Evan Turner calms down, comes through for 76ers
PUBLISHED Monday, May 14, 2012
Sean Deveney Sporting News
BOSTON -- Evan Turner was standing by his locker here at TD Garden, a crowd of media members impatiently standing with recorders at the ready. He was comically fumbling in his attempt to slip his cuff links into the sleeve of his shirt.
?Sorry,? he said, trying to explain his sartorial woes. ?These are my draft night cuff links, which pretty much means they?re the only cuff links I own.?
This was too-slow a moment for Turner, a rarity on what was a bizarre and over-energized night for the Philadelphia 76ers starting shooting guard. Just 2:16 into the game, Turner got whacked??below the belt,? as he put it?and had to go to the bench until the pain subsided. He came back seven minutes later, but was playing as if he had to make up for lost time. At halftime, he had just two points and two turnovers, shooting 1-for-4 from the field. He had two points and two more turnovers in the third quarter.
But in the fourth, with the Sixers having squandered a 10-point lead and Boston ahead, 75-74, with 41 seconds to play, Turner made the biggest play of the game. He was isolated beyond the 3-point line on the left wing against Rajon Rondo, when he decided to put his head down and drive. He got past Rondo and into the paint, and was met by help defense from Paul Pierce. He brought the ball low, leapt around Pierce and scooped a shot from his ankles as he fell to the floor. It went in, and the Sixers took a lead they would not relinquish, winning Game 2, 82-81, and evening the conference semifinal series.
In all, Turner?s numbers were not eye-popping. He finished with 10 points and six rebounds, and also had five turnovers and shot just 4-for-11 from the floor. But when the Sixers needed him to make a big play, he came through.
?The thing I am proud about Evan is, he was totally out of sync all night long,? coach Doug Collins said. ?He got hit early in the game, I took him out. He was jumping in the air, leaving his feet, turning the ball over. He was just playing so fast. ... But the thing I was happy about is he bounced back. He was really out of sync the entire night. He had that look in his eyes, where I was just trying to calm him down. I went to him and I said, ?Evan, you?ve got to just calm down, just a little bit.? And he did.?
Evan Turner recovered from a slow first half to finish with 10 points and the go-ahead basket in the 76ers 82-81 win over the Celtics. (AP Photo)
Turner said his problem was over-thinking?when he got back into the game he felt like he had to do everything, all at once.
?When I got hit below the belt, it threw me off,? Turner said. ?I started off on the wrong foot a little bit, I got taken out of the game. So I just tried to find a rhythm, I was trying match the intensity of the game and everything like that. I was trying to be aggressive, maybe a little too much. I think I thought too much a little bit, and when you think too much, that is when you mess up.?
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