Insider: Pacers hope Myles Turner recovers from underwhelming performances in Cleveland

• Game 3: Cavaliers at Pacers, 7 p.m. Thursday, TNT

CLEVELAND — Myles Turner blames himself. Not the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not the NBA playoff stage. Not the increased responsibility the Indiana Pacers have placed on him.

With every question he answered after Monday’s loss, Turner denied the plethora of possibilities that could explain his struggles in the first two games of the Pacers’ opening-round series. Turner said no repeatedly and then put the onus on himself.

“It’s nothing they’re doing,” Turner said of the Cavaliers. “It’s all me.”

Turner, the Pacers' 21-year-old center, didn’t reveal why he believes that.

Yet in a series that has produced two predictable results – two wins for the Cavaliers in Cleveland – Turner’s performance has been one of the most surprising subplots. He is averaging just 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. In 81 games in the regular season, Turner was reliable and dynamic, averaging career highs in points (14.5), rebounds (7.3) field gold percentage (51.1 percent).

Turner went scoreless in the first half Monday and scored his first basket, a midrange jumper, late in the third quarter. In both games, Turner has been outplayed and outmuscled by Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson.

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Coach Nate McMillan and Paul George expressed their concern for Turner on Monday, before the series moves to Indianapolis for Game 3 on Thursday.

“We just need him to challenge Tristan and keep him off the boards,” George said after the game. “He’s got to make himself available down low in the post. He’s got to know at this point we need him to take it to the next level and we’ll continue to work with him.”

Last year, Turner improved with each game as the Pacers pushed the Toronto Raptors to seven games, averaging   10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds. His two best performances in the series were in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

If Turner is to help the Pacers in Game 3, he will have to respond after one of his worst quarters of the season.

Much of the Pacers' issues in the third quarter Monday could be attributed to Turner’s lack of energy, decisiveness or toughness. The quarter began with Turner not rotating fast enough to challenge Kyrie Irving’s two layups. Turner didn’t record a block in the quarter and Thompson grabbed three rebounds in front of him. When the quarter ended, the Pacers trailed by 18 points and Turner was on the bench.

“I thought in the third quarter we just lost our composure,” McMillan said after the game. “I thought we started to get frantic out there. When they made a run, offensively, we tried to get it back ourselves and just lost our poise. We weren’t calm during that third quarter and I thought that was big.”

Turner agreed with McMillan’s assessment.

“I have to slow down and keep my composure and step up,” Turner said. “Somebody’s got to help PG. He’s being doubled and trapped. We’ve got to be able to be playmakers out of that.”

The Cavaliers tried to get the ball out of George’s hands as much as possible in the third quarter. Iman Shumpert, Cleveland’s perimeter defensive specialist, guarded George. The Cavaliers also trapped George in a pick-and-roll action. George, on several possessions, made the correct move in passing the ball to one of his frontcourt players, including Turner. Too often, though, the Pacers didn’t score and George was never given the ball again.

“We should have done a better job once we got out of it in the pick-and-rolls,” George said. “Our bigs have got to make plays at that point. We didn’t. I’m looking for them to take advantage of the three-on-twos or the four-on-threes. That’s really what it comes down to. That’s how you play the game. You’ve got to burn them up if they send two to the ball. We have to rely on them to make plays. It’s the only way that it’s going to free me up on these pick-and-rolls.”

George said he would continue to encourage to his younger teammate heading into Thursday’s game.

“I’ve been in his ear all the way up to this point of that next step of growth for him,” George said of Turner. “But in this league, you’ve kind of got to find it. He’s still young, he’s still learning. That’s the good thing. We’re going to work with him."

Turner explained Monday his play led to the Pacers' slow starts in both games. He also knew his performance in the fourth quarter, in which he scored four points and blocked a Thompson shot, helped the Pacers close their deficit.

Turner plans to play his way out of his funk Thursday. He repeatedly said Monday that he knew how he could perform better.

“It’s a matter of me just keeping my composure,” he said. “I know what to do out there. I just have to go out there and do it.”

Call IndyStar reporter Nate Taylor at (317) 444-6484. Follow him on Twitter: @ByNateTaylor.

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Game 3: Pacers at Cavaliers, 7 p.m. Thursday, TNT