C Al Jefferson played four minutes in Monday's loss to Boston after not playing the previous 17 games.

F-C Al Jefferson scored a season-high 19 points in Wednesday's 114-97 loss at Detroit.

C Al Jefferson aggravated his sprained left ankle in practice Sunday and missed his seventh straight game Monday. Coach Nate McMillan said Jefferson is day-to-day.

C Al Jefferson was active Saturday after missing the last five games with a sprained left ankle but he did not play.

C Al Jefferson will miss at least two weeks with a sprained left ankle. Jefferson is averaging 8.1 points and 4.2 rebounds in 66 games.

C Al Jefferson suffered an ankle injury with 9:43 left in the fourth quarter. He was taken to the locker room in a wheelchair. However, X-rays were negative but there is a lot of swelling,After scoring just 16 points in the previous four games, Jefferson had 14 points before leaving with a leg injury in the fourth quarter.

C Al Jefferson missed his third consecutive game with a dental issue.

PF Al Jefferson (tooth pain, swollen mouth) was left at the team hotel and missed his second straight game. He is averaging 8.5 points and 4.3 rebounds.

C Al Jefferson scored all 20 of his points in the first half for Indiana, which lost for the first time at Staples in four games and had its four-game winning streak against the Lakers snapped.

C Al Jefferson contributed a season-high 20 in 16 1/2 minutes for Indiana.

C Al Jefferson came off the bench for eight points and five rebounds for Indiana Saturday.

C Al Jefferson scored 12 points off the bench for Indiana.

C Al Jefferson got 16 points Sunday."We protected the paint and showed a wall on defense," said Jefferson, who added eight rebounds. "We have shown that when we don't have our best player, it is a must for the rest of us to come together."

C Al Jefferson and C Myles Turner each had 16 points Friday. The Pacers shot a season-best 55.2 percent from the field (48 of 87).

C Al Jefferson returned Monday night with the Pacers after spending the last three seasons in Charlotte.

C Al Jefferson officially signed a multiyear contract with the Pacers on Saturday. No terms were announced by the team, but the deal is worth a reported $30.5 million over three years. The 6-foot-10, 289-pound Jefferson spent the past three seasons of his 12-year NBA career with Charlotte.

The Houston Rockets signed All-Star guard James Harden to a four-year, $118 million contract extension Saturday.The deal assures the Rockets of one additional year of Harden under contract in 2018-19 because of a player option that could return him to free agency in 2019, league sources told The Vertical.Harden's salary for next season will be $26.5 million under the new salary cap and increase incrementally over the course of the deal.Rockets owner Leslie Alexander made the announcement at a news conference Saturday."I'm happy to be here for four more years," Harden said. "This is home for me."The 26-year-old Harden averaged 29 points, 7.5 assists and 6.1 rebounds for the Rockets last season.--New Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade joined New York Knicks star forward Carmelo Anthony in speaking out against recent gun violence that has dominated the news.Both athletes expressed their demands for social change in the wake of police shootings of African-American men and the sniper who killed... [More]

The Indiana Pacers officially signed veteran free agent center Al Jefferson to a multi-year contract on Saturday.No terms were announced by the team but the deal is worth a reported $30.5 million over three years.The 6-foot-10, 289-pound Jefferson spent the last three seasons of his 12-year NBA career with Charlotte. Jefferson, who was drafted by Boston in 2004 (first round, 15th overall) out of Prentiss (Miss.) High School, played three seasons with the Celtics before being traded to Minnesota. He spent three years there before being traded to Utah, where he played three seasons. He then signed as a free agent with Charlotte in 2013."We want to welcome Al to the Indiana Pacers," Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said in a statement. "Al is a good, solid, veteran player. We know what he brings to our team, scoring, rebounding and he's a handful down in the post. Not only do we think he'll help us a lot on the court, we think he will be a good mentor for Myles Turner.... [More]

C Al Jefferson joined the Pacers on a three-year, $30 million deal. Jefferson never spent more than three seasons with any team. A below-the-rim post player, his signing seems to signal McMillan will play some slower-pace, half-court sets while primarily preferring an up-tempo offense. Jefferson, 31, was drafted by the Celtics but traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he worked under former Bird teammate Kevin McHale. Last season he was limited by a knee injury and served a five-game suspension for violating the substance-abuse policy and averaged 12 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He also has a history of chronic foot problems.

Pacers president Larry Bird gave first-year coach Nate McMillan something Indiana was missing. In Bird's opinion, point guard Jeff Teague was an essential addition in the offseason overhaul that included firing coach Frank Vogel.The Pacers acquired Teague from the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team trade that sent the draft rights to first-round pick Taurean Prince to the Hawks. As part of the deal, Pacers point guard George Hill went to Utah. Indiana also acquired forward Thaddeus Young and signed unrestricted free agent Al Jefferson to a three-year, $30.5 million contract. All three players officially joined the Pacers on Thursday, as the NBA moratorium on acquisitions was lifted."With Jeff, we think he brings something we haven't had in a true point guard," Bird said of the Indianapolis native. "We think he fits in with what we're trying to do. He has speed, the ability to create for others and he can score."Last season, Teague averaged 15.7 points and 5.9 assists per game. In 2015, he was... [More]