Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner had lived through this type of game against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers countless times. The fouls felt inescapable against the reigning MVP, the whistle was raining down like a symphony of annoying birds, the struggle to find any sort of rhythm was evident in the midst of only being able to stay on the court for very short stretches, and the notorious Philadelphia fan base letting him hear about it all.
This has been Turner’s time loop in almost any game that he’s played against Embiid over the course of their careers. It’s his Groundhog Day, his Palm Springs. Foul. Bench. Repeat. In 2018, Turner memorably flipped off the Philadelphia crowd in his frustration and ended up being fined $15k.
“I wish I could repeat it on camera,” Turner said after a recent practice per Alex Golden. “They were definitely saying some things. Me a few years ago I probably would’ve flipped off the crowd or did some dumb shit but I kinda just allowed it to fuel me in a sense. Honestly it’s one of the best arenas to play in cause it’s just so loud, it’s ruckus, those guys they care. Like if Philly is getting blown out, they’re gonna boo Philly, if we’re up, they’re gonna boo us. It’s one of those environments where you kinda dream about being on the road and what not as far as like those hostile environments.”
This time, however, Turner broke the cycle and figured things out in the 4th quarter and gave the Sixers fans a much more satisfying clapback than the lone finger. Coming into the final period with twice as many fouls (4) as points (2) over just 8 minutes, he would score 15 points over his 11 and a half 4th-quarter minutes before succumbing to Embiid’s foul merchant prowess for good with his sixth foul with 32.5 seconds remaining and the Pacers up by 7.
“Myles did everything down the stretch. He took a charge, he had one or two blocks, he rebounded, he finished,” Carlisle said of the Pacers big man. “He hit a really important 3-pointer that gave us a cushion. And he just kept playing.”
Behind the turnaround, Turner credited his teammates, especially the Pacers superstar, culture setter Tyrese Haliburton.
“Maturity and just staying ready,” Turner said of his fourth quarter. “I think my teammates, especially Tyrese, just kept saying, ‘Big second half, big second half. We’re going to need you, we’re going to need you.’ When you have guys that believe in you like that, it makes it easy.”
Haliburton was intentional about getting Turner into the game from the first play of the final period. As he ran pick and roll with him, he probed the defense and held the ball just long enough to make two defenders fully commit to him, then leaving it off to Turner for an easy dunk.
You couldn’t ask for a better play for Turner to be able to start to find some rhythm on a nightmarish night and it doesn’t feel like a coincidence that Haliburton found him early on in the period. Haliburton’s a point guard empath that feels his teammates needs and knows the power that he has with the ball in his hands to turn a guy’s night around by simply believing in a struggling teammate.
The Ringer’s Rob Mahoney wrote in his recent Haliburton feature, “It’s why it means something more when Haliburton points out an open teammate who needs the ball, or swings it without hesitation and yells, ‘THAT’S CASH!’ before a shot even goes up.”
“That type of stuff is huge for me,” Turner said in the article.
Even after the dunk, Turner seemed unsure of himself for the next few minutes. He got stuck the corner at the halfcourt line after an inbound that eventually resulted in a Pacers turnover, hesitated to shoot an open 3-pointer, came up short on one deep attempt, missed a layup on one roll attempt against Embiid but Haliburton and his teammates would find him repeatedly down the stretch inside as he drew multiple fouls inside. Never wavering in their belief in their teammate despite some miscues along the way. This is something that previous iterations of the Pacers over Turner’s 9 seasons with the team could never match in terms of complete trust of their teammates.
Just look at Haliburton here after he feeds Turner who finishes the and-1 bucket that gave the Pacers the lead back with six minutes left. Pumping up his center with a joyous push, it looks like—excuse my amateur lip-reading if incorrect—Turner says something along the lines of, “I appreciate ya. I got y’all.”
With the increased attention on Turner, Haliburton was then able to find Obi Toppin for a glorious lob where he jumped over Tyrese Maxey for the slam. Turner would draw a charge on Embiid on the next possession.
After picking up his fifth foul with 4 minutes left, Turner was unfazed and slipped a screen to score inside right past Embiid and on the ensuing Pacers possession he put a cherry on top of his performance with one final gift from Haliburton. Open with the shot clock running down behind the 3-point line, Buddy Hield found Turner on the wing but Turner moved the ball quickly to his point guard instead of shooting it. Haliburton just gave the ball right back to him as Turner hit a huge 3-pointer as the shot clock buzzer went off to put the Pacers up by six with 3 minutes to go.
Turner finished the fourth quarter with 15 points (4 of 7) of the Pacers 37 while making 6 of his 7 free throws plus two rebounds, just enough Embiid stops, and a block on a Maxey drive. None of it possible without his teammates staying positive in his ear.
“Ty is a very capable scorer, but I think he gets off more getting guys involved and pushing that pace,” Turner said in the Ringer article. “He’s just a savant with the stuff he does out there.”
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