Pacers back home for the week after getting thumped by Thunder in OKC
Pacers struggled to contain the combustible Thunder en route to 21-point loss.
Saturday night was a great stay-at-home night for a hoops head, with the Pacers/Thunder, NCAA Elite 8 games and the Indiana 4A boys state championship game all rolling at the same time.
With my son in town for the weekend, I had the small screen fort the Pacers while he was more tuned in to the college game. After the Pacers jumped out to a 21-11 start in OKC against the top team in the NBA, I mentioned the score to my son and his reaction was, “I wonder how long that will last.”
Welp, to be precise, over the next 2:47 the Thunder threw an 11-0 run at the Pacers to take a 22-21 lead which was how the game continued to go. The Pacers would stabilize and keep pace and then, WHAM! a 10-0 run by the Thunder.
The Pacers hung in and even had a 42-41 lead with 4:30 remaining in the second quarter, but then the Thunder did what they do and closed the half on a 20-7 run. The Pacers were unable to make a significant run in the third quarter and eventually let go of the rope over the last five minutes, as the Thunder were just executing at an elite level and making will-killing threes for fun.
It appeared from the opening tip that the Thunder would focus on minimizing Tyrese Haliburton’s playmaking ability. When Myles Turned tapped the opening tip back to Haliburton at the opposite free throw line, the Thunder had two defenders go toward him 70 feet from the hoop which moved the ball to Andrew Nembhard. Message sent and Haliburton shot the ball well, scored 18 points, but only had 3 assists.
Nembhard picked up the slack with 7 assists, but the starters struggled against the Thunder D after the strong start to the game. The second half turned into a ‘live to fight another day’ game with similar rotations to what we saw in the blowout win in Washington.
‘Another day’ is on Monday night when the Pacers host the Sacramento Kings for the first of three home games this week. The Hornets are in on Wednesday and the Jazz visit on Friday. All of these games remain important as the Pacers hold on to fourth in the East. The Pistons messed around in Minny, with a Stewart/Holland special starting a fight which energized the Wolves for a comeback win. The Pistons are now two losses behind the Pacers (three if you count the tie breaker), so these three home games can set the Pacers up well for the final two weeks of the regular season.
Oh, and that 4A state title game? As good as it gets. Congrats to Jeffersonville for holding on to beat Fishers and win the title 67-66 in overtime. Fishers was trying to defend their 2024 state title and riding a 43-game winning streak heading into the game, so congrats to Fishers for their incredible run which ended in heartbreaking fashion. Fishers is loaded with talent and plays so well together, but Jeffersonville had the best player on the floor in Tre Singleton who finished with 26 points and found the open man in OT, a cutting Elijah Cheeks, for the game winner. Special game.
Pacers vs. Kings
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
When: Monday, Mar. 31, 2025, 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers -5.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Kings: Keon Ellis, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis
Injuries
Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin (calf) - out, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out
Kings: Devin Carter (shoulder) - out, Jake LaRavia (thumb) - out