Post-Game Grades: Thunder Demolish Pacers in OKC

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Call it a schedule loss, call it a bad game, call it whatever you want: the Indiana Pacers walked into Oklahoma City on Sunday night and were outplayed in every possible way.

Only three Pacers scored in double-figures and Paul George’s 32 points masked what was really one of his worst games of the season.

He finished the first half with only 6 points on very poor shooting, and most his second-half outburst came after the game was well out of reach.

Roy Hibbert had his block-streak broken. David West grabbed a paltry 2 rebounds. George Hill was outplayed by Russell Westbrook to almost comical proportions.

I suppose we can take solace in the fact that by any metric, the road trip was a success. Nobody got injured, the Pacers went 3-2, and they beat two very good teams in tough environments.

Still, this game hurts a little bit. Hopefully, this will rally the troops for Tuesday’s big game against Miami, not discourage them into a little two or three game funk.

Indiana Pacers94Final
Recap | Box Score
118Oklahoma City Thunder

Here is how each guy played individually tonight. Agree? Disagree? Express your thoughts below in the comments or yell at Twitch on twitter (@Twitch8p9s) who filled in today.

David West, PF 27 MIN | 5-11 FG | 1-1 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 11 PTS | -14

West was as bad in OKC as he was good in San AntonioPaul George, SF 36 MIN | 9-17 FG | 10-11 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 3 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 32 PTS | -19

Umm, at least he got to the foul line a lot?Roy Hibbert, C 25 MIN | 6-12 FG | 0-0 FT | 9 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 12 PTS | -15

Roy actually made some nice moves in the post…and other than that, was pretty invisible.George Hill, PG 31 MIN | 2-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 3 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 4 PTS | -14

Yikes. Hill deserves an F, but I’m giving him an INC just because he didn’t really seem to show up at all.Lance Stephenson, SG 26 MIN | 4-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | -16

Lance actually played ok, and he was the one Pacer that seemed to have energy in the first half. Unfortunately, foul trouble and frustration derailed what could have been an acceptable performance.

Luis Scola, PF 18 MIN | 2-4 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | -6

What? Scola played last night?Solomon Hill, SF 7 MIN | 1-2 FG | 1-2 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 3 PTS | -3

Garbage TimeIan Mahinmi, C 19 MIN | 1-4 FG | 1-1 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 3 PTS | -10

One of Ian’s worst games of the season. He looked lost at times, and worse on offense than he’s looked since he was a young buck on the Mavericks.C.J. Watson, PG 13 MIN | 1-4 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 5 PTS | -7

He tried to rally the troops in the second quarter, but Reggie Jackson abused him.Donald Sloan, PG 2 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -3

Garbage TimeOrlando Johnson, SG 18 MIN | 0-3 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -7

I’ll be honest, I’m starting to have Sam Young flashbacks whenever Orlando Johnson gets the ball on the wing. OJ has only connected on 7 shots in his last 11 games. And when’s the last time he made a 3-pointer? He’s actually only made 8 all year – and most of those looks are wide open. Danny Granger can’t come back soon enough.