Indiana Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Pritchard hired Nate Bjorkgren to take the Indiana Pacers in a new direction.

They went the wrong way.

A season filled with defensive struggles, missed chances and locker room drama resulted Wednesday in the firing of Bjorkgren after only one season as coach.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard intends to stand pat — for now.

He'd rather not break up the big-man tandem of Myles Turner, the NBA's blocks champion, and two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Daryl Morey posed for a photo in a bookstore wearing a T-shirt of the Liberty Bell emblazoned with a “Come To Philly For The Crack” slogan and held a copy of “Basketball for Dummies.”

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Now that the Indiana Pacers' long, injury-riddled season is over, the hard part begins.

President of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard is embarking on yet another offseason filled with questions, the first being whether to keep coach Nate Bjorkgren.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After one loss back when the Washington Wizards were struggling through a coronavirus-disrupted, injury-depleted and defense-optional stretch of the season that put them 15 games below .500, Russell Westbrook gathered his teammates to speak his mind.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After the work Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal and the rest of the Washington Wizards did to reach the NBA's play-in round, all will be for naught with a loss to the visiting Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — While the Charlotte Hornets found a player to build around in point guard LaMelo Ball and made significant strides this season, coach James Borrego knows there’s plenty of work to do before his young team is ready to compete with the NBA’s elite.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Domantas Sabonis delivered. He found open teammates, cleaned up the glass and played solid defense.

The combination helped keep Indiana's playoff hopes alive — for at least two more nights.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Domantas Sabonis had 14 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists, and the short-handed Indiana Pacers routed the Charlotte Hornets 144-117 in the Eastern Conference’s first play-in game Tuesday night.

NEW YORK (AP) — Upon further review, Indiana’s Myles Turner is the NBA’s blocked-shot champion for this season.

The NBA said Tuesday that Turner will be recognized as the winner in that category, even though he did not play in the required 70% of games that are typically needed for someone to qualify as a statistical leader.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana hired coach Nate Bjorkgren to help the Pacers make a long playoff run.

Instead, they need two wins to make it in.

After dealing with a season full of injuries, shoddy defense and communication problems on and off the court, Bjorkgren and the Pacers find themselves trying to extend their season when they host Charlotte in Tuesday's play-in round.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It wasn't until about 30 minutes before tipoff that Bradley Beal told coach Scott Brooks he could play for the Washington Wizards in their regular-season finale.

And it wasn't until the second half Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets that Beal really got going in his return from a three-game absence with a strained left hamstring.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — LeBron James returned from a six-game absence to score 24 points, Anthony Davis had 28 and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 122-115 on Saturday.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Los Angles Lakers coach Frank Vogel liked what he saw of LeBron James' return

“It is going to take time to get his timing back to 100%, but for most of the game he looked good,” Vogel said.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had so many powerful dunks on Thursday night, he tried to be mindful about not expending energy in celebrating too much.

At the end of a demanding NBA regular season, the two-time MVP concedes there's fatigue, even after he dominated with 40 points, 15 rebounds and six assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 142-133 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 40 points, 15 rebounds and six assists and the Milwaukee Bucks wore down the short-handed Indiana Pacers in a 142-133 victory Thursday night.

Indiana dressed just 10 players due to injuries and didn’t have a defensive answer for Antetokounmpo, the two-time NBA MVP who made 14 of 18 shots from the field — six on uncontested dunks — and hit 11 of 16 free throws.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers helped clear up the Eastern Conference's muddled play-in picture Tuesday.

Philadelphia's second-half collapse only made it more murky at the top.

Domantas Sabonis recorded his ninth triple-double of the season with 16 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds and Caris LeVert added 24 points to help the Pacers rally for a 103-94 play-in round clinching victory...

CLEVELAND (AP) — Domantas Sabonis had 21 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists as the Indiana Pacers strengthened their hold on a play-in tournament spot with a 111-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night...

DETROIT (AP) — Nikola Vucevic had 29 points and 16 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls kept their play-in chances alive with an 108-94 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.

Zach LaVine scored 30 points as the Bulls (29-39) moved within 2 1/2 games of the Indiana Pacers (31-36) for the last Eastern Conference play-in spot...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — When the final buzzer sounded Saturday night, Russell Westbrook grabbed the ball, jogged to the baseline and waved to the crowd. A few moments after joining Oscar Robertson as the NBA's career triple-doubles leader with 181, he celebrated the milestone with his teammates and his opponents...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Russell Westbrook tied Oscar Robertson’s NBA record for triple-doubles with 181, finishing with 33 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists, and made two free throws with a second left to give Washington a 133-132 overtime victory over Indiana on Saturday night...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russell Westbrook’s stat lines have been looking like typos in the box score lately — the 14-point, 21-rebound, 24-assist game this week, for example, or the 18-18-14 five nights earlier — and now he’s on the verge of something historic...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caris LeVert showed up motivated for work, determined to shake free from a recent funk that included one of Indiana's ugliest losses just 24 hours earlier.

LeVert scored 31 points, including nine in the final 2:17, and the Pacers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 133-126 on Thursday night...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Marvin Bagley III kept Sacramento's slim playoff hopes alive Wednesday night with a breakthrough performance — scoring a season-high 31 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to lead the the Kings past the Indiana Pacers 104-93...

WASHINGTON (AP) — While Russell Westbrook continues to chase down one of the NBA’s toughest records, his longtime coach Scott Brooks moved him up one spot on an unscientific list.

His own.

Westbrook had the third game in NBA history with 20-plus rebounds and 20-plus assists — he and Wilt Chamberlain have the other two — and the surging Washington Wizards moved closer to Indiana in the Eastern Conference playoff standings by outgunning the Pacers 154-141 on Monday night...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double in the first half and the Indiana Pacers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 152-95 on Saturday night in the largest home loss in NBA history...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash realizes that sometimes there's no need to overthink situations, especially when working with great players such as Kevin Durant...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Stephen Curry hit 10 3-pointers and scored 49 points to extend his sizzling stretch, leading the Golden State Warriors to a 107-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night...