OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder went 126-106 against the Indiana Pacers and didn’t let the team take their foot off the accelerator in one homestand.
The Thunder’s renewed confidence in recent weeks has helped them avoid a contrived loss to the Pacers. “Trap game” was written all over this matchup, and to OKC’s credit, they were able to start the game with his 17-1 lead and never looked back.
A historic assists night helped the Thunder to victory with a franchise-record 41 assists on 47-of-93 shots (50.5%). Externally, the Thunder shot 3 to 16/38 (42.1%).
It was a team effort as no one exceeded 17 shots and seven of the 11 Thunder players who played scored at least 10 points.
Nothing really worked for the Pacers as they were missing Tyrese Haliburton. Andrew Nembhard’s most notable matches were
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: B
With the Thunder playing great team basketball these days, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander decided to take a passive role, scoring 23 points on 7 of 17 shots. Gilgeous-Alexander also had 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
In addition to his restrained box-scoring numbers, Gilgeous-Alexander posted a game-high plus-38 in 30 minutes, frequently reaching the free-throw line and going 8/9 from the line.
Josh Guiddy: A-
Josh Guiddy continues to play good as he regularly attacks the paint.
Giddy had 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting, 11 assists and 6 rebounds. Like Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddy played in the flow of offense and let his teammates cook with the ball.
Le Dort: A+
Lu Dort had an effective night on both sides of the ball.
Dort scored 22 points on 8/14 from the field and finished 3 to 3/5. Dort also added 11 rebounds and scored a double his double.
Both Buddy Hield and Benedict Maturin had an unusually quiet night. Hield shot 3 to 1/4 he scored 3 points and Montreal native Maturin shot 4/10 he scored 13 points.
Kenrich Williams: A
The Thunder turned the ball around and Kenrich Williams had a career night.
Williams, who started as a small-ball 5, finished with 12 points and a career-high 10 assists.
Williams continues to play a key role in OKC’s success because of the key role it plays. He’s a hustler and known for running extra miles, but it’s also important to realize that Williams is also an accomplished basketball player.
The story originally appeared in Thunder Wire