Pacers get out in transition, hold off Thunder

Field Level Media|published: Tue 12th March, 22:48 2024

Mar 12, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey (3) defends Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) during the first quarter at Paycom Center. credits: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Myles Turner scored 24 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 121-111 win over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.

Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam each added 18 points for Indiana, with Haliburton also dishing out 12 assists and Siakam grabbing 11 rebounds. Aaron Nesmith finished with 15 points for the Pacers, who have won back-to-back games, both on the road.

Indiana's win snapped the Thunder's nine-game home winning streak and three-game winning streak overall.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander racked up a game-high 30 points to go along with 10 boards for the Thunder, who also got 15 points and 13 rebounds from Chet Holmgren. Luguentz Dort supplied 18 points.

After shooting just 35.6 percent from the floor in the first half, Oklahoma City turned it on offensively to start the second.

But the Pacers kept pace for much of the third quarter until a 15-6 Thunder run put Oklahoma City ahead for the first time at 85-84 with 2:05 to go.

Indiana scored the final eight points of the third quarter to take a 94-87 lead into the fourth.

Early in the fourth, Oklahoma City cut the deficit to one on Cason Wallace's 3-pointer with 8:34 remaining, but Jalen Smith hit a driving layup on the other end to ignite a 9-1 run that gave the Pacers control of the game for good.

After outscoring the Orlando Magic 27-0 in fastbreak points in a victory on Sunday, the Pacers continued to dominate that category against Oklahoma City, holding a 14-0 advantage in the first half.

Indiana had 23 fastbreak points for the game, while the Thunder totaled just three.

Getting out in transition early helped the Pacers go into the break up 58-46. They led by as many as 16 in the first half.

Though Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 30 points, it was a rare off night for him, as he went just 12-for-27 from the floor and 1-for-7 from 3-point range.

The Thunder were without forward Jalen Williams (ankle), and Gordon Hayward started in his place. Hayward netted nine points in 30 minutes.

—Field Level Media