The Thunder secure the win tonight, 104- 93, tying the Spurs for the best record in the NBA at 17-4. The Thunder also increase their win streak tonight to 8, which is a league best.
The game tonight was back and forth, even though the Thunder rarely gave up the lead during the course of the game. Several times the Pacers took the lead back but the Thunder kept Indiana far away enough towards the end of the game to secure the win.
David West scored 10 quick points to keep the game close in the first quarter, ending in the Thunder leading 25-22. Kevin Martin would hit a few shots and free throws and then the real fun would begin. Kevin Martin would go on to score 20 points in the quarter, going 4 of 5 from the field, 3 of 4 from the arch, and 7-8 from the line all within 11 minutes spread over the two quarters. Indiana would keep up with the Thunder, however, trailing only 1 at half time, 57-56
The Thunder and the Pacers would go back and forth for most of the 3rd quarter, with Indiana and Oklahoma City trading baskets and the lead, with Indiana ahead for a few minutes during the 3rd. The game would then fall into a miss festival, with a two minute period where neither team made a shot and the score stayed at 79-72 until late in the 3rd quarter when both teams would make shots, ending the quarter at 82-74.
The game would stay close for most of the forth quarter, with the Pacers staying within 3-4 points until 6 minutes into the quarter, when the Thunder started to press the pace. With Russell Westbrook hitting several shots in a row and Kevin Durant adding to the late scoring, the Thunder would break the lead open to 11 where it would stay for a 104-93 Thunder win.
The Thunder shot fairly well, regardless of Kevin Durant's "off night", shooting nearly 50% from the field and 83% from the line. However the Thunder would shoot horrendously from outside the arch, with KD going 1-5 from the arch, Russell going 1-3 and the team shooting 5-19 (26%). The Thunder rebounded well, however, out-rebounding the Pacers 40 to 36. Oklahoma City took care of the ball tonight, keeping their turnovers to 9.
Oklahoma City's defense was sparse at times tonight, letting the whole starting 5 score 10+ points and letting the Pacers make runs throughout the game, keeping the game close until the end. The Thunder showed strength late in the game, though, holding the Pacers to 5 points in the last 6 minutes and effectively stemming the threat from Indiana.
Showing posts with label Indiana Pacers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indiana Pacers. Show all posts
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Pregame 21: Pacing the Court
The Indiana Pacers find their way to the Chesapeake Arena tonight, entering the match-up with a 7 game winning streak and tied for the least losses in the league, with Memphis, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City all losing just 4 games so far.
The Pacers enter tonight with a record even at .500, 10-10. The Pacers have somewhat underwhelmed since their 6th game exit in the the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami heat and their gentleman's sweep of the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2011-2012 playoffs. The Pacers were 14-6 last year this far into the season, winning games against teams such as the Bulls, Lakers, and Celtics. So the Indian Pacers have a ways to go to reach the heights they reached last year as a team.
The Pacers do have a lot of youth to them at this point in the year, with still being a team that is trying to find their identity and their chemistry as team. Once Danny Granger returns from injury, it will be interesting to see how this team functions and integrates him back into the lineup.
The Thunder come into tonight on a blazing hot streak of wins, winning their 7 last games, 15 of their last 17, and . The Thunder have really played up to their potential as of late, showing the NBA how good they still are even after the loss of James Harden in October to Houston. Kevin Durant has seemed to finally settle into a scoring rhythm this year, scoring 35+ in 4 of the last 9 games for the Thunder.
Russell Westbrook has continued his improved clip of assists this year, registering 8+ assists in each of the Thunder's last 7 seven wins. Russell has also down fairly well keeping up with the Durant in terms of scoring,registering 25+ in the last two games in wins against Los Angeles and Brooklyn.
Tonight's game should be interesting, with a rolling Thunder team who might be resting on their laurels as of late and a Pacers team who has stayed close in games against several teams in loses, such the 92-89 loss to the Nuggets and a 104-97 loss to the Spurs. This is more than definitely a trap game for the Thunder, who has a tendency to drop a game here and there with the simple fact that they have won so much. However, I think the Thunder are going to play a solid game here, with a big crowd for a Sunday afternoon game cheering for them all they way there.
Prediction: 107-92 Thunder. I am going to go with the hope that the Thunder can keep their streak of 10 straight games with 100+ points going for an 11th game.
Now onto the stats.
The Pacers enter tonight with a record even at .500, 10-10. The Pacers have somewhat underwhelmed since their 6th game exit in the the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami heat and their gentleman's sweep of the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2011-2012 playoffs. The Pacers were 14-6 last year this far into the season, winning games against teams such as the Bulls, Lakers, and Celtics. So the Indian Pacers have a ways to go to reach the heights they reached last year as a team.
The Pacers do have a lot of youth to them at this point in the year, with still being a team that is trying to find their identity and their chemistry as team. Once Danny Granger returns from injury, it will be interesting to see how this team functions and integrates him back into the lineup.
The Thunder come into tonight on a blazing hot streak of wins, winning their 7 last games, 15 of their last 17, and . The Thunder have really played up to their potential as of late, showing the NBA how good they still are even after the loss of James Harden in October to Houston. Kevin Durant has seemed to finally settle into a scoring rhythm this year, scoring 35+ in 4 of the last 9 games for the Thunder.
Russell Westbrook has continued his improved clip of assists this year, registering 8+ assists in each of the Thunder's last 7 seven wins. Russell has also down fairly well keeping up with the Durant in terms of scoring,registering 25+ in the last two games in wins against Los Angeles and Brooklyn.
Tonight's game should be interesting, with a rolling Thunder team who might be resting on their laurels as of late and a Pacers team who has stayed close in games against several teams in loses, such the 92-89 loss to the Nuggets and a 104-97 loss to the Spurs. This is more than definitely a trap game for the Thunder, who has a tendency to drop a game here and there with the simple fact that they have won so much. However, I think the Thunder are going to play a solid game here, with a big crowd for a Sunday afternoon game cheering for them all they way there.
Prediction: 107-92 Thunder. I am going to go with the hope that the Thunder can keep their streak of 10 straight games with 100+ points going for an 11th game.
Now onto the stats.
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