Gilgeous-Alexander Drops 36, Thunder Down Pacers in Overtime

The Thunder came away with a hard fought overtime win in Indiana Friday night, downing the Pacers 129-125. OKC snapped a two-game losing streak behind a strong fourth quarter finished.

Oklahoma City was firing on all cylinders offensively Friday night. The points came in bunches, starting with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He had an impressive 36 points on 24 shot attempts.

Tre Mann notched his fourth straight game of double-digit scoring with 22 points. Mann’s fourth quarter kept the Thunder in the game as he was a go-to scorer down the stretch.

The Thunder also received significant contribution once again from Theo Maledon and Aleksej Pokusevski off the bench. Maledon netted 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. Poku scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Buddy Hield had a huge night for Indiana, pouring in 27 points and five assists. Hield had help from Isaiah Jackson, who finished with 17 points, six rebounds and five blocks.

In the first quarter, a late Pacers flurry gave Indiana some breathing room. Lance Stephenson’s late play provided a spark giving the Pacers a 36-29 lead after one.

In the second quarter, Oklahoma City’s offensive flurry took place. The Thunder exploded with 40 second quarter points. A flurry of points came from a second quarter run led by Poku who provided solid minutes once again.

OKC outscored Indiana 40-25 in the second frame behind Gilgeous-Alexander’s 19 first half points. The Thunder led 69-61 at halftime.

OKC faltered defensively in the third quarter. Hield had a strong third quarter as the Thunder was without its best perimeter defender in Lu Dort.

With 7:22 left in the fourth quarter, Lindy Waters buried a 3-pointer to give the Thunder a 103-101 lead. Waters had his best showing for Oklahoma City with eight points and five rebounds.

With 2:47 left, Mann’s free throws tied the game at 113-113. Oklahoma City clawed back on multiple occasions in the fourth quarter.

Hield missed the game-tying 3-pointer with just under 10 seconds left in the game, but a long rebound found its way to Stephenson in the corner. Stephenson drilled the corner three to tie the game at 123-123. Gilgeous-Alexander missed the potential game winner with 1.6 seconds left, sending the game into overtime.

In overtime, the offense went stale. Oklahoma City didn’t score for the first 3:14. Darius Bazley removed the lid on the basket for the Thunder tying the game at 125-125.

With 20.7 seconds left Gilgeous-Alexander found his way to the hoop and converted an old fashioned 3-point play.

His dagger ended the game, as OKC outlasted the Pacers in overtime.

Oklahoma City returns to the court at 7 p.m. Monday, as the Thunder square-off against the new look Sacramento Kings. The Kings have lost three straight games after a few impressive showings with Domantis Sabonis before the All-Star break.

Want to join the discussion? Like SI Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.