(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) – The Pacers earned their sixth straight win as they knocked off the Charlotte Hornets 99-90.
Myles Turner led the team with 18 points and eight rebounds while Bojan Bogdanovic added 14 points.
Newest Pacer Wesley Matthews scored 8 points in his debut, including a huge 28-footer to help salt the game away. Matthews also added five rebounds, three assists and a steal.
“We thought he was great,” coach Nate McMillan said of Matthews’ debut. “We thought bringing that type of talent to this roster and having a guy like that going down the stretch and in the playoffs with that type of experience, we were going to need it.”
The Pacers shot over 51-percent from the field and overcame a 34-point effort by Kemba Walker.
The Pacers play their final game before the All-Star break on Wednesday when they host Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Also on Monday, the NBA announced that Pacers forward Bojan Bogdanovic was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. The Pacers have rolled during a six-game winning streak that included 4-0 last week.
Bogdanovic led the Pacers with 22.5 pointer per game as well as 2.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game. It’s the first POTW award in his career and the third Pacer to earn the honor this season as Victor Oladipo earned it in Week 3 and Thaddeus Young in Week 9.
It’s the first time in history three different Pacers have earned POTW honors in the same season.
Additionally, the Pacers announced they signed guard Edmound Sumner to a contract on Monday. Sumner has been a two-way play for Indiana, splitting time with the Pacers and G-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
The contract on Monday means Sumner will no longer be a two-way player. In his time with the Mad Ants he averaged 23.9 points, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
