Pacers Sweep Season Series From Thunder 107-100.
The heartbreak Thunder was at it again on Wednesday coming up short against the Pacers 107-100. With 13.2 seconds left, Terrance Ferguson missed a 24-foot jump shot that would have tied the game at 103. TJ Warren hit his two free throws after a Chris Paul foul as the Pacers would score seven unanswered to slam the door shut on another gut-wrenching loss for Oklahoma City.
The Thunder waisted efficient nights from Danilo Gallinari, Steven Adams, and Dennis Schroder. Adamas over his last five games is consistently scoring over his average of 9 points per game; he's also hitting his free-throws going 4-4 from the line on Wednesday as part of his 20 point 9 rebound performance.
Billy Donovan says he won't blame Adams's past struggles on his knee contusion; he thinks Adams is getting back to where he's been in the past. As for the free throws getting better because he's feeling better, Adams answered "yes" when he was asked if there was a correlation between the two.
Domantas Sabonis continues to terrorize Oklahoma CIty scoring 17 and grabbing 13 rebounds. Sabonis got his ninth double-double of the season and is crediting Steven Adams for helping him with his current success. Adams, while flattered, says, "I had nothing to do with his progress though; he was just giving me kudos."
After missing his first four shots, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 16 points. This was Gigeous-Alexander's best game in his last six, and he was still 7 of 19 from the floor. Billy Donovan says that "Even though he struggled to shoot the basketball, I thought his confidence stayed high." "I thought he was aggressive; I thought he shot the ball when he was open. He kept staying with it; he kept grinding it." Donovan believes that teams are preparing for Gilegious-Alexander differently because he's had so much success on the offensive end early in the season. Donovan says that Gilgeous-Alexader is being stretched mentally and can't help but benefit from that as he grows.
After a day off, the Timberwolves come to the Peake Friday, tipoff is at 7 pm on Fox Sports Oklahoma.
