Candace Buckner

candace.buckner@indystar.com

Monta Ellis led a closed-door meeting late Wednesday night following the Indiana Pacers' dispirited loss to Charlotte, IndyStar has learned.

After players showered and dressed, Ellis angrily called for the gathering. Ellis started by admonishing teammates to take more responsibility for the rest of the season, according to several people with knowledge of the meeting. The players-only assembly lasted briefly with Ellis as the principal speaker.

“It falls on us,” a team source said about Ellis’ message. “We’re not doing what we’re supposed to do.”

Every player in uniform that night attended the meeting except Jordan Hill, who left Bankers Life Fieldhouse with a splint over his right ring finger shortly after Pacers coach Frank Vogel’s postgame remarks in the locker room. Hill dislocated the finger during a second-quarter play against the Hornets.

In their final game before the All-Star break, the Pacers (28-25, sixth in the Eastern Conference) showed little energy in their 117-95 loss to the Hornets. When speaking to reporters, several players said the performance wasn't because they weren't focused enough before heading out on vacation. However, something seemed awry during the blowout loss on their home floor.

“We’ve just got to get a better focus as a team,” Paul George told reporters after the game. “We should have been more dialed in.”

Through the final three quarters, the Pacers were outscored by 22 points while tolerating poor efforts on both ends of the floor. Although Charlotte leads the conference in 3-pointers attempted, the Pacers did not close out well against perimeter shooters and allowed the Hornets to hit 42.9 percent (12-of-28), more than seven percentage points higher than their season average.

Indiana, now a transitioning team with much of its future success riding on the development of a teen-aged rookie, has experienced its share of ups and downs throughout this roller-coaster season.

The Pacers had an 11-2 record in November but won just 14 more games through December and January.

On Jan. 14, the team announced top reserve Rodney Stuckey would be out for an extended period with a right foot sprain/bone bruise. The injury has disrupted the second unit.

On Jan. 28, after losing five of six games, Vogel tried to spark his team from its funk by promoting 19-year-old Myles Turner to the starting lineup.

The move made progress in solidifying the team’s identity. Before Wednesday night, the five-man lineup of Ellis, George, Turner, Ian Mahinmi and George Hill had produced a net rating of plus-27 – the eighth-best rating in the league, according to statistics provided by Fox Sports Indiana. However, shortly after the change, George said he found it difficult to balance his offensive attack within the new group.

“I’m a guy that has to see it going in and I catch fire that way,” George said Feb. 2. “It’s been a little tough trying to find and pick and choose and trying to get shots in the offense without taking away from getting other guys going and in a flow.”

Since making those comments, however, George has averaged 24.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists over the past five games while also showing improved accuracy from 3-point range (45.5 percent).

Now, leading up to the Feb. 18 NBA trade deadline, several team sources said players have expressed concerns about rumors, in particular a possible deal that would send Hill to Atlanta in exchange for point guard Jeff Teague. The Pacers return to the court one day after the deadline. By then, they could have a new look or be the same team still trying to work through its issues.

“You can’t overreact,” Mahinmi told reporters after the loss to Charlotte. “Going into the break like that, it kind of like leaves a sour taste in your mouth and you have to deal with that for five or six days. It is what it is, but this one is a tough one.”

Follow Star reporter Candace Buckner on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.

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