Myles Turner collected 18 points and 13 rebounds to fuel the host Indiana Pacers to a 112-104 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday in Indianapolis.
Seven different players scored in double digits for Indiana to help offset the absence of leading scorer Tyrese Haliburton (23.6 points per game). The All-Star guard strained his left hamstring in the Pacers’ 133-131 victory over the Boston Celtics on Monday.
Indiana’s Bruce Brown recorded 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Bennedict Mathurin added 16 points and seven boards. Obi Toppin scored 15 points, T.J. McConnell had 14 and Isaiah Jackson celebrated his 22nd birthday with 12 to send the Pacers to their eighth win in nine games.
Washington’s Jordan Poole scored 28 points and Corey Kispert added 15 off the bench. Daniel Gafford contributed 12 points and eight rebounds for the Wizards, who have lost six in a row and nine of their last 10 games.
Washington whittled a 12-point deficit to seven at 93-86 before Jackson scored five quick points as part of Indiana’s 15-5 surge. The Wizards pulled within eight at 108-100 with 2:36 remaining in the fourth quarter before running out of steam.
Washington was nursing a slim one-point lead at halftime before Indiana scored 18 of the next 24 points to take a 72-61 lead. Turner, Brown, Aaron Nesmith and Toppin each sank a 3-pointer to highlight that surge.
The Wizards pulled within eight at 78-70 with 3:34 remaining in the third before Jordan Nwora scored seven quick points during his team’s 11-8 quarter-ending run. Nwora made a layup, a 3-pointer and an emphatic dunk over Daniel Gafford during that sequence.
Kispert drained three 3-pointers to highlight his 13-point performance in the second quarter, helping Washington seize a 55-54 lead at intermission.
–Field Level Media
