Pacers Myles Turner on coach Rick Carlisle benching starters: 'It was a wakeup call'

INDIANAPOLIS — The Pacers looked lifeless.

Detroit bulled them Wednesday and Charlotte was doing the same Friday when Indiana coach Rick Carlisle decided he had enough. He wanted to send a message — though he won't admit as much — and did so by benching his starters with just over eight minutes left in the third quarter.

The reserves clawed their way back from a 25-point deficit against the Hornets and had a chance to tie the game at the end, but the Pacers were still handed their third straight loss and noticeably lacked a sense of urgency in the latter two. Carlisle said afterward that he "needed to get some fighters in the game" as he explained his reasoning to play the second and third units over the starters.

During his pregame press conference Saturday, Carlisle added that, "We're not looking to punish anybody. We're looking to become a better basketball team.” A few hours later, the Pacers (7-11) looked like a better basketball team, cruising to a 111-94 victory over lowly New Orleans (3-15), which was without Zion Williamson (foot).

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More important than beating a team without its best player, though, for the first time in three games Indiana looked like it wanted to play.

The energy the reserves competed with Friday at Charlotte was added to the starters Saturday, who dominated from the opening tip.

“I’m not going to necessarily say it was a good thing, what happened last game with us, but I think it was a wakeup call,” Myles Turner said. “Sometimes this league is all about how you respond.”

Turner had 11 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and one put-back dunk over three Pelicans players that made teammate Kelan Martin put his hands on his head as if to say, What did I just witness? It was the type of play that can only be made with all out effort, and while that one will surely be included in a highlight reel, there were plenty others the Pacers made to “try and get this thing back on track,” according to Malcolm Brogdon.

“I think we played with great energy. I think we played a lot faster than we have in games leading up to this, and I think we just played together,” Brogdon said. “I think we were out there playing for each other on both ends of the ball, and those are the characteristics of this game that we have to let bleed into every other game this season.”

Brogdon scored 16 points with four 3s and was one of five Pacers to score in double figures.

Domantas Sabonis had a game-high 20 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals. The two-time all-star said Carlisle encouraged the team to play "free” after its recent stagnant and lackluster performances, and Sabonis spearheaded that cause.

The offense was mainly run through him in the first half, resulting in 20 assists on 23 made field goals before the break. Sabonis said he enjoyed seeing everyone get involved Saturday, as 12 of the 13 Indiana players who played scored, but his focus was on his team’s overall “energy and effort.”

Unlike the night before in Charlotte, Carlisle didn’t need to bench Sabonis and the rest of his starters to get the team’s attention.

“Energy and effort, you gotta bring it every night,” Sabonis said. “It’s a long season, a lot of games, and sometimes it’s hard to bring it. But it has to be a collective group, not (just) one or two guys can bring it because then the defense breaks down or on offense someone’s not committed to what we’re doing. (Saturday) felt like everybody was committed and good results showed.”

The Pacers’ victory over New Orleans was a sigh of relief, but their next game won’t be as easy. Indiana plays Monday at Chicago (11-5), which features one of the top duos in the league: DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, who rank first and fourth in total fourth-quarter points this season, respectively. That matchup will reveal if Indiana has really fixed its effort issue or if Saturday’s win was simply a band-aid.