Thunder Record 40 Assists, Notch Blowout Victory in Return Home
The Oklahoma City Thunder returned home on Wednesday night after a four game road stretch, trouncing the Indiana Pacers 126-106. The win marks four in a row for OKC, and moves the squad’s season record to 22-23.
Missing star guard Tyrese Haliburton, rookie guard Andrew Nembhard led the way for the Pacers with 18 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Joe were Oklahoma City’s leading scorers, tallying 23 points apiece.
The Thunder were hot out of the gate, starting the contest 4-for-4 from the field and taking an 11-1 lead that resulted in an Indiana timeout less than three minutes into the game. Coming out of the timeout, Lu Dort and Kenrich Williams both knocked down 3-pointers that increased the OKC lead to 17-1 and drew another timeout from Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle.
Indiana missed multiple layups in the first quarter, helping the Thunder maintain their early lead. At the end of the opening frame, Oklahoma City held a 36-20 advantage over the Pacers.
Early in the second period, OKC began to cool down offensively, failing to score in the first three minutes of the quarter. A shot off the glass from Nembhard cut the Thunder lead to nine, which caused head coach Mark Daigneault to call his first timeout.
A few moments later, Pacers center Myles Turner knocked down a triple that brought Indiana within five. Ahead 40-37, Dort connected on a shot from beyond the arc the extended Oklahoma City's lead back to six.
After a spectacular take to the basket by Dort and Joe's third triple of the game, OKC's lead was back to nine with just over three minutes left in the half. After Joe and Dort each nailed another 3-pointer, the Thunder led the Pacers 58-44 at the break.
20-year-old Josh Giddey started the second half by dishing out multiple assists and knocking down a couple shots of his own, helping Oklahoma City keep pace with Indiana after the Pacers came out of halftime firing. OKC moved the ball around well the entire night, notching 40 assists as a team.
After a triple from Jalen Williams and a mid-range shot from Gilgeous-Alexander capped off a 14-0 run, the Thunder led 87-63 with three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Oklahoma City passed the century mark in the third, and heading into the final frame, Indiana trailed 100-73.
A 12-2 run early in the fourth quarter cut OKC's lead to 19, but a running floater from Giddey quickly ended the run. Joe found the bottom of the net for his fifth 3-pointer of the game on the ensuing possession 109-85.
Joe stole the ball on Indiana's next two possessions, knocking down two free throws and throwing a nice lob pass to Aaron Wiggins. This shut the door on any chance of a Pacers comeback, and the Thunder would go on to win 126-106.
Oklahoma City travels to Sacramento for a matchup against the Kings on Friday, Jan. 20 at 9 P.M. CT.
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