Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports is reporting that just hours before the Indiana Pacers were set to open up the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks, teammates Lance Stephenson and Evan Turner allegedly came to blows during a routine practice.
Turner reportedly had to be untangled from Stephenson and dragged out of the practice by two other Pacers teammates.
Turner hadn’t been the first Pacer to lose his temper with Stephenson these tumultuous several weeks, and Stephenson’s relentlessly irritable nature suggests Turner won’t be the last. These scrapes aren’t uncommon in the NBA, but this confrontation had been weeks in the making and that reflected in the ferocity of the encounter, sources told Yahoo Sports.
“This stuff happens, but the timing wasn’t ideal,” one witness told Yahoo Sports.
Turner and Stephenson have to struggled to play together since the Pacers deadline deal with the 76ers to acquire the shooting guard.