"I'm just just absolutely shocked" - Pacers coach Rick Carlisle offers honest feelings on Mike Brown’s firing by Kings

Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle gave his thoughts on the shocking firing of Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown. The Kings abruptly decided to part ways with their former coach, likely due to the poor first quarter of the season the team is having. Brown notched a 13-18 record this season before departing from Sacramento.

Carlisle was in shock to hear the news. During a recent press conference interview, Carlisle pointed out how talented Mike Brown was as a coach. He genuinely thinks that Brown is one of the best coaches there is in the league today, which baffles him that the Kings decided to shut the door on him.

“The firing of Mike Brown today was just shocking to me," Carlisle said. "I view him as one of the standard bearers for integrity for our profession, and I'm just just absolutely shocked.”

---

Pacers big man Myles Turner is now among top 50 in all-time blocks

NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder at Indiana Pacers - Source: Imagn

The Indiana Pacers took on the OKC Thunder on Thursday. Despite OKC being the favorites to win the matchup, Indiana didn't make it easy for the Thunder, as the game was close with a 120-114 finish in favor of Oklahoma. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up a masterful performance with a 45-point outing.

Despite losing to OKC on Thursday, Indiana's star center Myles Turner had a fantastic night as he cracked the top 50 in the NBA's all-time blocks list. After notching five blocks against the Thunder, Turner is now 50th all-time with a total of 1,332 blocks in his career so far. He overtook Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who was once one of the Cleveland Cavaliers' best rim protectors during LeBron James' first stint.

Unfortunately, Turner's stellar defense wasn't enough to put a stop to Gilgeous-Alexander's relentless assault on offense. SGA carried the Thunder with 45 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal.

As for the Pacers, it was a collective effort for the team, as six players were in double figures in an attempt to beat the Thunder on Thursday. Leading the charge was Andrew Nembhard, who put up 23 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and one block. Pascal Siakam notched a double-double performance with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Myles Turner also had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Bennedict Mathurin also had an all-around performance with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and one block. Then there's TJ McConnell, who scored 13 points, and Jarace Walker, who scored 12 points, to add to the Pacers' fire power.