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Turner stars as Pacers hand Bulls’ Boylen losing start
LOS ANGELES, Dec 5, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Myles Turner scored 18 points as the
Indiana Pacers handed Jim Boylen a losing start with the Chicago Bulls on
Tuesday.
Boylen took over the head coaching duties with the Bulls on Monday after
Chicago fired Fred Hoiberg.
But the scale of the task facing Boylen was underscored by the Pacers in
Indianapolis as the Bulls slipped to a 96-90 defeat.
The loss left Chicago with a 5-20 record, anchoring them firmly at the
bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
The Pacers improved to 14-10 for the season, moving them into fifth place
in the East, 5.5 games adrift of leaders Toronto.
As well as his double-digit points tally, Turner also chipped in with 11
rebounds and three assists.
The 22-year-old power forward, who also had five blocks, was given support
from Darren Collison, who had 23 points and eight assists.
Finnish forward Lauri Markkanen led the scoring for Chicago with 21 points
and 10 rebounds.
Boylen meanwhile praised his team’s character — but pointedly warned that
fitness levels need to improve.
“I really like this team,” Boylen said. “We competed. We battled. That’s a
big, physical team. I’m disappointed we didn’t win. But I’m not discouraged.
We showed grit.
“I’m really disappointed in our conditioning,” Boylen added. “It’s going
to change.”
Elsewhere Tuesday, the Orlando Magic improved to 12-12 for the season with
a 105-90 win over the Miami Heat in their Florida derby.
Aaron Gordon had 20 points with 13 rebounds for Orlando, one of six Magic
players to finish in double figures.
Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross both had 19 points for Orlando.
Justise Winslow led the scoring for Miami with 14 points off the bench.
Miami veteran Dwyane Wade accused his team-mates of complacency following
the defeat, which had followed consecutive wins over New Orleans and Utah.
“We just relaxed for some reason, like we got enough wins around here,”
Wade said. “I thought our offense stunk.”
“I would rather play Golden State than Orlando because we don’t play with
the same focus when we don’t play against a team we see on TV every night,”
he added.
A miserable night for Miami also saw Hassan Whiteside leave the bench with
40.5 seconds remaining and head for the locker room.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra played down the signficance of Whiteside’s
apparent tantrum.
“He’s probably extremely upset like we all are,” Spoelstra said afterward.
In Dallas, Mavericks ace Luka Doncic led the way in a 111-102 victory over
the Portland Trail Blazers.
Slovenian teenager Doncic also had three assists in the victory. Damian
Lillard weighed in with 33 points for Portland, who fell to 13-11 after the
loss.
In Salt Lake City, Donovan Mitchell had 20 points and Rudy Gobert 18 as
the Utah Jazz routed the San Antonio Spurs by a score of 139-105.
In the night’s other game, Phoenix’s miserable campaign continued with a
122-105 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
The Suns are now propping up the Western Conference with a 4-20 record,
the worst record in the NBA.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1104 hrs