In their first overtime of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder fall to the Indiana Pacers, 113-110. Despite feeling dull and sluggish in stretches due to constant stoppage in plays due to referee reviews, this game had quite the exciting finish that included the Thunder blowing a four-on-one opportunity with 11 seconds left down one.
The Pacers were able to escape with a rare road win due to the return of Domantas Sabonis as he finished with a 24 point, 18 rebound and 10 assist triple-double. Justin Holiday also chipped in with 22 points and Jeremy Lamb scored five of his 14 points in overtime.
From a reverse standings perspective, this was a great loss to have as the Thunder’s lead over the Pacers grows to three games and are now tied for the third-best lottery odds in the league with the Houston Rockets. Playing these type of games where the opposition is close in the tank standings are crucial to lose as a full game is on the line.
Now the Thunder wait and see how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander feels as he exited in the third quarter with a nasty ankle sprain and immediately limped his way to the locker room. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said the team will know more on Saturday. If Gilgeous-Alexander is out in an extended period of time, I have a hard time seeing the Thunder’s recent losing fortunes change as the rebuilding team loses its best player. Let’s take a look at player grades.