Last weekend's pristine injury report was too good to be true this late in the season, and now the Pacers are faced with some grim realities. Not long-term grim, not amid a season as surprisingly good as this one, but at-least-for-now grim, given their quest for homecourt advantage in the playoffs and the demands of their remaining schedule.
With backup center Domantas Sabonis already sidelined by a sprained left ankle, starting center Myles Turner doubled down on the issue by spraining his left ankle in the Pacers' 106-99 loss to Toronto at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. That left the Pacers with just one center, but Al Jefferson's time tunnel performance wasn't enough to overcome the Raptors' physical dominance and superior execution in the fourth quarter.