Oklahoma City Thunder travel to Indianapolis to face Indiana Pacers on Friday – NBA Preview
The Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Indiana Pacers on Friday at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse. This will be an important game for Oklahoma as they have lost two in a row coming into the match. They were leading the Western conference 40-12 before losing
to Memphis Grizzlies and then to Miami Heat this week. The San Antonio Spurs are on a hot streak on the other hand, having won 9 in a row and now contesting the #1 spot in the West with the Thunder. OKC need this win to stay clear of the charging Spurs in
the rankings.
In its last game, Thunder were leading Miami by 11 in the 2nd quarter, but let the Heat get away in the final quarter. Durant had 30 points in the game, but turned the ball over nine times. The Thunder also shot a poor 29.4% from beyond the arc
in that loss.
Oklahoma City, who hasn’t lost three in a row this season, will be looking to Kevin Durant, the second highest scorer this season with 27.6 points per game. Russell Westbrook, currently ranked 5th in points per game with 24.4, also needs to play
big after a dismal shooting performance against Miami, where he misfired 17 out of 26 field goals attempts.
The Indiana Pacers, on the other hand, go into this game having won their previous three and are 7-3 over their last 10 games. They have improved and become stronger as the season has progressed. In their last game against the Washington Wizards, they shot
a season high 57.9% from the field. Danny Granger scored a team high 20 points in that game.
“We've got a veteran group that's dialed in to a tight playoff race. This team could be really good but we've got to continue to stay focused. Any loss or any drop off and we could go back in the standings” said Indiana coach Frank Vogel.
Granger has been playing quite well recently, averaging 26.3 points over his last three games. The Pacers also play well as a team when he scores well. They are 19-4 if Granger scores more than 20 points but 14-17 when he is unable to do so.
This is the first time this season both teams are playing against each other so it will be interesting to see how they match up. The last time these two teams met was last season. Oklahoma City won the last two games against the Pacers, where Russell Westbrook
scored a combined 64 points in both games.
Indiana will have the home court advantage come Friday night, having won their last three home games and going 17-7 at home for the season. As such, they hold the edge.
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