Evan Turner at Ohio State

Now THAT’S the kind of game we were waiting to see from Evan Turner. We’ve watched ET go Alien on too many big-time college teams to believe he’d suddenly stink as a pro, but things were getting a bit alarming as he struggled through summer league and early preseason games. Last night, though, Turner slapped a 14-point, 7-rebound, 6-assist, 6-steal stat line (with just 2 turnovers) on the Nets while starting at two-guard. Andre Iguodala played the three, finishing with 20 points, 7 boards and 3 steals. Granted, it was against the Nets, and the Sixers lost the game, and it’s just preseason. But looking big picture, it’s a step in the right direction for Turner and the organization … Crazy finish in this one. Philly was up by seven with 15 seconds left before Anthony Morrow hit a three for New Jersey. Jrue Holiday bricked two free throws on the other end, and Jordan Farmar (15 pts) answered with another trey to cut the lead to one. With eight seconds left, Andres Nocioni went to the line for the Sixers and missed the second freebie. With no timeouts, Devin Harris ran the ball downcourt and found Stephen Graham for the game-winning three at the buzzer … Phoenix and Dallas played in TNT’s annual outdoor exhibition, and the last six minutes or so really did resemble a random pickup game at the park. The refs should’ve just called it early, because nobody was trying to watch Adam Haluska and 45-year-old Chucky Atkins showcase themselves for leagues in Chile. The Suns got the W, but considering Dirk and Jason Terry were sitting out, we learned nothing about either team … And when did we decide that the Suns have to play in every one of these outdoor things? It’s been three years and they’ve been in every one. They’re like the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving … What happens first: Josh Childress drops the played-out ‘fro, or Kenny Powers goes back to the braids? … Stat lines from Saturday’s other preseason games: Luis Scola posted 23 points and 11 boards to lead Houston past Indiana; Zach Randolph scored 21 in Memphis’ win over New Orleans; Brandon Jennings put up 18 points and 3 steals as Milwaukee beat Charlotte; and DeJuan Blair‘s 13 points and 7 boards led San Antonio’s JV squad past Miami’s JV. LeBron and Chris Bosh only played the first quarter, and Tim Duncan played about half of that … We don’t know exactly what “gastric distress” is, but apparently it’s contagious in the Utah Jazz locker room. Deron Williams missed a recent practice with what the team called gastric distress, and this weekend Al Jefferson took some sick time due to the same condition. Either it’s something gross that we don’t wanna know about, or it’s the NBA’s new “flu-like symptoms” internal code for nursing a hangover … The last time we saw Terry Porter, he looked like the Suns were giving him gastric distress, back when he was fired midway through his first season coaching Steve Nash and Amar’e and Co. in a failed post-D’Antoni experiment. Now Porter is pulling a Nick Nolte move from Blue Chips — going back to the roots as an assistant coach at an NCAA D-III school. Lewis & Clark College, where Porter will work, is also the alma mater of Dime’s Aron Phillips. So now AP’s going around talking D-III national championship … After the China thing fell through, now Allen Iverson is getting interest from a team in Turkey. The team in question, Besiktas Cola Turka, went to the second round of the Turkish Basketball League playoffs last season with a roster that included Lonny Baxter (Maryland), Engin Atsur (NC State) and Brad Newley (Australia). Pretty safe to bet A.I. wouldn’t be asked to come off the bench there … In other ex-backcourt icon news, Steve Francis was arrested for public drunkenness at an airport in L.A. According to a police spokesman, Francis was “unable to care for himself” and “combative” toward others. He has a court date in November … So between 35-year-old Iverson and 33-year-old Stevie Franchise, who would you give another shot to if you were running a team? As a fan, which one do you want to see play at least one more game in the NBA? … We’re out like Haluska vs. Chucky …