Saturday, January 2, 2010

Pacers' Murphy, Hansbrough out against Wolves

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana Pacers forwards Troy Murphy and Tyler Hansbrough missed Saturday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves because of injuries.

Murphy sat out with a sprained left ankle he sustained Tuesday against Chicago, and his return date is uncertain. He is the Pacers' No. 2 scorer with 13.8 points per game and leads the team with 9.1 rebounds.

Hansbrough, a rookie, is out for the third straight game with an inner ear infection. He has been one of the team's top players off the bench, averaging 9.2 points and 5.1 rebounds.

The Pacers already were short-handed, with Danny Granger (heel), Travis Diener (toe) and Jeff Foster (sore lower back) nursing injuries.