Myles Turner's 31-point, 12-rebound effort a sign of what he's meant to Pacers' playoff run

INDIANAPOLIS -- As the longest tenured player on the Indiana Pacers, center Myles Turner was handed the microphone on Fan Appreciation Day in the minutes before tip-off in the game that would determine if the Pacers would be in the playoffs or the play-in.

He got the necessary point across quickly − that the Pacers were grateful but they needed one more push.

"Gainbridge has been rocking this year," Turner said. "But tonight we need it to rock more than ever. It's time for the playoffs. Let's get it!"

And with the crowd sufficiently ignited, Turner produced a monster performance in the regular-season finale of his ninth season. He scored 11 of the Pacers' first 15 points and 31 overall to go with 12 rebounds and four blocked shots in just under 22 minutes, leading the Pacers to a 157-115 blowout of the Hawks that ensured their playoff berth. They ended up with the No. 6 seed and will begin a best-of-seven series against the Bucks starting in Milwaukee on Sunday. It was just Turner's second 30-plus point game of the season and a reminder of just how important of a weapon Turner can be in a postseason series.

Turner scored at all three levels, rebounded on both ends, and protected the rim. If the Pacers are to give the Bucks a run for their money in Indiana's first playoff series since 2020, they'll need him to do all of those things.

"It felt like he wasn't missing anything," All-Star power forward Pascal Siakam said. "Myles, he just made everything, had some big plays for us, just momentum plays that are super important. He's blocking shots. That's what we're gonna need from him every single night. He's been doing that. Just a good overall job from him, just from being locked in and do what's asked of him to do."

The Pacers knew from previous games against the Hawks that he'd have opportunities. They scored 150 points or more in their first two outings against Atlanta and 126 in a January win in which they didn't have All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Turner was relatively quiet in two of those outings, but in one he scored 27 points on 10 of 14 shooting. The Pacers had a sense that he'd have space to operate in the middle of the floor on pick-and-rolls, and that pick-and-pops for 3s and short rolls for mid-range jumpers might be there, as well.

It turned out all of those were available. Turner shot 13 of 17 from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. He had three jumpers from around the foul line and then seven layups or dunks, including a vicious tomahawk jam on Hawks center Bruno Fernando in the third period.

"We just had a solid game plan," Turner said. "We just had to make them play up to our level. I felt like me and (Haliburton) were very dynamic in the pick-and-roll. If we're not going, he's going to find somebody else. The way that Atlanta plays, they load up and give up the corners a lot. I think we were able to exploit that a lot this year. We always score a lot of points in the paint. It played well to our style of offense."

But Turner also made all the right moves with in it. He finished through contact and, when off-balance, knew when to go to the rim and when to pull-up, and he even brought a step-back 3 into his repertoire.

"Finding that pocket, he's really excelled there," Haliburton said. "We knew that the pick-and-roll was something we really wanted to attack coming into the day. He just made the right reads. ... MT led the charge from the beginning of the game and we just all followed his lead."

When Turner wasn't pounding the Hawks inside, Siakam was. Siakam scored 28 points on 13 of 18 shooting and the Pacers ended up with 80 points in the paint. Turner's success clearly had a lot to do with Siakam's success, and vice versa. When Siakam was acquired in January, the two discussed at length how they might be able to help each other's games by forcing opposing defenses to split their attention, and Sunday was a sign of just how well it can work.

"He has such a dynamic game down in the low post," Turner said. "It puts teams in a bind. If you double-team him, we have five shooters out there. Someone is going to make the right play. If you don't, he's gonna score. So more than likely, the 5s will be guarding me. That's going to be that rim protector. My ability to space the floor just opens up a lot of space for him to operate and the rest of the team."

Turner has had that kind of impact all year. He ends the season as the team's third-leading scorer behind All-Stars Haliburton and Siakam with 17.1 points per game, and his inside-outside contributions make him just as important to the offense as those two. He shot 52.4% from the floor and 35.1% from 3-point range, while also making 77.3% of his foul shots. His career-high 116 3-pointers were third behind Haliburton and forward Aaron Nesmith among players who started and ended the year with the team – traded Buddy Hield had 137 – and his 245 free throws were by far the most on the roster.

Turner's ability to shoot from all three levels as a 6-11 center has had a lot to do with the Pacers maintaining their spot as the NBA's top scoring team, but defense has been where he made his money. After setting the franchise career blocks record this season, Turner finished with 1.9 blocks per game. He's had better shot-blocking seasons, but his rim protection has been critical in helping the Pacers make their defense respectable. Such was the case on Sunday as he helped the Pacers follow a 72-point first half on defense with a 43-point half. He also grabbed 12 rebounds, including nine on the defensive end.

"I loved Myles' approach from a physical standpoint," Carlisle said. "The fact that he got 12 rebounds, that's the most important thing. I know Myles can score. Let's not make it about Myles' scoring. Let's make it about his effort on the boards. This is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the league."

Turner's performance Sunday, and all season, was about what he was able to do on both ends, which is why he'll get to see the playoffs again.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Myles Turner plays his best in Pacers regular-season finale win