Indiana's Granger is NBA's most improved

NEW YORK, May 12 (UPI) -- Indiana forward Danny Granger, who finished fifth in the league in scoring average, was voted the NBA's most improved player for this past season.

Granger was listed first on 48 ballots and totaled 364 points in the voting, the NBA announced Tuesday. New Jersey guard Devin Harris, who was first on 43 ballots and had 339 points, was the runner-up and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, with 83 points, was third.

Granger, who just completed his fourth season in the NBA, averaged 25.8 points a game in 2008-09, which was 6.2 points better than the previous season and 9.4 points a game more than his previous career average of 16.4 points per game.

He is the first player in league history to improve his scoring average by at least 5 points in three consecutive seasons.

Granger was selected for his first NBA All-Star Game appearance this season and led the Pacers in scoring in 49 of the 67 games he played.

A panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters voted for the award, with 5 points given for a first-place mention, 3 for second and 1 point for third.