INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Myles Turner had season highs of 37 points and 12 rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 129-122 on Monday night for their fourth win in five games.
Tyrese Haliburton added 20 points and 13 assists for the Pacers, making six 3-pointers. Buddy Hield had 20 points with five 3-pointers. Jalen Smith added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Turner had been averaging 13.8 points in five games after missing the season's first four starts with a sore ankle.
The Pacers made 22 3-pointers, seventh-most in franchise history, compared to the Pelicans’ 14.
Brandon Ingram scored 29 points and Zion Williamson had 26 for the Pelicans, who like the Pacers are 5-5 but have lost two in a row for the first time.
The Pacers scored the game’s initial nine points, but the Pelicans gradually trimmed the deficit to 32-30 by the end of the first quarter. Both teams came out shooting from long range, as the Pelicans made 7 of 10 from beyond the arc and the Pacers hit 6 of 13.
Turner made all five of his first-quarter shots including a pair of 3s for 12 points.
Haliburton, rookie Andrew Nembhard and Hield hit 3s near the end of the first half as the Pacers closed on a 9-4 run to take a 58-55 halftime lead. Both teams had 10 3s at the break, although the Pacers attempted 26 of their 42 shots from 3 while the Pelicans had 19 attempts.
The Pelicans trailed by as many as 13 points midway through the third quarter. All five Pacers starters had scored in double digits compared to just three Pelicans. Turner closed the third with a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 100-91 lead.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Have not started a season 6-4 or better since 2014. ... Next game will be eighth out of 11 on the road before a six-game homestand. ... Reserve G-F Garrett Temple missed the game for personal reasons.
Pacers: Nembhard started for SG Chris Duarte, who is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a sprained left ankle suffered Friday. Nembhard, who had 15 points, made his first NBA start because the Pacers want rookie 18.6-point scorer Bennedict Mathurin to continue as sixth man. ... Are two games into a four-game homestand.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: At Chicago on Wednesday.
Pacers: Host Denver on Wednesday.
