Nuggets at Pacers
The Indiana Pacers have been searching for the right formula to get them back on the winning track and may have finally found it with rookie Myles Turner in the starting lineup. Turner and the Pacers will try to put together back-to-back wins when they host the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
Indiana was one of the most exciting teams in the NBA throughout November but has been stopping and starting ever since, and was in danger of falling back to .500 before running off the Atlanta Hawks 111-92 on Thursday. The Pacers had dropped six of the previous seven games before inserting Turner into the starting lineup on Thursday and overwhelming the Hawks with a frontcourt of Turner, Ian Mahinmi and Paul George. The Nuggets bounced back from two straight losses by squeezing past Washington 117-113 on Thursday and can match up with its own athletic frontline of Nikola Jokic, Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari. Those three combined for 54 points on 17-of-29 shooting in a 129-126 home win over Indiana on Jan. 17.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), FSN Indiana
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (18-29): Denver has dropped four of six since that win over Indiana but evened its three-game road trip at 1-1 behind 26 points from Gallinari on Thursday. The 27-year-old Italian is averaging 23.5 points in 14 games this month, and he nailed a key 3-pointer late against Washington after the Wizards had come back to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Gallinari and reserve small forward Will Barton, who put up 19.7 points in the last three games, form one of the more effective wing scoring combos in the league.
ABOUT THE PACERS (24-22): Turner has been steadily earning more playing time this month and scored in double figures in six straight games before getting the chance to start. The rookie from Texas responded with 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting in the win over Atlanta. “Coach felt confident in the way I've been playing lately," Turner told reporters. "He put me out there in a good position to go out there and play. It's all about opportunity, and (Thursday) was a big one for me.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pacers G George Hill is 7-of-12 from the field in the last three games.
2. Nuggets C Joffrey Lauvergne (toe) missed the last two games and is day-to-day.
3. Denver has taken three straight and eight of the last nine in the series, including a 108-87 victory in its last trip to Indiana on Nov. 14, 2014.