Amid a tough season for the reigning Eastern Conference champions, the Indiana Pacers showed some fight in earning a road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night, 117-114. The victory was just Indiana’s third on the road this season.
The Thunder went down despite 47 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who shot 17-for-28 from the floor and hit all 12 of his free throws. Friday’s game was SGA’s fifth 40-point effort of the season. Chet Holmgren scored 25 points with 13 rebounds. But Kenrich Williams (12) and Cason Wallace (10) were the only other OKC players to reach double figures.
Oklahoma City played without Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, Aaron Wiggins and Ajay Mitchell. That allowed the Pacers to use a smaller lineup which allowed them to play faster.
Indiana built an 82-71 lead with 4:09 remaining in the third quarter, but the Thunder cut the margin to 86-85 just before the end of the frame. Oklahoma City could never take the lead during the fourth quarter, though did trim the Pacers’ lead to 94-91 at the seven-minute mark.
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An Andrew Nembhard 3-pointer appeared to be the decisive blow, giving Indiana a 113-103 lead. But the Thunder rallied with a 9-0 run to come within one point with 24 seconds remaining in regulation. Through the remaining 10 seconds, Gilgeous-Alexander and Jarace Walker traded free throws and set up an opportunity for Oklahoma City to tie the game with six seconds left.
However, the Pacers’ defense forced the Thunder to get the ball to Isaiah Joe for a 3-point attempt. He missed the shot and Indiana held on for arguably its biggest win of the season.
Nembhard scored 27 points (hitting 4-of-7 3-pointers) with 11 assists and 7 rebounds to lead Indiana to just its 11th win of the season, breaking a three-game losing streak. Walker followed with a career-best 26 points and Pascal Siakam added 21.
Facing their NBA Finals opponent from last season brings out the best in the Pacers, who lost their season opener to the Thunder but took the reigning NBA champions to double overtime before a 141-135 defeat. Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 55 points in that matchup.
With their ninth loss of the season, the Thunder would now have to go undefeated to match the Golden State Warriors’ 73 wins during the 2015-16 campaign. A 26-3 start that had Oklahoma City on track for a historic season now appears to be a footnote.
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