to take care of the ball, especially on the road,” Brooks said. “They scored 25 points off of our turnovers. We haven’t played well on the road.”
TIP-INS
Wizards: John Wall played after missing Saturday night’s game against Phoenix with flu-like symptoms. Wall had seven points on 1-of-7 shooting … Washington has lost seven of nine to fall to 13-21. … After registering his first career triple-double with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists, leading scorer Bradley Beal had a quiet night with a season-low seven points.
Pacers: Darren Collison, Aaron Holiday and Oladipo each scored 12 points and Thaddeus Young had 10. … Tyreke Evans missed his second consecutive game with a bruised right knee. … Pacers are the only team in 2018 not to lose more than two games in a row.
GIVING SPIRIT
Oladipo gifted the Kia car he won as the 2017-18 NBA Most Improved Player to a domestic violence survivor who works with the Julian Center, an Indianapolis organization supporting domestic violence survivors.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Concludes two-game trip at Detroit on Wednesday night.
Pacers: Will look to extend its winning streak to three at Atlanta on Wednesday.
