After being competitive in every match this season the OKC Thunder suffered their worst loss of the season losing by double digits. Player grades offer some insight.
It was inevitable the OKC Thunder would eventually suffer a bad loss. After all, the club competed hard in each of their previous ten games. The worst loss occurred in the second game of the season versus the Washington Wizards and even then it was a matter of losing two quarters by four points and two quarters by two points.
Like the Wizards game, the Thunder lost every quarter but the Pacers were up by 10 points entering the half and came out in the third leaving no doubt they intended to snatch the victory. A subsequent 34-20 third quarter had the clubs entering the final frame with the Pacers up by 24 and the game well in hand.
Former OKC Thunder draftee Domantas Sabonis made sure to remind his former team of why they shouldn’t have traded him as he collected a massive 18 point, 16 rebounds (seven offensive boards) double-double, plus two assists and a block.
T.J. Warren was also stellar filling up the stat sheet with a game-high 23 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. Warren was virtually stolen from the Suns who theoretically were clearing cap space for their offseason signings and the Pacers got him for a song.
All this to say neither won the best reserve of the night — which you might have already figured out, but you’ll need to wait until the third slide to confirm your suspicions.
Hamidou Diallo replaced Terrance Ferguson in the starting rotation as the latter was out due to personal reasons. This switch affected the chemistry but wasn’t the sole reason why the Thunder lost (and by so much).
.With that, let’s dive into the specifics with the player grades for the match.