Oklahoma City Thunder lose to Indiana Pacers, relinquish top spot in the West – NBA Recap
Oklahoma City Thunder travelled to Indianapolis Friday to play against the Indiana Pacers. The Thunder went into this game having lost their last two and in danger of losing their top spot in the west. Despite 44 points by Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City could
not derail the Pacers offense, who won 103-98.
This was Oklahoma City’s third loss in a row and after San Antonio beat the New Orleans Hornets later in the night, Oklahoma City lost their # 1 position in the Western Conference to the Spurs.
It was a close game in the first quarter with both Indiana and Oklahoma City claiming the lead at different points in the game. However, Oklahoma City did not score for the last 2 minutes and 19 seconds, helping Indiana finish the quarter with 9-0 run to
lead 32-20 at the end of the 1st period.
Indiana kept the lead throughout the 2nd quarter, not allowing Oklahoma City to come close. They ended the first half with another 7-2 run to enter the 2nd half leading 56-41. Russell Westbrook missed two field goals and committed one
turnover in the final minutes of the period for the Thunder.
A pull up shot by Danny Granger increased Indiana’s lead to 72-48 with 5:40 left in the 3rd quarter. Oklahoma City could only manage 7 points in 6 minutes and 20 seconds of the quarter. Westbrook missed three field goals, 1 free throw and committed
2 turnovers in a poor offensive performance by the Thunder in the third quarter.
However, Oklahoma got a wakeup call late in the 3rd and went on a 6-3 run to close in on the Indiana lead and finish the quarter trailing 61-75. 2 free throws by Durant early in the 4th brought the score to 65-75.
Durant was unstoppable in the 4th quarter, scoring 17 points in the segment and leading his team’s comeback. Indiana kept getting away but Durant was not giving up and a slam dunk, in which he forced the foul as well and made the free throw, brought
Oklahoma City to within 5, trailing 91-96 with 1:08 left in the game. A Kendrick Perkins dunk narrowed the Pacers lead to 99-95 with under 10 seconds left in the game. However, Indiana kept their lead and won 103-98 in the end.
Kevin Durant was outstanding for the night, scoring a game high 44 points and going 15 of 24 from the field. He also made 11 of 13 free throws. Russell Westbrook had a good night too, scoring 21 points but going 7 of 23 from the field. He also grabbed 11
rebounds and dished 9 assists. Oklahoma shot 44.2% from the field but only 31.6% from beyond the arc. They also committed 17 turnovers, which is now becoming an area of concern for them.
Danny Granger led the Pacers scoring with 26 points, 13 of which came in the final quarter. Roy Hibbert added 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Paul George was good for Indiana, scoring 8 points but grabbing 16 rebounds, including 13 defensive ones. Indiana
had more rebounds and lesser turnovers than the Thunder, but OKC got into the paint more frequently that the Pacers, scoring 48 from within the paint compared to only 26 by Indiana.
Indiana have now won four in a row and solidified their third position in the eastern conference, now 4 wins clear of Boston. The Pacers scored 100 plus points in their fifth consecutive game where as the Thunder, who are the second best team in the league
for scoring, failed to cross 100 for the 4th game in a row.
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