Pacers' Turner accomplishes first for centers Thursday night

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Pacers' Myles Turner accomplished a first for NBA centers Thursday night

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 2/23/23

Even in a loss, Myles Turner shined Thursday night for the Indiana Pacers, accomplishing a feat no center has in the game's long history.

Turner shot 13-of-15 from the field and an insane 8-of-10 from three-point land, ending the night with a game-high 40 points to go along with 10 boards. According to StateMuse, Turner is the first center to post a stat line of 40-plus points, with eight or more three-pointers made and at least 10 rebounds.

Myles Turner is the first center ever to record

40+ PTS
10+ REB
8+ 3P

In a game. pic.twitter.com/4FByFda8Hb
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 24, 2023

Not every player in NBA history had the benefit of playing with a three-point line. And some may not categorize Turner as a typical center. Nevertheless, Turner's feat is still an impressive one.

For the season, Turner is averaging 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game, boasting a 53.5 shooting percentage.

The Pacers hope this is the first of many standout performances ahead for Turner, who inked a two-year, $60 million extension with Indiana in January.

Unfortunately for Turner, his remarkable outing Thursday didn't result in a victory for the Pacers, who fell to the Boston Celtics, 142-138, in overtime. Trying to outdo Turner, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics, scoring a combined 61 points.

The loss for the Pacers dropped them to 26-35. Indiana is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, three games behind the Toronto Raptors (28-31) for the final play-in spot for the postseason.

Meanwhile, the Celtics improved to an NBA-best 43-17. Boston remains ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks (41-17) for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, holding a slim one-game advantage coming out of the All-Star break.

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